Philadelphia and Suburban Schools: Encouraging Community Service

Editor’s Note: Nelson Floyd is a high school senior at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington. The Generocity team had the pleasure of Nelson joining the team as our summer intern through Steppingstone Scholars, a nonprofit program dedicated to providing academically motivated students with a community of support to prepare for college. Throughout his internship, Nelson has been focusing on marketing, writing, and organizational development, and has been a great source of youthful perspective for our team. This is his perspective on school volunteering requirements.

At my high school, Germantown Academy, located in Fort Washington, there is a requirement to complete fifteen hours of community service a year throughout high school. If this requirement is not met, privileges for the following year could be lost. These privileges include being able to go to local restaurants or access to certain parking spaces. I believe that this requirement is very helpful to students who are not sure if they enjoy volunteering.

First off, fifteen hours is a minimal amount of time to dedicate to community service. The idea is not to overburden students but to get them interested in helping others, so hopefully the fifteen hour requirement is effective as a test period. I constantly see people who complete their entire requirement for high school, which is 45 hours, in one year. This is because both Bucks County and Philadelphia school districts do a great job at providing opportunities for students to fulfill that requirement, such as raising money for the school or helping clean up the surrounding area. This makes it extremely easy to get 45 hours in a four year time period. Both districts realize that it is important to provide a starting point for students to get involved with community service.

But even though these strategies are similar, they also have  major differences. Philadelphia high schoolers tend to be recognized as a whole for their outstanding community service. I have seen many articles that commend entire schools for a good year of community service.

In suburban schools, such as Germantown Academy, children are pointed out individually by their local school or local newspaper for good deeds. On Germantown Academy’s website, there is always at least one story about a student who went beyond what was asked of them by their community. The article usually gives them a personal thank you, such as this article about a student becoming a member of the Satell Teen Fellowship for Leadership and Social Activism.

In the Bucks County Courier, there is also an article acknowledging an achievement that a local high schooler had made, which was participating in classes at a clinic to learn medical skills.

From my experiences in Philadelphia public school, I cannot remember many times where an individual person was highlighted for doing a good deed. Usually, the entire class was thanked for completing volunteer work organized by the teacher. Even today, I hear about schools who really excel when it comes to volunteer work but not much about students who find their own volunteer opportunities.

Thanking the students as a whole shows that their combined efforts have made an impact on the community and promotes working together to accomplish a goal that could be too much for one person. Individual praise, on the other hand, can display the selected student as a role model. This ultimately makes them a role model and also encourages the student to continue their work and spread the word to their friends, who might also want to help with the cause. Both tactics send a positive message throughout the community that doing social good can lead to a better society and that it is never too early to start. Kids also enjoy being rewarded, and being able to have a brief moment of fame gives the students a goal to work towards. This can motivate them to try new things in order to accomplish that goal.

From personal experience, the service requirement adds an experience that I can look back to in order to see how I can help my community in the future. It does this because it is easier to figure out the programs that interest you if you actually participate in multiple organizations. So, the service requirement can lead to more students being recognized for their hard work, and praise is definitely a great way to let them know that their work is appreciated and that they should volunteer even more.