The Growing Opportunities in Community Service Scholarships

There is an exciting and expanding category of scholarships for good students (A/B average) who have also shown a strong commitment to community service. Even though most academic scholarships come from universities and foundations, the community service scholarships are largely backed by large retail companies. One of the best known foundations rewarding community service is the Coca Cola Foundation. Since then, many other retailers such as Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Kohl's and Toyota have also added scholarships using similar criteria. Also in the news lately are colleges that are also offering generous scholarships for community service.

You may be wondering if there is a fixed number of volunteer hours or certain charities that help students secure the best community service scholarships. There is no magic recipe. Before you run out and clock in as many hours as possible with worthy causes far and near, think about why these companies are offering these scholarships. They, generally speaking, are seeking to provide educational opportunities to future leaders of our communities. They want to empower those who will seek out what is wrong in our country and find ways to make it right.

 Be Creative- Students who really stand out to the community scholarship committees are those who have become aware of a need in their communities and consequently executed a project to address it.

For example, if you love animals and want to do something to benefit the local animal shelter, you could report for duty every week and wash dogs, clean cages and sweep the floors, all of which need to be done. However, you could also circulate flyers in your town or neighborhood, informing the public of your project to supply the shelter with towels and dry dog food. Appoint a time and day to drive around and pick up donations that donors have placed in their driveways or attend a specified drop point. Now you have not only shown a heart for community service but you have also demonstrated initiative, leadership and creative problem solving.

This is just one example of how to approach your "cause" of choice in such a way that the organization benefits and you get to build important character traits. You could be similarly creative in helping a local youth center, homeless shelter, adult day care center or environmental group.

If you have trouble thinking of worthy projects, ask your parents, youth leader or guidance counselor for ideas. If you would like to explore projects that other teens around the country are pursuing, visit the teen volunteer website of www.DoSomething.org.

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