x2VOL Blog: Tracking Service Hours at your School

Volunteerism and community service make the world go around on a daily basis. But what better time to serve your local or global community than during summer break! Students can use the time off of school to engage with their communities. 

This past year has been a challenging one for all of us. Students, in particular, faced a lot of roadblocks including being isolated and disconnected from peers, classmates, and their community while learning from home. 

However, as some schools plan to return to in-person classes this fall and nonprofit organizations begin to offer more in-person volunteer opportunities, students have the chance to get involved this summer. Community service is a great way for students to reconnect and re-engage with others and continue that vital personal development that sets them up for success in the future.

Christian Service Coordinator, Ogechi Akalegbere, is a service champion at Connelly School of the Holy Child. Her primary goal is to help her students connect to meaningful service experiences and projects throughout the school year. Through service, students learn about themselves and God’s love. Service is also an essential component to teach justice, peace, compassion, and faith to the girls. Sixth through 11^th grade are required to complete a variety of service hours anywhere from home, school, church to local nonprofits. Making sure students are involved with direct service is key to the Christian Service Program.

This past year students have had to get creative when volunteering and serving in their communities due to COVID-19. Service leaders have modified service programs. 

The holiday season may look and feel a little bit different this year, but serving others has never been more important! There are some in-person service opportunities that simply can't take place this year due to COVID-19, but there are still many creative ways to make an impact in your community this holiday season. 

Service has never been more important! Schools continue to modify and adapt their service program to account for the changes COVID-19 has brought to the education system. But one thing that hasn't changed, is students' drive to serve others and impact the world around them. 

School campus closures and transitioning to distance learning haven't stopped the students of Newark Academy from serving their community in powerful ways this past semester.

There are a lot of service opportunities to take advantage of in your community and beyond. But for today's technology and online driven students, taking service online can be a great option.

Welcome Back to School! 

Classes are in session, students are memorizing their schedule and admins are getting organized for the year ahead of them. Which means, it’s the perfect time to set up your x2VOL account for success. There are a couple things you can do to ensure you are ready to start off the new school year on the right foot so your students can start logging hours:

x2VOL has received the CODiE Award for Best Social Emotional Learning Platform two years in a row. But what is Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?
Social Emotional Learning is the process by which individuals learn to understand and manage emotions in order to learn empathy, how to achieve goals, and how to relate to others among many other things.  

Participating in community service is more than just a chore or something to check off the list. It can be an extremely transformative experience for students, opening their eyes to a whole new world outside of their day-to-day bubble.