x2VOL Blog: Tracking Service Hours at your School

The news is riddled with stories of college applicants bucking the system and working outside of the rules to get into universities of their choice.

College acceptance nowadays takes so many things into consideration when evaluating an applicant. It's more than just about their grades. It's about their extracurricular activities, the sports teams they are on, the clubs they are in, their standardized test scores, and who they are as a person. The stakes are high and students are feeling the pressure.

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. 

Spring break is the perfect time of year to spend time serving in your community. Whether it's through a week-long service project or time spent volunteering at a local nonprofit, this is a great time to volunteer. 

Are you serving in your community during high school? Or are you a school leader has students completing service hours?

Don't miss out on the chance to be recognized with The President's Volunteer Service Award! We have outlined everything you need to know about the award, what it means to receive the award, and how to go about applying. Share it with your fellow classmates or share it with your students! This is an awesome opportunity for all of the students that are active in serving their community. 

You got into your dream university, but now you have to figure out how to pay for it! Remember those community service hours you did in high school? They could be the key. There are many scholarships, awards, and grants for students to help offset and cover the cost of school. Many of these, provide awards based on your service experience. 

It's National Catholic Schools Week! This week we are celebrating all of the Catholic schools and Catholic school leaders that are educating students across the country.

One of the pillars of many Catholic schools are Corporal Works Mercy. Corporal Works of Mercy are deeds and acts by which people spread the love and compassion of God unto other people.

Are you looking for a community service opportunity that is a little bit more out of the box? Check out this list of community service ideas you can participate in to benefit others this fall and winter during the holidays.

There are so many needs in the community and so many different ways that you can benefit other people as we go into the holiday season.

When students participate in community service it expands their world-view and opens them up to ideas and opportunities they might not have experienced otherwise. They learn about the importance of helping others and have a chance to discover an area of focus for a potential future career.

It's so easy to get caught up in admin work and managing day-to-day activities that sometimes. spending time engaging with students can fall to the wayside. 

Talking with your students, seeing how they are doing, encouraging them in school and in service, are huge elements of a student's education. It can be easy to give students a community service requirement, but that process should be more than just checking a box. Students need to be engaged in community service - and that's where you come in. 

She might be a world famous pop star and actress. She has a partnership with Coach and the most followers on Instagram, clocking in at 142 million. 

But, more important that those titles, Selena Gomez is a dedicated servant to her community and advocate for victims of human trafficking through an organization called A21, whose mission is to eradicate human trafficking through awareness, intervention, and aftercare.  Selena has been serving as a volunteer every week at A21 since March of 2018.