There are many proven personal benefits of community volunteerism. Working together with a group of people who have different ethnicity, backgrounds, and views reduces stereotypes. Community volunteerism has also been proven to improve student’s academic success.

Learn more about how you can get involved.

According to Where’s the Learning in Service Learning? by Janet Eyler and Dwight E. Giles, immersing oneself into service learning and serving others has many positive effects both academic and personal. Not only does surrounding oneself with new people and learning how to work together as a group help one improve teamwork and relational skills, it reduces stereotypes, increases appreciation of other cultures, and works to allow young people to find others that they relate to.

Eyler and Giles noted that at the beginning and end of a college semester that included three hours of community service a week, students reported a much higher regard for cultural differences. At the end of the semester those who had participated in service-learning were noted as saying that the most important things that they had learned were not to judge others, and to appreciate every type of person because everyone shares some similar key characteristics.

Community volunteer work has proven to be a powerful predictor in students’ academic lives and college experience as a whole. Studies have shown that students who participate in community service as a part of their college course of study have a much higher correlation of completing their degree. In addition, college students who participate in community volunteer projects as a part of their college experience report finding a much greater relevance in their academic studies after completing community volunteer projects.