Volunteering has positive results: personal enrichment, community improvement and a sense of well-being. But you have to get over the first step — finding something to volunteer for
As a freshman, I found myself with a lot of free time on my hands. I didn't have any of my activities from high school to fall back on for something to occupy my time. Having grown tired from boring, listless weekends, I started looking for opportunities for things to do. Fortunately, I lived in a scholarship hall with hall mates who were always volunteering their time to local causes and organizations. One weekend, we went to paint posts at Clinton Lake. We spent another weekend helping my roommate's friend put on a play at Ecumenical Christian Ministries.
Donating time to a community project was worthwhile and provided me with a way to get to know my hall mates and learn more about Lawrence. I had basically stumbled into volunteering. But if you are looking to volunteer for community service projects or causes, there are better ways to find the right project.
The Center for Community Outreach, located on the fourth level of the Kansas
Union, offers special services for students interested in volunteering. Students who are unsure of what they want to do can make use of the center's referral service, which lists more than 200 nonprofit organizations in Lawrence. CCO also plans its own events, such as the Children's Holiday Party in December, and runs 15 volunteer programs, including Jubilee Café and March's Into the Streets Week.
CCO tries to match students with programs that suit their interests. Mark Lyda, co-director and Denver senior, says that students should look for ways to use their existing skills when they volunteer, no matter how unusual the skill may seem. Lyda says that they once matched a volunteer with a hospice because the volunteer was good at analyzing statistical information.
Lyda originally became involved with CCO through its Music Mentors program, which provides private music and vocal lessons to elementary and junior high students in lower-socioeconomic
schools. As a music theory student, he had wanted to make use of his skills as a musician and contribute to the community.
Another thing to consider when looking for a volunteer program is to look at what issues arise passion, Lyda says. Gay marriage, homelessness and developmental issues all have organizations or programs students can contribute to.
But there's something to be said for trying different things. Reba Good, Overland Park junior, started volunteering by signing up for different projects with the other members of her scholarship hall. She's done a clean-up at Clinton Lake, worked on local and state campaigns and helped at Jubilee Café.
Even if you aren't sure it's in your interest area, you can sign up for anything, Good says, who is also the community service chairwoman for the All-Scholarship Hall Council. Volunteering for anything will still give you an experience that you can learn from. Also, time isn't a cause for frustration, she says. You can find time in any schedule to fit in a few moments of volunteering.
Lyda agrees. Several of CCO's programs don't require a huge amount of time commitment. A program such as Best Buddies, which pairs students with high school graduates who have developmental disabilities, requires volunteers to meet with their buddies twice a month one-on-one and once a month for a group outing. "The people organizing these programs are students," Lyda says. "They recognize that students want to make a difference but also have school schedules to consider."
datkinson@kansan.com