Student Volunteering

Service not serving its purpose

The ine ectiveness of current compulsory volunteering

Emma Tomlinson tomliemm000@hsestudents.org

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The phrase “I need more hours” is one I o en hear uttered as the rst semester comes to a close. In order to remain in good standing with the organization, students in National Honor Society are required to complete a minimum of six community service hours per semester. Similarly, each year, the graduating class is o ered the opportunity to receive a graduation cord if 15 hours of community service are completed during the year. e idea behind community service requirements, instilling the idea of volunteerism, is not harmful in itself. However, the behavior that it creates when students do not take part in meaningful service is. I am all too familiar with the “all done with my community service for this semester” mentality, as I myself am a member of National Honor Society and have fallen victim to that mindset, along with many of my peers. is instills pressure to perform community service not because one wants to but because one has to, discouraging future volunteerism. is brings into question whether or not required service hours actually bene t an individual and their community in the long run. When it comes to e ectiveness of service hour requirements, it all comes down to the type of motivation o ered: intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is driven by what a person wants, while extrinsic motivation (e.g. receiving a good grade or earning a reward) can decrease intrinsic motivation. is phenomenon causes people to do the minimum to get the reward and feel no need to continue past the reward once it is received. is can be perfectly modeled by service requirements. People do the volunteering to get a service cord or ful ll requirements but do not continue their volunteerism into later life. Rather than arguing whether or not service requirements should be implemented at all, we need to take a deeper look into the e ectiveness of the current community service requirements and the psychology of motivation in order to create a system that encourages continued service. ere are four basic qualities that in uence motivation. e foremost of these four qualities is activating, which means that the action that is being taken should stimulate a desire to do something. For many students, the volunteer opportunities advertised as viable projects o en fall short of the activation needed to stimulate motivation. e harsh reality is that most students do not look forward to working in a soup kitchen for a school club requirement. If o ered the chance to referee a kids soccer match or paint with residents of a nursing home, students would feel more inclined to serve because they have a personal connection to the action they are taking. is is a by-product of selfdetermination theory, which states that people are motivated by a desire to feel good about themselves, which inspires them to do their most creative and passionate work. Extrinsic rewards, such as receiving a cord, may reduce this feeling of needing to do something for oneself, therefore reducing the motivation to take the good action. Motivation should help one sustain positive behavior in order to reach a goal. If properly motivated, students will be more likely to be successful in their volunteering and fundraising endeavors. ere is no easy answer to creating an e ective community service requirement because there is always the possibility that the o ering of an external reward will decrease internal desire to do good in the long run. e temporary e ects of community service can be incredibly bene cial. According to Harvard Health Publications, in many studies there has been a proven link between volunteering and measures of happiness. In one such study from the London School of Economics, the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness in a large group of American adults was analyzed by researchers, and the results found that, the more people volunteered, the happier they were. Compared with people who never volunteered, the odds of being “very happy” rose 7% among those who volunteer monthly and 12% for people who volunteer every two to four weeks. ere are clear, demonstrated bene ts of community service and required service can allow one to reap those bene ts. However, systems that have compulsory service hours are inherently contradictory and cause students to lose their passion for volunteerism. ose who require volunteering must take a step back and ensure that they are implementing a system designed around e ective qualities of motivation in order to encourage intentional and meaningful service that continues into adulthood.