National Honor Society is a nationally recognized award that recognizes academically achieving student volunteers and the hard-earned efforts students make to help out within their community. There has been a lot of debate on the proper way to complete their required hours. First-year NHS volunteers have to complete 30 hours and three group projects, and second-year volunteers have to complete 20 hours and three group projects. The National Honor Society’s main goal is for students to make a real impact on both the surrounding community and to make long-lasting, meaningful connections to people within the community.
My first tip for those participating in the NHS is to volunteer over the summer. You can transfer ten hours from the summer onto your completed hours. Completing these hours in the summer when you don’t have other obligations, such as school and sports, makes the volunteering process during the school year far easier and more manageable. You can do little things that fit into your day-to-day life. Volunteering is about helping your community, so find opportunities that already fit into your schedule and routines.
Due to the main goal of making true connections to individuals within your community, NHS leaders push students to volunteer within one community and continue to develop different connections within that space. As I said before, volunteering can fit into your daily routine. There are numerous ways to complete your required individual hours, so your volunteering can feel like a true connection to your community rather than a burden of getting your required hours completed. I know many people who volunteer at their church or temple during their weekly service. This is a fantastic way to continue to connect with your community as well as fit volunteering into your schedule. Not only can you connect with current communities, but reconnect with old ones. Each of Park’s elementary schools has volunteer programs where students can go in the mornings and either help kids with their school work or assist the teachers around the classroom. Students can go back to their elementary school and reconnect with their old teachers and help the future generation. Additionally, numerous local businesses and sports teams appreciate any help they can get. I know many people who completed their hours at businesses such as ARC’s Value Village, local bakeries and as coaches in youth sports teams. Students who help manage sports at the high school can also get countless volunteer hours as they go to all practices and games. By managing a sport, students not only help their community but also create connections with players and coaches.
As for the required three group projects, Park’s NHS program makes it incredibly easy to accomplish these projects. For a project to be considered a group project, there needs to be 10 or more NHS volunteers participating. This means you can create a project on your own or you can do a project through the program. Many people create Feed My Starving Children sessions and invite everyone, as this can count as a group project. However, it is not your responsibility to create your group projects—there are ones supplied to students throughout the entire year. Throughout the year, there are countless group project opportunities such as blanket tying, trash pick up, teacher help day or writing letters to local children’s hospitals. There are over 10 opportunities supplied to students throughout the year, making it easy for NHS volunteers to complete their required three projects.
Overall, the National Honor Society not only looks great on a resume or college application, but is a great way to connect with your community. Through NHS, I have created many new connections and relationships that I will always remember. The ideas that I supplied above are only a glimpse of the numerous opportunities that are out there, you just need to reach out and ask. Volunteering should be an easier process, and it is a great way to help the people who surround you in your daily routines.
