To graduate, every Scottie has to rack up a minimum of 40 community service hours. But where–and how–are we supposed to get all those hours? Today, we’ll be going over some ways to find yourself volunteer work to do. Whether you’re a senior running out of time, a junior trying to get on track, or a freshman or sophomore just trying to get ahead, hopefully this will steer you in the right direction.
Check your email
If you open your school email right now, you’ll undoubtedly see at least a few emails from either Lauren Knuth or Danika Markey with ‘Community Service’ in the subject header. Search your email at the top by entering one or both of their names, and start opening a few to see which ones you’re interested in or willing to do. Each email will contain a date, a time, and a link for you to sign up with extra info. Set aside some time on the dates you pick, and you’ll be surprised just how much community service you’ll get out of the way just by signing up for things.
Participate in Drives
Every few months or so, a club or the library will hold events such as canned food drives or used clothes drives. These are donation events that you can participate in by grabbing food or old, clean clothes you aren’t using anymore and donating them to people in need–and it’s typically as easy as bringing the items to school and handing them off to the right person. Pay attention to fliers posted around campus or emails with the details. You can earn a surprising amount of hours and help your community in the process.
Join Clubs
Some clubs, like JustServe and Scottie Restore, offer community service hours by participating in their club activities.
- JustServe Club: JustServe meets in room 60 on Wednesdays during lunch, and you can earn a decent amount of time just by showing up. Attending meetings also gives you information on larger events that will award you with even more time if you go. It’s another great way of providing support to your community and getting one of your graduation requirements out of the way.
- Scottie Restore: Scottie Restore meets in room 550 on Tuesdays during lunch and Thursdays after school. There, you receive training in the beginning of the year to hold discussion circles, with the training itself awarding a few hours. Throughout the year, you can offer students an alternative to detention by talking with them through their infractions, and earn community service hours in the process. With many meetings spanning over the school year, it’s a solid opportunity to help your peers and max out your hours.
Journalism
You can also participate in our newspaper, the Highland Fling, to earn community service hours! Throughout the remainder of the Spring 2025 semester, come by room 60 on Thursdays after school to write and edit articles. For each article you write, you get one community service hour. Additionally, following through with the article and getting it edited and published gets you an additional hour–and if you help someone with the editing process, you can get a half hour as well. If you’re in need of hours and need them soon, we’d love to have you write a few articles!
Overall, there are a multitude of ways to find the work you need to get your community service hours. Remember, the most important thing is to not delay–get them over with while you can. You don’t want to be scrambling to get them done in the last few weeks of your senior year (like some people are right now).