According to the Random House Dictionary, a community is a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality and have a common cultural and historical heritage.  I live in Luck, Wisconsin, a community which fits the above definition.  Luck is a small community where the people share in a common Danish heritage, along with being a rural community where people work in light industry and agriculture.

In thinking about the community of Luck there are many areas in which I believe volunteers could make a difference.  To make our community better I think we need more children’s programs.  This is important because what children see and hear as a child influences them throughout their lives.  Such children’s programs could include activities for preschoolers, constructive activities for elementary students for after school and safe environments for teenagers to meet and socialize.  With these programs we are giving them a better chance to see what goes on in the community, and maybe they will come up with ideas to better their own futures.

Parents are a big part of a child’s life.  Another area where I feel a difference could be made in our community is helping parents to become more involved and a part of their children’s lives. In thinking about this involvement, I feel programs in our community could be developed through our churches, schools, and businesses.  These programs could involve parent education classes, release time from jobs to lead youth groups, and mentor a young child, or giving parents the opportunity and time to be a volunteer.  All the above would allow parents to role model positive activities for children, therefore with the parents being involved the children would be involved. It’s a cycle. 

We, as teenagers, need some role models.  Role models, at times, are more influential than our parents. That’s why I believe a strong mentorship program in our community would be beneficial.  Through a mentorship program, another adult in our community could become a friend and role model to a teenager.  The mentor and teenager could get together on a regular basis to just talk about life’s issues, go to a movie together, or help them with a complicated school subject. A relationship could be developed where the mentor would provide meaningful activities and values to help the teenager make wise decisions about their future. Sometimes it helps to listen to an adult who is not a parent because this person is not telling a teenager what to do but maybe talking from experience and letting a teenager make the choice. 

We, as teenagers, could be role models for younger children. Teenagers could play with younger children and show them how to treat others as they would like to be treated themselves.  Teenagers could provide an opportunity to comfort a child if he or she are hurt or are feeling lonesome.  Teenagers could help young children with homework and read to them to enrich their lives and help them make wise decisions about their futures.  This would give teenagers a chance to prove our maturity and let us see what influence we have on the children and the community.

I believe that I could be more involved as a teenager in my community. This involvement could be in a variety of areas.  I could help out the elderly by raking their yard, helping them with grocery shopping, or just being a friend and visiting with them. In befriending this segment of our community I would gain valuable insight into the past, learn from their experiences and gain a respect for their values and hard work. Leading a Sunday school class in a series of group activities is another way in which I could be involved in my community.  Such activities could be doing a food shelf collection, befriending someone with a developmental disability, or cleaning up a community park.  In addition, I could be a volunteer in an organization that provides services to a community.  An example of this is working in our local community library. At the library, I could read stories to preschoolers, help the librarian shelve books, and assist patrons in using computers.  Volunteers can always use a hand.  I think the community would love to see the teenagers more involved. 

I have done a few activities for the community.  First of all, I am in Little Butternut 4-H Club.  In this club, I am the president.  As president I am a role model and a mentor for a small group of children.  I teach them leadership skills, respect, and how to get involved in club activities.  I am also involved in the church youth group.  There we do many activities with the elderly.  We did such activities as rake their yard or, if needed, help them clean and keep up their houses. Lastly, I have volunteered at a local daycare center.  I helped with keeping the children entertained, preparing snacks, and putting them down for naps.

As one can see, there are many needs for service to be done in our community.  It is the coming together of all community members to build strong and healthy places for the young and old to live.  Through my efforts in volunteering, I have tried to make my community a better place to live.