With countless high school students fiercely competing for admission to top colleges and universities, one activity that they all must have included in their application is volunteering. Not only is it great to see on an application or resume, volunteering is a worthwhile experience that provides high schoolers with the opportunity to pursue prospective passions or interests while also performing tasks that will ultimately be profitable to others. At FCPS, high schoolers are required to volunteer 10 hours per year for a total of 40 hours by the time they graduate, or 50 hours if students wish to qualify for the Virginia Board of Education diploma seal for excellence in civics education.

Although the idea may seem intimidating to many, especially freshmen who do not know where to begin searching for opportunities, the biggest hurdle in the volunteering process is in fact the volunteer themself. Students must be willing to devote their time to helping others and genuinely care about the field that they are volunteering in, or else a lack of interest will show in service.

Today, volunteering is made easy as there are numerous online search engines available in which students can indicate their interests, location, and availability, and hundreds of opportunities that fit their listed criteria will appear. Such resources include VolunteerFairfax, VolunteerMatch, Idealist, and many more. Many students use VolunteerFairfax as opportunities listed are specific to the Fairfax County area only. However, personally, VolunteerMatch is a top choice as it creates a detailed profile for each prospective volunteer and afterwards, searches carefully for available opportunities that meets the standards of that individual. Not only does it provide short term, one-time opportunities like VolunteerFairfax, but also lists all the long term opportunities available for students who are interested in pursuing a position in the long run. However, for students who are just getting started with their volunteering journey, VolunteerFairfax would be the ideal resource to use as it is easy to set up an account and navigate, and has the perfect opportunities for younger students who only wish to seek a low commitment position.

Sophomore Joe Wong, a volunteer coach for his summer swim team, says, “I love how it provides me personal experience with children and it gives me the opportunity to see what it feels like to have a job without being paid. I highly encourage that students not view volunteering as a graduation requirement, but instead as a lifelong activity and personal outlet of freedom.”