HOW TO GET YOUR SERVICE HOURS THIS YEAR

There are many amazing opportunities right here on campus! You can go to clubs you are interested in and ask them if they do any community service. Many, like the Children Hunger Project club, do. If they don’t, though, it’s ok: here are some other clubs that have great opportunities.

There are a lot of opportunities to be found in Key Club for people who want to be leaders in service. Key Club is a student-led high school organization. They have opportunities to serve, build character, and, of course, develop leadership skills. This organization is making change all around the world, and there's a chapter here at Edgewood. Some things that you might do are cleaning up parks, collecting clothing and organizing food drives. The club helps you grow as a person and as a leader by encouraging its members to take charge. Different members are responsible for running meetings, planning projects and holding elected leadership positions at the club, district and international levels. It is a community-service based club with plenty of volunteering opportunities and great for high school students who want to lead. See Ms. Rawls for information about how to join Key Club.

Another club that offers helpful service opportunities is HOSA, or Health Occupations Students of America. If you’re interested in a career in health, this club is for you. HOSA conducts the blood drive and runs other community service activities. While its members often compete locally with their health-related projects, there are also less involved opportunities in the club. For example, you could help out with the Blood Drive, which is put on each year by HOSA. For information about joining HOSA (or even just helping out), talk to Ms. Czajka. Beta Club is a national educational youth organization that prepares students to be tomorrow's leaders. They recognize and honor high academic achievement and prepare young people for success in life. They often organize homemade card drives for hospitals and make care packages. Participating in these drives is a great way to get service hours- and do some worthwhile work. Talk to Ms. Robbins for information about joining Edgewood's Beta club. If you want to do more outside of school or have something else in mind, you can volunteer at any number of places in Brevard! For more of a variety, like service with animals, children, and more, look outside of Edgewood. These are just a few of the great organizations in our local area, and there are many more out there!

Love working with animals? The Brevard Zoo is one of the most fun (and popular) attractions in the county. If you love animals, this is a great option for you! The zoo is home to over 900 animals from around the world, and there are many service learning opportunities for kids 13 and older. Students 16 years old and older can apply to be an adult volunteer, while younger students can volunteer in the Zoo Teen Program. Zoo Teen has many opportunities for service, including educational outreach with Discovery Carts and live animals, raising funds for conservation and educational programs, helping care for educational animal collections, assisting staff in the Petting Zone and Touch Tank, and more. To learn more about these exciting service opportunities, visit this website: https://brevardzoo.org/volunteer-programs/

If you enjoy working with kids, one of the best child-based programs is the Children’s Home Society of Florida. The goal of this organization is to end the need for foster care by working with children and families before problems occur. If you are interested and can connect with these issues, the Children's Home would be a great organization for you. It is located in Space Coast, Brevard. For more information, please feel free to email questions to volunteers.chs@chsfl.org.

But even though it's great to work on service in our local area, there are a lot of great state or national organizations that could help you get all your service hours. While they may be a little more difficult to reach, the work you do will make the effort worth it.

One of the most popular volunteering opportunities is located in the American Red Cross. The goal of the American Red Cross is to help people with emergencies by using us, the volunteers! There are many blood services, like getting donors or assisting a blood drive. You can also prepare and share a kit drive with essential items for those who need it.​ They have special opportunities for youth volunteers. For more information, visit http://redcrossyouth.org/college-resources/college/.

A great opportunity awaits in Rise Against Hunger. Rise Against Hunger Orlandos’ mission is to end hunger for many communities, give nutritious food, and give help to people in need. They provide communities with agricultural methods and skills for a business. They work with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #2 of Zero Hunger. Rise Against Hunger volunteers package meals and produce many healthy meals and deliver it all around the world to those who need it. For more information, visit https://www.riseagainsthunger.org/take-action/.

Volunteering is a great way to be social and active in or out of school. You can make new friends and find new interests. You will be proud of yourself after you help out others, and volunteering can provide a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Also, if you keep up with it, you can finish your 25 hours for each year!