This is what I was originally going to write about the other day, community service. There was an article in the paper last weekend about community service. In Maryland, community service is required to graduate high school; it sounds like in Virginia it's recommended but not required. I don't know the specific requirements for Maryland, but it sounds like it's quite a bit. I'm surprised that this is a requirement to graduate. I can see how some kids would find it hard to find time for community service and even more how they would find the motivation if it was required, not something they wanted to do. I can also see the last minute panic to get the time in and then fill out the follow up paperwork to get it counted.
Community service or volunteering is something we do as a matter of course in our family. All of us at some point have volunteered at our church doing all sorts of things, from helping with children's programs, leading the youth, to working with the mission trips to DC to feed/clothe the homeless. Bob and I also volunteer outside of church, me with Girl Scouts, him with different things related to his work. I'm sure by the time the girls graduate they will have quite the accumulation of volunteer hours. I do track them since there's various awards they can earn as Girl Scouts based on the type of community service and the number of hours they complete. Our Council has an award you can earn based on hours to the GS community, international community, and government. It's a lot of hours to do but they can do it, they just need to look out for the opportunities.
