At first, getting your 40 hours of community service might seem like a chore. But over the course of 4 years, 40 hours might just be achieved from your everyday life: helping siblings at their sports practices, participating in school events, helping out your neighbours, or even just by working with your parents. If you portion it out over the course of your entire high school career, this shouldn’t be a challenge. Even if you put it off until your last year, getting 40 hours shouldn’t be too hard. There are always places looking for volunteers, and some of them can actually be a lot of fun.
Animal Shelters
Animal shelters take in stray or lost dogs from the community and take care of them until a more suitable home is found. Oftentimes, this includes rescuing dogs from the street or even unfit homes. If you love animals, this is the perfect way to get your hours in. Animal shelters are always looking for volunteers, as they are typically non-profit. Take a look around your community for any local animal shelters or rescues and see if they need help. Chances are, they do. Working at an animal shelter is a great way to give back to your community and help out some animals at the same time.
Homeless Shelters
Homeless shelters provide a safe haven for the less fortunate on our streets. These shelters often open up their doors every day and offer a hot meal to those that may be unable to get one otherwise. Another great way to help out your community is by volunteering at homeless shelters or soup kitchens. These places are almost always looking for volunteers. Also, these places are likely to give longer shifts, meaning that you can finish your hours in a shorter period of time.
Check Online
There are plenty of resources online to help you get your 40 hours. If you are in Ontario, check out “Youthconnect.ca”. It is a government website that lists all sorts of other websites and opportunities that are available to students in Ontario. Each province should have a similar website that lists what sort of volunteerism is available in the area.
Help Out Your School
Another easy way to get your hours is to simply volunteer at your school. Helping out events or teachers is an easy and sure-fire way to pick up some hours. Especially if your school has lots of clubs and events, you could use this method to get all 40 hours. Ask your teacher and principals if there is anything you can do to get some volunteer hours – chances are, they’ll help you.
Getting your 40 hours can be a chore, but only if you put it off until the last minute. If you take a little bit of time, you should be able to get those 40 hours no problem.
