Youth and Community Service

The creation of a community service program in the Clarke County school system is an important step in teaching young children and teenagers about the purpose of community involvement. It seems only necessary that we all understand that we need to give of ourselves as much as we take. The committee in charge of creating the Clarke County community service program is full of members who are dedicated to teaching youth about the joys of giving back to the community. Though we’ve stumbled on many issues as to the logistics of how the program will work, we know that a clear path is not far. I’ve been diligently researching other schools systems to see how their community service programs work. What I have found are very creative and engaging programs yet each of these schools lacks what Clarke County doesn’t; a high number of underprivileged youths. Are we only supposed to engage those students who have the means to get to project sites after school and on Saturday? The answer across the board is no. There has to be a way to connect all students to the purpose and need for community service.