Community service hours for A.P. Government are typically just another thing that adds on to your stress during your senior year. But it does not have to be this way. There are plenty of enjoyable ways to earn your community service hours and have a fun time doing it. Not only does it get you the hours that you require for class, but it can also provide you a sense of accomplishment in knowing that you did something positive for the community. 

Many students feel that there are no good ways to earn community service hours, specifically in Charlottesville. However, there are many great places, such as the SPCA or the local food bank, where you can get easy hours while also giving back to the community that raised you. There are also easier ways around the school, such as tutoring students or helping out in the writing center, to help students deal with some of the problems that you may have faced throughout your own high school career. 

If you really feel like getting into the spirit of service, then you can do more long-term time-consuming service projects, such as working for Habitat for Humanity or going on mission trips with your school. These are all great ideas, but to get a more practical view of what students this year are doing to earn their hours, I spoke to a few seniors. Senior Aidan Shaffrey said that he was “going to be volunteer firefighting,” which shows that you can do community service in coordination with a potential future career path for yourself, which gives you your hours and also valuable experience in what you may want to do in the future. Senior Camden Elmore, on the other hand, told me that he was planning on “volunteering for Habitat for Humanity,” another great way of giving service by fixing the problem of an insufficient amount of low-income housing for Charlottesville citizens. I also spoke to AP Government teacher Mr. Robinson, and he had a couple of ideas for how students could get hours “here at our very school,” stating that “Mr. Davis would like help with the community garden, and Ms. Vasquez is sometimes looking for lunch buddies for people learning English.” 

No matter what community service you choose to do, it’s always good to give back to the community. You will gain a great sense of satisfaction and achievement from it, as you should.