Community Service Worker: Is It A Good Choice As A Career?

I've been a social worker for more than ten years. During that time, I've worked in the emergency room of a major trauma center, a skilled nursing facility specializing in the care of people with Alzheimer's and most recently a hospice. I love my job and even if I get frustrated at times, no amount of money could persuade me to quit social work.

Just because I love my community service job, however, does not mean that community service is the right career choice for everyone. If you are considering a career in community service, ask yourself the following questions:

#1. What kind of training and background do I have?

Social work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help improve people's lives. Many community service workers have degrees in social work, counseling, psychology, nursing, or another related field.

But don't despair if you have only a high school diploma or a GED. You may be able to enter the field as an assistant or a "designee." Many nursing facilities, for instance, can not afford to hire social workers so they train a person with savvy and people skills to act as the "social service designee." Although not a trained social worker, this person takes on most of the work social workers do in a facility such as admissions, applications for financial assistance, and discharge planning.

#2. What do I want from a job?

If your answers included themes like money, power, and prestige, you would be wise to give community service work a second thought. Although you can make a solid salary as a community service worker, you will not get rich, nor will you find yourself being interviewed by Oprah or Dave Letterman.

If, on the other hand, your answers included themes of wanting to help people, or at least a specific group of people, or wanting to make your corner of the world a better place, you are probably on the right track with a community service job.

#3. What are the working hours I'm available for?

Full-time social workers most often work a 40 hour week, however, there may be a need to work evenings or weekends to meet with clients or handle emergencies. In voluntary nonprofit environments, part-time work is most standard. While most time is spent in a facility or office, they may be required to travel locally to visit clients, meet with service providers or attend meetings.

#4. Can I handle taboo subjects?

If you are a community service worker, you will have to deal with issues that make the majority of citizens uncomfortable. For instance, nurses and social workers were holding the hands of dying AIDS patients years before the president of the United States could bring himself to say the word AIDS.

As a community service worker, you will routinely be encountering issues such as death, mental illness, child abuse, domestic violence, and substance abuse. You will also have to work with people from all sorts of different backgrounds and lifestyles. Would you be comfortable with a client of a different race? Religion? Sexual orientation?

If you have or are willing to seek out the proper training, want a job that will allow you to make a real difference in the world, and are able to handle difficult subjects and differences, you would probably make an ideal community services worker. Best of luck with your career!



November 3, 2009
By Amy Nutt
The triOS Community Services Worker Diploma Program prepares students for a career in social services work in as little as 39 weeks. http://www.trios.com/

Community Service

The Relationship Between Sports Organizations and Community Service

The relationship between sports organizations and community service exists on at least two different levels: team activities and individual activities. The players may be asked to take part in various activities as a club; such activities would typically be accompanied by extensive publicity with cameras rolling. In addition, players may be asked to individually participate in activities to benefit the community as a whole. In each of these situations, the players may be pressured to be part of the community service, or they may choose to truly volunteer, either as a group or as individuals. In this instance, there may be less publicity.

Team Participation

Team participation in a particular community service project usually involves lots of publicity and may even be undertaken with the intent of convincing other members of the community to participate in the project. The team may appear at a rally to raise funds for a community center, or may take part in a drive to collect funds for Christmas gifts. Usually, the community service activity is a project that will benefit either the entire community or some segment of the community. The star power of the team is utilized to persuade others to join in physically or financially. During a fund raising drive for a community playground, for example, the players of a team may man the telephones to collect pledges, or sign autographs for fans in return for a donation. Although it is a team sanctioned event, the entire team may not always appear at every event.

Individual participation

Another type of relationship between sports organizations and community services is less formal. A team member may choose to participate individually in a particular community service project, simply because he or she believes in the project. This participation may be a matter of spending a few hours each week as a basketball coach at the local community center or Boys and Girls Club. The team member may choose to volunteer at a Blind Camp or as a Big Brother or Big Sister. In this instance, there is likely to be less publicity. In fact, the player may shun publicity for the project. This type of assistance can be either physical or financial. It can even be a matter of anonymous assistance, simply because the need is there and the player wants the attention focused on the need rather than on him or herself.

Financial Assistance

There is little doubt that sports figures are paid some of the highest salaries in the world today. It is for that reason that many in society assume that because players earn more money, they should also be more willing to contribute money toward the general welfare. The difficulty with this way of thinking is that each supplicant looking for help for a community or personal project believes that their pet project is of highest importance. Rarely is there any recognition that the player may have their own schedule of priorities that may not include financial assistance to individuals or community service projects. For sports stars and movie stars alike, there is some perception that since the public is responsible for the stardom, the public has the right to demand financial assistance from the sports star.

Training and educational volunteer

Often a player may feel they get more personal satisfaction from volunteering their own time for a community service activity. They may be fully capable of hiring someone to do the physical part project for them, but choose instead to actively, physically and emotionally participate in the planning or implementation of the project. In this instance, the only reason publicity is sought is for the good it will do the project itself. A surprising number of sports personalities choose to volunteer their time and energy in this way for the good of the community.

Publicity

Among those sports organizations that value the importance of publicity for the team, there can be a great deal of pressure upon team members to take part in publicity type community service projects. This can be to publicize the good citizen aspects of the team, or can even be a pet project of the team administration, owner or manager. Although the organizers of the community service project are usually happy to get any possible publicity for their project, in fact, the sports organization may be just as interested in fostering good publicity for the team because of the community service activities. The more fans that are happy with the team means more attendance at games which in turn can mean more revenue for the team.



October 12, 2009
By Grant Eckert
Grant Eckert is a freelance writer who writes about sports and leisure activities, similar to what consumers read in SLAM Magazine

Community Service

Teen Involvement in Community Services

A teen wants to be a part of society. A child hardly ever bothers about what others think about him. He is innocent, straight forward and says and does what he feels. However, as he enters his teens, he becomes aware of himself as a human being and wants to be loved and accepted by society. In order to foster this sense of belonging and make a teenager feel accepted, teen involvement in community services are introduced in quite a few schools all over the world. Some schools require teenagers to complete a certain number of hours of community service before they graduate. Certain other schools merely encourage teen involvement in community services.

The community services that are carried out by students are on a voluntary basis. The teenagers are not paid any money. Also the service should be such that it should benefit the entire community. Working for a single person is therefore not considered as community services.

There are many advantages in motivating teenagers to teen involvement in community services. Teenagers are going through that phase in life when they want to try out new experiences. All their excess energy and enthusiasm, if not properly channeled could be detrimental to them. Getting teens involved in community services keeps them busy and helps them to stay focused on work.

A teen wants independence. He wants to prove himself to the world. When he takes up community service, he is required to be responsible, take decisions and face the consequences of his decisions. The community services program provides him with decision making skills and makes him a responsible person.

A teen wants to establish his own identity. During these years, he looks for a role model. When a teen involvement in community services is done he interacts much more with adults and watches them at work. He is able to judge adults better and he is able to understand his place in society and his individual identity. Community services could also help a teenager choose his career. For example, if the teenager is involved in community services in a library, he might decide to become a librarian.

Community services prepare a teenager to face the world and he provides him with skills like social interaction, management of resources, problem solving, critical thinking etc which will help him when he takes up a profession. It gives him an idea of how an organization works and the realities he will have to face once he enters the job market.
A teen wants his peers to accept and appreciate him. He also wants adults to respect him. Community services help a teen to work hard and shine thereby gaining the approval of the adults involved in the community service and his peers.

Community services therefore help to satisfy teen wants and make the teenager a better human being. Encouraging teen involvement in community services is a must for all parents.



September 29, 2009
By Sushil Kumar Singh Raghav
Teenagers are really more meticulous these days. This is why TeenWants (http://www.teenwants.com) hopes to bring teens all around the world together and let them experience everything positive and enriching. Sushil Kumar Singh Raghav writes for TeenWants.com. TeenWants.com is the place for games, video, music, shopping, fitness, entertainment and even job opportunities for teens. Check out TeenWants.com (http://www.teenwants.com) for prizes and games as well!