Volunteer work is an opportunity that promotes goodness and life quality. The benefits of community service outweigh the time invested.

For people my age, with the struggle to handle a job, a full course load and social life, it is hard to dedicate time to volunteering.

This semester, I enrolled in the Faith and Community Service religion course and am required to spend at least 30 hours volunteering. I have not taken time out of my schedule to spend time volunteering since high school.

After just a month of community service, I have already fallen in love with helping others.

Some people will get involved in community service to help others, but it is okay to want to get involved to benefit yourself. Think of volunteer work as an exchange.

Studies have proven that volunteering is good for your health. Focusing on someone else’s problems, other than your own, decreases your stress level. This creates for an overall satisfaction of life.

Volunteering is a big career booster. Volunteering experience benefits not just the employees, but also the employers. It can provide you with a range of skills such as leadership, communication and time management.

Creating a bond with others is another perk of community service. The people you meet along the way could potentially become a new friend or even a new networking connection. Everyone involved in volunteering comes from different walks of life; it gives you a chance to form relationships outside your boundaries.

My friends and I have taken part in two service opportunities. We serve dinner every Monday at the Weinberg Housing and Resource Center in Baltimore City. We also bake dinner and cookies for St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Owings Mills.

Making time for volunteering is a small obstacle compared to the overall sense of joy that encompasses it. Helping to serve others can also be turned into an exchange to effectively benefit ourselves.