On campus, there are over 70 clubs that have opportunities for students to get community service hours, like the Days for Girls club, Cooking for a Cause club and others.

For the Days for Girls club, their in-school meetings host activities that can be entered into Aeries for credit.

“Meetings are to be a service project where you can get 30 minutes of community service hours,” co-president Mykenzie Holyoak said.

In May 1997, California legislators passed a law that requires students to complete 25 hours of community service that affects students into the present day. The goal of the requirement was not to make the students struggle, but to get involved with their community.

Community service provides benefits such as increasing social skills, improving self-esteem, teaching valuable skills, exploring different jobs and gaining a better sense of the community. 

“It’s fun, like I actually enjoy doing things and being with friends and further helping out the community. It’s just good to have a clean community. Me personally I think they should up it cause I know that a lot of people are struggling in the last bit but I feel like kids should in general be a little more selfless and give back to the community a little more so personally I think a solid 40 hours would be a little bit better,” Maximus Kotte said.

For Jill Kirkpatrick, the hours were easy.

“They were not hard to obtain, I just had to be dedicated to my time commitments. I enjoy it though, I like going out and doing community service. I think it’s different and new and a fun opportunity,” Kirkpatrick said.

The staff also provides students with opportunities to serve.

For example, Parker Whitney Elementary School is hosting a harvest festival Oct. 19th. For students who are interested, the Service Learning page on the College and Career section of the school website contains additional information.

“They’re gaining social skills that go towards their work, future jobs and careers that they otherwise would not be put in a position to do that kind of learning. So, all in all, it benefits you! If you’re doing it for career exploration, it gives you kind of a way to see if that’s something that you’re really interested in or not,” Mrs. Bridget Bonnell said. 

Bonnell, the College and Career Technician, focuses on helping students to assist the community, both for their graduation requirements and for their own benefit.

“A lot of the nonprofit organizations actually notify us that they have needs for student help. We’re kind of like a working liaison between the community and the students,” Bonnell said.

In order for students to get credit for their hours, they must visit the Aeries student portal. To enter hours, go to Student Info, then Service Learning. 

Then, students will need to fill in the appropriate information for the community service activity that you completed. Check out the College and Career page for a more detailed description.

Currently, Aeries is having difficulty when students enter community service hours. The alternative is to print and fill out the Records of Accomplishment paper.

by ISABELL HERNANDEZ & JULES SANCHEZ