Two years ago, schools shut down in response to the pandemic. Student volunteers nearly disappeared. Today, many anticipate returning to the unrestricted volunteerism of pre-COVID-19. But is going back always the best way forward?
Scott Losavio coordinates volunteer service at a Louisiana high school. He says his school usually requires that students interact directly with people. Packing boxes in a food bank warehouse doesn’t count. Serving meals in a soup kitchen does.
“We want them to have a real human interaction,” Losavio says. That serves to “develop a sense of passion and empathy for people that are suffering.”
But COVID-19’s easy spread made in-person service nearly impossible for a time. Lockdowns forced school administrators like Losavio to lessen student volunteer requirements—and to broaden what qualifies as “volunteering.”
“I basically for the last two years have told kids that as long as they are serving someone who is not family and you’re not getting paid for it, it counts,” Losavio says.
For communities, thousands of volunteer hours vanished right as need increased.
“There’s thousands of hours of work that’s not getting done,” says Adam Weiss, community service coordinator for a California school. He says volunteering gives students “work experience and gives back to the community.” This has value for helping youth “get out of their teenage bubble.”
Even so, Louisiana teacher Kimberlyn Denson sees opportunity even in the restrictions. Her student volunteers must create ways to contribute—like holding drives for canned goods, socks, and toiletries for homeless shelters. “The students came up with some service projects that we really would not have done before,” she says.
Alan Wesson Suarez is a school public purpose program director in San Francisco, California. He says schools had to adapt when students couldn’t leave home.
The students adapted too. One started transcribing historical documents for the Smithsonian Institution. Soon several others joined in.
Suarez is glad the school kept its service requirements. Otherwise, he says, “It would be sending the wrong message to our students about the way we want them to be engaged.”
College student Becca Morrison volunteered during the pandemic for an Africa nonprofit. She was supposed to travel to Malawi for an internship, but lockdowns kept her home in England. Morrison volunteered anyway. “I’ve done so much without even leaving my house,” she says. “I think the pandemic has changed the game completely for volunteering.”
If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? — 1 John 3:17
Why? Developing a heart for volunteering—and being creative about implementing helpful programs—shows love for fellow image-bearers in the maturing disciple of Christ.
Actions have consequences. Click to see a bubble map that shows how one event (lowering volunteer requirements for students, for example) can lead to another.