Published March 31, 2021
By ROSE MATHEWS
Typically, Carmel High School has required students to complete 60 hours of community service during high school in order to graduate, but since many volunteer opportunities have been restricted due to COVID-19, the school has decided to prorate its community service requirement for all current students, excluding service hours for the spring semester of last year and both semesters this year.
Current sophomores, juniors and seniors now need 37.5 hours to graduate, and current freshmen will need 45. Students are typically recommended to complete 15 hours of community service every year, and with this newly reduced requirement, freshmen will be excused from doing one year’s worth, or 15 hours, of community service, while upperclassmen and sophomores have been excused from doing one and a half years’ worth, or 22.5 hours, of community service.
According to Diana Vita, the community service coordinator for CHS, the school is reviewing the number of required hours periodically and has not reached a decision yet on whether to waive the requirement for seniors who have not met the graduation requirement. Vita notes that since the beginning of the pandemic, fewer students have been turning in community service forms, so the reduction of the graduation requirement takes into account pandemic-related barriers.
“I think there are a ton of kids taking advantage of the fact that (some of) the hours have been waived,” Vita explains. “It is harder to get hours now.”
Many opportunities have vanished as a result of COVID-19, such as volunteering for local non-profits, summer programs and conferences. Students also cite personal challenges to volunteering.
“My motivation has been seriously affected,” sophomore Aria Moya says. “I don’t want to compromise my or my family’s safety.”
Although some students are finding volunteering difficult, others have found creative ways to overcome their challenges, going above and beyond the graduation requirement.
“The pandemic has definitely affected hands-on activities in the community,” sophomore Sierra Wouden-Crosno says, “so I’ve had to adapt to other activities that I can do from my home.”
Wouden-Crosno completed 100 hours last year gardening and landscaping, helping the local food bank, volunteering for an organization called Community Partnership for Youth and doing a beach cleanup. She adapted to pandemic restrictions and completed 100 more community service hours by doing another beach cleanup and projects from her home, including making meals and blankets for the homeless, writing Valentine’s Day cards for the elderly and buying Christmas gifts for less fortunate families.
Meanwhile, freshman Alyssa Galicia and junior Shannon Ikemiya have applied for this year’s President’s Volunteer Service Award, awards for students who complete substantial hours of community service within the past year.
“I’ve definitely been doing more community service now that we’re doing distance learning,” says Galicia, who has completed 75 hours of community service this school year, mainly from clubs and school-sponsored projects.
For students in need of hours, clubs such as This Club Saves Lives, the CHS Reading Club and the Math Club have volunteering opportunities, and the school is accepting activities that would not usually be counted, such as tutoring and yard projects.
Students can check the daily bulletin and the CHS website to see what organizations are seeking student volunteers. They can also email Vita to ask questions and submit hours. To submit hours, students should fill out a community service form, which can be found on the CHS website.
