Community Service Scholarships
Many scholarships take into consideration your dedication to the surrounding community and your willingness to help others. Academic scholarships and athletic scholarships often look to see if you have volunteered or performed community service in order to get a sense of your character.
However, there are scholarships that focus on community service as well. So rather than volunteering being an “icing on the cake” aspect of your application, it is the focus. If you are particularly dedicated to your community and thoroughly enjoy volunteering and helping others regardless of the tasks you need to perform, community service scholarships may be the perfect things to help you pay for college.
Types of Community Service Scholarships
There are numerous different kinds of community service scholarships currently available for all different kinds of students. In fact, many different places that utilize the services of young people offer scholarships to outstanding volunteers. Some places that offer such scholarships are places that provide medical care such as hospitals and nursing homes, places of worship such as churches and synagogues, and veterans’ groups.
So, you see, just about any place that would require the hard work and efforts of young people may offer scholarships for truly committed volunteers. A lot of community service scholarships are provided by organizations and companies devoted to giving back to the public, such as AmeriCorps. Many of these sorts of awards require that you be nominated for it.
Another form of community service scholarship is available thorough the Federal Work Study Program. When you fill out the FAFSA and receive your award letter, you will have the option to indicate if you are interested in Federal Work Study. The program basically involves working at a designated job in order to earn your financial aid money. A lot of these jobs are campus jobs, working in the bookstore or the library.
However, at least 7% of Federal Work Study money has to be given to students that work in community service jobs. You will need to indicate that you are interested in this sort of work by letting your school of choice know as soon as possible. That way they can place you as a reading tutor or some other school-related, but community oriented job.
How to Find Community Service Scholarships
Community service scholarships are listed in all of the big scholarship directories online and in books. However, if you want to get a handle on these awards quickly, try using an online matching service such as FastWeb or College Board. Both of these sites are free and all you have to do is enter some information about yourself, answer some questions and you’ll be matched to scholarships you may qualify for within minutes. Of course, always take the time to browse and search the directories on your own as well to find those hidden gems.
You can also try just searching for “community service scholarships” or “volunteer scholarships” in a search engine. You’re bound to come up with several leads that way. Or, you can always go it the ancient route and visit your local library. Ask the librarian about where to find books on scholarships and they’ll no doubt be able to help you. Just remember to follow up on the validity of these listings. Some may be quite dated, so be sure to type them into Google or call any contact numbers before you start perfecting your essay.
Community service scholarships really don’t differ all that much from your standard scholarship. The focus just lies on volunteerism, that’s all. So, if you provide for your community often and enjoy helping others, then a community service scholarship may very well be the perfect scholarship type for you.