A Chapter for Service

Recently I have been conducting numerous scholarship searches. I've been researching different programs and applications, and like many others, feel like I'm behind. I'm a Junior in High School, and it's the end of February. I hear about Grants all the time, but I guess I just didn't realize how and when to go about applying.

I've missed a ton of dealines, but not because I was lazy and didn't care. Because I didn't know. If I had known, I would have started preparing during my freshman year. That might sound a little extreme, but I would have really looked into which types of clubs, activities, and volunteer programs I should be participating in.

So I'm starting now, and I have an idea. I'm looking for merit-based scholarships. I'm in the financial-aid crunch, where income is too high to apply for need-based scholarships but too low to actually pay for college. (Especially with 3 older siblings who are attending top-notch universities). So I want to create the perfect application, of course, to ensure that receiving scholarships is a possibility.

Now, you may have to know that I attend a private, Catholic high school. As part of our religion curriculum, we are required to perform service hours, as well as for the National Honors Society. Occasionally we will be told of volunteer opportunities, but not very often. And students end up making up their hours beause they've eventually run out of time and opportunities.

So, for my school, I'm thinking of proposing the idea of a "Chapter for Service". It won't be a 'club' exactly, because it won't have to be black and white, you're in or you're out. You can come anytime you want. Basically, this group would consist of a committee board of devoted individuals who are willing to spend time to help this group grow. We (lets just assume I would be part ofthe board) would research local volunteer opportunities through schools, parishes, and other organizations.

Could this work?

I have a few ideas, but I really would like to know if the students would actually participate. (Remember there are only 400 students so there is a whole lot of chance involved)

This would show that I could demonstrate leadership as well as display my concern for service in my community. Which would not only help me, but help others with volunteering as well. We are required to perform service anyway, so why not do the projects with some friends?

I haven't really thought about it that much, but here are a few ideas, feel free to tell me what you think or make your own suggestions :)

- A dance party or dance marathon to raise money for any specific organization.
- A volunteer fair, kind of like a job or college fair, only with organizations as the different 'stations'. (For example, the Red Cross booth could show that they are willing to take any volunteers, as well as to show the simple yet often-unthought of opportunities like passing out cookies at the blood drive or calling individuals to remind them of appointments)
- An "opportunity of the week" posted around the school to let people know upcoming events
- An "organization of the month" in which the board would contact organizations and ask if hey would be interested in being part of a monthly drawing. Each month a new organization could be the new focus of the school and the Chapter.

I know it's not much yet, but I'm hoping it could work. Does the idea seem too far-fetched? Please leave any comments questions of suggestions! Thanks

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