There are many reasons parents encourage children who express an interest in volunteering.

Volunteering is a social activity that can help children develop their social and networking skills, and many parents credit volunteering for instilling in their children a perspective they might not have gotten. ‘they hadn’t been exposed to people from different backgrounds.

Volunteering has also been linked to better academic performance. The Corporation for National and Community Service reports that students who report they are doing better in school are more likely to volunteer than students who report doing less well. Expanded exposure to people and places that students might not otherwise meet without volunteering can also benefit them in the classroom, helping them more easily identify with the cultures and societies they are studying. College applicants with volunteer experience may also stand out in the increasingly competitive application process. Although a 2019 Pew Research study found that most schools admit more than two-thirds of their applicants, that figure is significantly lower in many of the top-rated institutions in the United States. For example, Stanford University (4.3%) and Harvard University (4.9%) recently reported acceptance rates below 5%.

While volunteering alone does not help applicants gain acceptance into such competitive institutions, it can be a strong resume creation tool and be even more effective if it also produces the improvements noted previously in the area. academic performance.

Story courtesy of Metro Creative Connection