Amy Zamora

Juniors Maria Aguilar Moreno and Rachel Sung Hlei Tail create cards for soldiers as part of an Interact service event.

With a city as big as Lewisville, which spans 42.5 square miles, there’s bound to be opportunities to participate in. Organizations available for volunteering opportunities include Student Council, National Honors Society and Interact.

The United States Census Bureau, specifically for the Dallas Metro Area, reports that only 18.8% formally volunteered (at local or national organizations) and 43.0% informally helped (for example, they may have helped their neighbor with cleaning).

“Once a month, we do a monthly clean up with Rotary,” Interact sponsor Julie Williams said. “The first Saturday of every month we do a clean up near the Garden Ridge railroads [near Valley Ridge Elementary].”

Having the advantage of living in a city with a big population has its benefits, which means there will be a lot of potential to become involved in the community.

“Some people love volunteering because there are so many different ways you could serve others,” National Honor Society sponsor Stu Hollowell said. “To maximize the good you put into the world, find volunteer work you enjoy and make it regular.”

No matter what the public may view or automatically dictate someone into what they are just by looks, everyone has an opportunity to start volunteering, which can look good on college applications and show a person’s involvement in the community.

“[Volunteering] gives a good sense of moral character,” Student Council president Luca Bella Francis said. “It feels good to accomplish something.”

Someone who searches a place to start volunteering can come from many different factors, maybe from one’s spiritual practices, finding a cause that matters to them. Because he or she was once in that situation, they may want to help the community who is experiencing the same.

“Just taking time out of your day to do something for someone or for an organization without payment and providing a service or need [it benefits students],” Williams said.