Free US Law Dictionary

Community Service

Community service refers to service that a person performs for the benefit of his or her local community. People become involved in community service for a range of reasons — for some, serving community is an altruistic act, for others it is a punishment.

The term "community service" therefore refers to projects that members of certain youth organizations, such as the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, JROTC's and some high school students perform. It is also an alternative sentencing technique in a justice system. And at times groups of people will commit to perform service to the community as a gesture to the larger community, as part of gift economics. Mandatory Community Research has recently increased in many schools in the United States. A study was done to prove, students who maintain a weekly community service record, 85% of the time, are more likely to succeed and have a higher grade point average than those who do none at all.

Examples of community service projects include (but are not limited to):

• cleaning a park;
• collecting much needed items including clothes, shoes, food, blankets, etc.;
• getting involved with Habitat for Humanity;
• helping colorblind children;
• cleaning up the side of the highways or roads;
• reading to the elderly in nursing homes;
• helping out a local fire or police department;
• performing health assessments;
• helping out at a local library;
• tutoring developmentally disabled children for free; and
• participating in school activities that benefit community.