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As I sat in front of 50-some pairs
of unresponsive eyes I began to question my initial decision to speak. I'd been a
member of a group called ImPACT for two years and when my friend Curtis invited me
to speak at the Learn and Service America Conference in Binghamton, New York, I was
honored. I joined ImPACT because I was interested in meeting new people and in doing
something for the Ithaca community. At the first meeting we were asked to give our
own definitions of community service. This is what I intended to talk about at the
conference.
Tentatively, I listed several of my projects at ImPACT, including work with the SPCA,
preparing food at a local soup kitchen, restoring trails at a nature preserve, and
renovating a house for the Economic Opportunities Commission. My list was received
with blank stares and a handful of approving nods. In an effort to involve my audience
I asked them to answer a question: "What do you think of when you hear the words
'community service'?" At first the room was silent, then very slowly, people
began to speak up. Some associated the words with punishment--the hours of community
service that must be served by minors for breaking the law. Others chimed in with
things like "picking up trash" and "working in a soup kitchen."
Their responses were what I had expected. With growing confidence and a now steady
voice I encouraged them to explore other possibilities. "What would you say
if I said that talking to a friend is a form of community service?" The answers
were varied, but people's initial response was "No it isn't." However,
I convinced them otherwise, explaining that talking brings people together and forms
the bonds that make a strong community. You provide a service every time you console
a friend or share your ideas with other people. Community service does not have to
feel like an obligation.
As the discussion continued, I could almost feel a wave of understanding pass through
the audience. People began speaking up and sharing their own ideas of service, and
within minutes we had formed our own sense of community in the conference room. I
had accomplished what I had come to do. I had shown people that community service
is what you make it, and given the audience and myself new ideas to put to future
use.
--Amy
Chapman (Ithaca High School)
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