Mandatory volunteering - Sample

Many people argue that there should be compulsory volunteering for adolescents. Even though community work would benefit the volunteers and society at large, forcing people to work against their will is not a recipe for success.

It is undeniable that volunteering or charity work is beneficial to both the helper and the community. To wit, all over the world, there have been many volunteer programs designed to help the less fortunate that are aimed specifically at teenagers. The vast majority of these programs are resounding successes, managing to simultaneously better the community and provide opportunities for young people to have meaningful, rewarding experiences. Despite these successes, there have not been any legally mandated programs, and for good reason.

People come from varying circumstances and backgrounds, and the obligation of unpaid community work may be detrimental to some. Many people need to start working immediately after high school to support their families or gain much-needed work experience. Some students would do better at school given the extra time that they could spend studying. Thus, it is insensitive and unreasonable to force everyone to do community work; rather, we should spend our time and efforts encouraging more people to volunteer. Instead of mandating unpaid work, it would be more productive to highlight the more positive aspects of volunteering, such as self-enrichment, fulfillment, and the betterment of one’s local community. In this way, not only can we get more people to help, but we can also avoid negatively impacting the lives of those who cannot afford to spend their time doing unpaid labor.

In conclusion, despite the obvious upsides of community work, we should not make it a requirement but instead, focus on promoting it in order to gain more volunteers.

(Band 6.5)