Community Service Is a Personal Commitment
Community Service is a personal commitment, not a corporate responsibility. Community Service, in another word, means doing something that is meaningful for the welfare of the people who are in needs. To involve or not to involve in a social work depends on our own decision, not a corporate’s decree.
Social Services is defined as the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities in enhancing and restoring their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to the goal (The National Association of Social Workers ' Board of Directors, 2011). Personal commitment is an act or quality of voluntarily taking on or fulfilling obligations (Wikipedia, 2012). What makes the personal commitment ‘personal’ is the voluntary aspect. Anyone can become a part of the community services regardless of their race, language or citizenship status. People participate in community and social work because of their desire in serving the society who are in need and their interest in involving themselves in community project.
It is our own choice of whether or not to get involved in community service. Once we have decided, a personal commitment in servicing the community is made. Getting the intention right signifies how deep one’s commitment is towards servicing the society. Ask ourselves these questions: Why am I doing the community work? What is the motive of participating in social work? Do I really have the desire to help them, or am I ‘performing’ just to gain compliments from my supervisors? Being in a community work and a real community work is different. A real community work occurs when a group of true and honest people come together and work with the common goal of assisting people who are in need by providing them resources they need.
Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in (Moore, 2004).
Social Services is defined as the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities in enhancing and restoring their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to the goal (The National Association of Social Workers ' Board of Directors, 2011). Personal commitment is an act or quality of voluntarily taking on or fulfilling obligations (Wikipedia, 2012). What makes the personal commitment ‘personal’ is the voluntary aspect. Anyone can become a part of the community services regardless of their race, language or citizenship status. People participate in community and social work because of their desire in serving the society who are in need and their interest in involving themselves in community project.
It is our own choice of whether or not to get involved in community service. Once we have decided, a personal commitment in servicing the community is made. Getting the intention right signifies how deep one’s commitment is towards servicing the society. Ask ourselves these questions: Why am I doing the community work? What is the motive of participating in social work? Do I really have the desire to help them, or am I ‘performing’ just to gain compliments from my supervisors? Being in a community work and a real community work is different. A real community work occurs when a group of true and honest people come together and work with the common goal of assisting people who are in need by providing them resources they need.
Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in (Moore, 2004).
Cited: Wikipedia. (2012, August 31). Retrieved from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commitment Atlanta 's 100 Black Men Inc. (1990). Atlanta 's 100 Black Men Inc. Atlanta 's 100 Black Men Project Success, 2. Curtis, S. L., & Eby, L. T. (2010). Recovery at work: The relationship between social identity and commitment among substance abuse counselors. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 248-254. Moore, M. (2004, October 26). Mines Eye Information Service. Illinois. Scherr, S. A. (2005). Who should deliver social services? Investigating Legitimacy of Public, Faith-based, Non-profit and For-profit Organizations, 177-181. Teresa, M. (1990). Mother Teresa 's quotes. Retrieved from Brainy Quotes: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mother_teresa_2.html The National Association of Social Workers ' Board of Directors. (2011, June 22). Department of Social Work. Retrieved from Wright State University : http://www.wright.edu/cola/Dept/social_work/sw_definition.htm Turkle, S. (2011). Alone Together. New York: Basic Books.