By: Sharvil Mehta

 Community service is a project to help people and their community by taking time out of one’s day to help on special projects  If people are in need or the community is falling apart, leaders organize different projects and help the fallen community.  Some of these projects or programs are all around the nation and many are emerging around the world.

 Doing community service helped me learn how to work with other people.  At the end of the day, I felt like I had done something useful and helped my community, for it brings a sense of happiness to oneself.  I also learned that it helps make one less selfish because community services teaches one the joy of giving.

 For my FYE class, I had to do ten hours of service exercises to help the community.  Dr. Tillman let us do community service at Valdosta Country Club to help the tennis team, and the other time I spent was at Habitat for Humanity to help build a house.  At my dorm, Brown Hall, they were making cards for the elderly, and I thought this would help bring a smile to a person’s face. I went and helped make card for people at the nursing home.

 At the Country Club, we were basically the ball boys, and we helped put the tennis balls in the right area to help start play. It was very cold that day. We also made sure no one, unwanted, would come into the maintenance house.  The Habitat was very fun, because I was going to help build a house. I did most of the painting for the house, and it took a very long time. After painting a couple of doors, it was not really bad.

This was the door that I started to paint first. It took me the longest, because it was the first door, and I started to understand how to paint better. Zach also started to help me. Haha!!!

 Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit Christian organization that wants to eliminate poverty and homelessness all around the world.  Habitat was found in 1976 by Millard Fuller.  Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families.

Habitat (continued) Habitat operates all around the world through donations and volunteers. If you are interested in eliminating poverty housing in your community, please contact HFHI headquarters for information on establishing a Habitat affiliate. Persons calling from inside the United States can call (800) HABITAT or (800) Those calling from outside the United States may contact HFHI headquarters at

It was a long day, but my friends and I were not ready to leave.