In modern life, I think we all have had that desire to make a huge change/ impact in a community, especially since we have all been cooped up in quarantine for the past couple of weeks. But, first of all, if you have been wanting to make a change, how are you going to do that while trapped in the confined living space known as your house? Well, the first thing I'd say to do is to think about how you want to help. If I could suggest anything I'd say you should volunteer for an environmental group, but how are you going to decide between volunteering for an environmental group in your community, or a national environmental group. There is an abundant amount of reasons for why it is better to volunteer for a local group, but I am only going to discuss the ones that stick out to me the most. Those reasons are that a small group of people versus a big group of people will make more of an impact on the community, and that it makes people want to keep their community clean.
First thing's first, let's talk about how it is better to volunteer in a community group because a small group of people will make more of an impact on the community than a big group of people. An article by FrontStream about "How community service impacts more than just the community" states that "Volunteering not only makes an impact on the greater community, but it impacts your family and friends directly... This will teach them that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but helping others and the environment is investing in their future. It’s also a nice opportunity to create group volunteer events, which you and your friends can participate in to make an even bigger impact." It's what I would call a chain reaction. Once someone sees another person doing something impactful, it's just their natural instinct to do the same. A study by Psychology today found that "copying the behaviour of the majority is a sensible, adaptive behaviour." If that is the case, then that means that if you are volunteering for a local environmental group, then it will make more people in the community want to volunteer, causing more of an impact in a community than a national group.
The next topic that should be discussed is that it is better to volunteer in a local community because it influences people in the community to continue to keep there community clean. Again, this is similar to the chain reaction discussed in the previous paragraph. A 2011 report, “Social Impact of Volunteerism,” published by the Points of Light Institute state a numerous amount of ways in which volunteering promotes civic engagement. One of those ways being how it makes others feel obligated to continue to keep their community clean. If people see that a specific area is covered in filthy garbage, they are more likely to litter themselves, but if they see that an area is squeaky clean, they will most likely take the time to find a garbage can, and throw out their junk. Many years ago I was walking down the street in a slightly ghetto community, and there were wrappers covering the grass. I hate to admit it, but I decided to follow the trend of littering, and just throw a single candy wrapper on top of the already covered grass. I didn't feel bad about it because other people where doing the same, and never though twice about it, but when I was walking in the downtown area, everything seemed to be in it's perfect place. There were no wrappers in sight, so I ended up spending the extra time to find a bin. This is why it is better to volunteer in a local community. Volunteering in a local environmental community has the ability to influence people in the community to continue to keep it clean.
With all these facts about how it is better to volunteer with an environmental group within a community, there has to be some pros for volunteering with a national group, right? You see, if you volunteer for a national group you are likely to meet many people which is awesome, and you will be able to help out more communities, but what you have to realize is that you are just 1 out of the thousands of people who also volunteer for that national organization. Don't forget, you'd have to travel a lot too. With these as factors, it makes better sense on why volunteering for a local environmental group is the preferred choice.
Now that we have established that volunteering for a local environmental group is better than volunteering for a national one because a tiny group of people will make more of an impact on the community, and seeing a clean community causes people to want to keep their community clean, I think we know what we should do after this pandemic passes. The time to volunteer is soon. So, let's strap our boots on and get ready to make a huge impact. The cleanliness of your local community is in your hands. Good luck.
