With popular clubs and organizations crowding the campus, it would seem that our school prides itself in service hours, seeing as some organizations require them for membership. But whether it’s NHS or Key Club there’s a problem that needs to be addressed as some members of these clubs complete their service hours using illegitimate means.

The obvious purpose of service hours is to make a difference in the community and to strengthen the community as a whole. The underlying reason that these highly esteemed clubs require service hours is that they produce self-worth and respect while promoting good character traits. When students decide to take the easy way out of doing service hours or, even worse, fake their service hours by forging signatures, these great character traits that community service creates are lost.

Community service is one of the six pillars of our school’s graduate profile. Being in a community as competitive as this campus, students will do just about anything to get various organizations like NHS and Key Club on their college resumes; even if it means compromising their integrity and faking their service hours.

If you are a part of an organization that requires the completion of service hours, you have an obligation to carry out those orders diligently and honestly, seeing as you chose to be a part of the club in the first place. Doing service hours is actually rewarding when you are working toward a cause or helping out the community. Knowing you did something good for someone else is far more important than making up fake service hours to remain part of an organization.

There are so many opportunities for service in the community that no one should have to fake hours or do them last minute. For example, Justserve.org has plenty of opportunities every day for reputable foundations looking for volunteers.

If completing service hours is something that’s too hard to fit into your schedule, you may need to rethink the decision you made to join the organization you’re in, because giving back to your community is something that’s worth a few hours of service.