Essay submitted by Quinn Allison,
winner of the 2023 DNCA high school graduate Scholarship.
Why should anyone help their community? This is a question that I, at one point tremendously long ago, asked myself. At such a young age, it’s often quite onerous to understand your place within a society, what that society does, and how it functions. However, when you start to grow up, it all makes sense. Without a community, you are nothing. Nobody gets anywhere without assistance, so it is imperative that you become competent of that principle; and much like borrowing $5 from a friend to buy a snack, it has to be paid back.
I first started volunteering at the ripe age of 12 when I joined my local Boy Scout troop: 477. It was there that I learned a monumental amount regarding how one should act in their community and what they should do to give back. We would do conservation projects at Brook Run such as making/sustaining trails, planting trees, etc.; place down storm drain markers throughout Dunwoody; help with blood drives; among many more deeds. The reason we did all this is because in Boy Scouts our slogan is to “do a good turn daily”. By doing these “good turns”, we were able to make our city, Dunwoody, have one less thing to worry about. And most importantly, it feels good to make a difference, even if it isn’t extremely drastic, it’s still there.
As time passed, and as I continued helping others through Boy Scouts contribute back to our community, it was my turn to formulate a project and give back in my own way–one of the many requirements for obtaining the highest rank in Boy Scouts: Eagle. I ultimately decided on erecting a bridge that would serve an apartment complex in crossing a creek to an adjacent park. It was strenuous, but after completion, I felt great that I had made a difference in my community, even if no one that crossed it knew a high schooler and some of his friends made it. In addition to my service from Boy Scouts, I also engaged in many projects that gave
back to Dunwoody through my church, Dunwoody Baptist. I helped with many food drives such as Rise Against Hunger, which gave food bundles to families around here who have trouble financing daily sustenance. These particular volunteer projects create much empathy towards those who don’t have as much as many of the others in Dunwoody do, so seeing situations like that made me gracious for what I have been given. Likewise, I’ve also assisted in a dental drive for the less fortunate around Dunwoody through my Church as well. While, I am no dentist, and I know virtually nothing about dentistry, I was there to lend a shoulder to patients that had just come off of anesthesia. That was a long day, but again, it felt good to know that I was making a difference.
Lastly, I am also a member of Dunwoody High School’s National Beta Honor Society and National English Honor Society. Through these clubs, I was able to give back to my school, and my community. Over the past school year, in both clubs, we were able to do many toiletry drives, book drives, food drives, and help other school programs set up for events. These weren’t the most difficult activities to do, but I know they did make some amount of change for those that needed our help.
In retrospect, I'm glad I can confidently answer the question of “why someone should give back to their community” and why that is so important. Unfortunately, many people my age aren’t given the opportunities to do so, or they won’t branch out to try. But I think if everyone in the community starts to give back, it could create much more unity and productivity. It can be something as simple as buying a canned good for a food drive, or full-on serving all day at a shelter. Digressing, I hope my contributions to my community helped someone.
