Community Service Reflection Paper

I worked with Oesophageal Cancer Fund (OCF) for Service Learning. In the course of this semester, I observed differences in the volunteer culture between Ireland and United States. I enjoyed working with students from a different country as I am.

During the project, I learned from the challenges I came across. I participated in recruiting volunteers at the Volunteer Fair and bucket collecting on Lollipop Day.

During the Service Learning experience I realized the volunteer culture in Ireland is much different than in the United States. I am studying at University College Dublin for one semester on a study abroad program. Student organizations at universities in the United States encourage and facilitate opportunities for their members to volunteer. One of the student organizations I was involved in at my home university requires ten volunteer hours per semester, which forced me to complete community service hours. My home university, Virginia Commonwealth University, has services that organize and connect students to volunteer opportunities. In the United States volunteering is quite common. On the other hand, in Ireland, volunteering doesn’t seem as common nor popular. Charities in Ireland overall have a bad reputation because of former CEOs pocketing donation money. The local students in my group informed me that they have only volunteered with school when they were younger, confirming that volunteering is not common amongst university students in Ireland. Most students