In high school, I did reading for the blind. We also did paper drives. Back in the 70s, I would guess that about 60% - 70% of the students did volunteer work of some kind. Through their churches and synagogues and also through service clubs like the Key Club or the Lions Club...
And most of the students who did not do volunteer work, didn't do it, because they had jobs and absolutely did not have the time.
Back then, I was a science guy. I was pre-med. I became a volunteer at a hospital. That was a common type of volunteer work that the gals did. They were called "Candy Stripers." I am pretty sure that every single last guy there was like me, someone pre-med, eventually looking to be a doctor.
And, it was not only real service, but a real education. Back then, we did not just deliver books and newspapers...we were called to the pharmacy station and we took the medications up to the nurses station. It is a very different thing to work with medication bottles in a real world setting, rather than just reading some text on a page.
We interacted with the doctors, and nurses and patients.
I remember passing by the Post-Op ward. This man yelled out, "Hey kid! How did the Yankees do last night?" He clearly was in a lot of pain. He just wanted to talk to someone, to distract him from the pain. You learn a lot from those experiences.
Also, you know, the entire thing was no big deal. They hardly worked us like slave drivers. We just worked like mail messengers, taking things around the hospital. And it was never a burden or anything.
And, you know, I also delivered something to the room of someone in a coma. That was, you know, a very difficult thing to see. But that is why you want to be a doctor...to help people in pain.
