Volunteerism is the practice of providing service without monetary compensation. It is argued that adolescents should be required to engage in volunteer community work in their free time. The advantages this arrangement brings to both teenagers and the communities they come from will be shown in this essay. For one, teenaged community workers gain life experience that could be helpful to their development as empathetic individuals. For example, as a high school student I once washed and folded bedding for a non-profit group that provided housing to the homeless in Ottawa. This philanthropic endeavor helped instill in me an understanding of the challenges other people face in their day to day lives. As my experience shows, humbling volunteer work should be made mandatory to help youths recognize and respect people from other walks of life. In addition to being beneficial to young people, adolescents who engage in community service provide valuable work fo...