<p>I've always had trouble with community service that involved "communities" thousands of miles from where the student lived and cost several hundred to several thousand dollars to boot. How a student presents their local community service work on an application or scholarship can make a difference. DD designed a community service project, sought funding (wrote to local organizations), presented her project, received funding, got other kids involved using NHS (since they needed comm. serv. hours it was a win-win deal), and delivered the project creations to the designated recipients. The supporting organization gave her 3 checks for project materials totalling less than $500. The project was carried out over 2 years and 2 local organizations - local daycare shelter for homeless children and the police domestic abuse program - received the creations (stuffed animals). Not a huge project and maybe not the largest impact compared to other students' projects elsewhere, but her counselor noticed and she received several scholarships, local awards and citations, especially for her leadership of the project. This project did help in college apps where schools were offering/asking for leadership awards/examples as well.</p>