Supporting your Local Community
It is easy during the cheer competition and performance season to think about all the things that you have to do over the course of the cheerleading year. Holding tryouts, practicing, going to cheerleading camp: all of these things tend to take precedence over the summer. Once the school year starts, things become even more hectic. Planning pep rallies, competing, and of course, supporting your team at your school, all must become priorities.
As a cheerleader, however, you have a responsibility to support people in your community that don’t play sports as well. One of the things that you and your teammates might want to think about in the future are ways that you can support people in your community. Community outreach is a critical part of the cheerleading world. You need to be able to give back to the people around you, and as a highly visible member of the school and local community, you can really make a difference in a lot of people’s lives.
You and your squad should think about what sorts of activities you would like to do to help the local community. While there are obvious things like going to community food banks or helping at soup kitchens, try to think of other ways you can provide support for people. As a cheerleader, you have the ability to go out and talk to people away which is often unique compared to other groups in your school. Think about going out to local elementary schools and reaching out to students and faculty there.
Going to local schools and doing reading activities for kindergarten or elementary school students takes a big burden off of teachers and community leaders, while also helping to build solidarity and school spirit. As a cheerleader, you are something of a mini-celebrity, especially to the elementary school kids. Being able to use that cache to make a difference is important.
More traditional public service can also be very helpful. Talk to your local community leaders about ways that you can help and support them. Local churches and youth groups are often looking for people like cheerleaders who can come in and talk to their members about the pressures and difficulties of school. Having a peer talking to other students often helps make this information more accessible.
You do a great job of supporting the teams at your school, but you can support so many more people. One of the wonderful things about cheerleaders is that we have so much to give and a burning desire to help others. By really harnessing that desire, you can make a difference for a lot of the people in your local area. You can make cheerleading more than just a sport: you can use the unique abilities developed in cheerleading to improve people’s lives for the better.