This year's Welcoming Week in Northwest Arkansas included dozens of events across the region. The Bentonville Library hosted a volunteer fair for area students. Beginning next year, Arkansas students will need a certain amount of volunteer hours to graduate. Various nonprofits had tables to let teens know about them, and we asked some of the students what they thought of volunteerism.
“My name is Jorge, Hassell Bentonville. I volunteer here because I already have friends who volunteer and they say how important of a community this is, and I just want to get involved with that. So that's why I started volunteering, maybe like two or three years ago. And it's been very fun since.”
“My name is Mia Bonifazi, if you want my full name, I go to school at Bentonville West High School. It makes me feel better about my place in the world. I feel very fulfilled knowing that I help out and that I create opportunities for other people. And I think it's a very big motivating part of me in the future and just getting the goals I want.”
“I’m Dory. I go to school at Schools for Advanced Studies, so that's in downtown Rogers. Obviously, I live in Arkansas, and I think that we have such a beautiful community here, and that is only possible because everybody works together and because everybody wants to have these connections. I want to be a part of that. I want to contribute to the community, and I want to be one of those people who, if you see them maybe on a billboard, you're like, ‘yeah, she does this.’”
“My name is Hazel. Yes. I go to the school for Advanced Studies. To me, making connections in the community is what brings everyone in the community together. I think the root word in community is unity.”
“Jim Preasha. I'm from Grimsley Junior High. At first, I feel like maybe you don't want to do your volunteering. Like, maybe you feel like it's sort of forced. But as time goes on, if you find something that you like actually enjoy doing, then it's sort of like a win-win. Like you grow more and you're also getting in your hours, and you're also helping a lot of people. Do your volunteering.”
Students at the Bentonville Public Library discussing volunteerism. It was one of many events connected to the 2025 Welcoming Week. Combined, more than eleven hundred students attended Welcoming Week volunteer fairs this year, and more than 15,000 people participated in all of the events. Our segment was produced by Casey Mann.
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