Giving back is a huge part of being a cheerleader. Cheerleaders’ top responsibilities are targeted toward others, from cheering on their school’s sports teams to engaging the crowd, spreading school spirit, and giving back to their communities. These five habits of cheerleaders who make a difference in their communities, teams, schools, and in the people around them will help you be the best cheerleader you can be: They are generous. Cheerleaders who make a difference are givers. They freely give their time, energy, attention, and abilities to their friends, family, teammates, sport, and causes. If you need help with something, they can always spare the time. If you need to borrow something, no problem. This doesn’t mean they are pushovers. They just do what they can within reason to help out the people and causes they care about. They make people feel important. Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ” These types of cheerleaders make people feel good about themselves. They aren’t fake, but when there’s an opportunity to give someone a genuine compliment, they take it. They listen to their teammates and take their ideas seriously, even if they don’t implement them exactly. Chances are there is someone on your squad or in your life now who makes you feel important. Think about what it is about them that makes you feel this way, and then practice acting that way toward other people. They notice people around them. This isn’t to say they know who likes whom and notice when someone spills their lunch on their shirt. Difference-making cheerleaders are aware of the needs of people around them in small but significant ways. They instinctively glance behind them when they walk through doors to see if someone is close behind them rather than letting the door shut in that person’s face, for example. They notice someone struggling to carry something heavy and offer to help. Or maybe they can tell just by their friends’ demeanor when they are having an off day. The key is their focus isn’t just on themselves and their problems and priorities. They genuinely care about the people around them and pay attention to them. They are informed. When it comes to different causes they support, like cancer research or local shelters, difference-making cheerleaders make sure they know what’s going on. If supporting breast cancer research is an important cause to them, for example, they know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Or, if helping the less fortunate in their community is a cause they feel strongly about, they would be familiar with local shelters or food banks in their community and any upcoming events they can volunteer at. They take initiative. Difference-making cheerleaders are ultimately leaders, and they organize and motivate their teams to give back. That means that they might inform their teammates that Breast Cancer Awareness Month is in October, and arrange for the team to wear pink to some home games and ask fans to do the same. They could also speak with the school administration to set up donation bins around the school to collect canned goods or clothing to donate to a local shelter. What other habits do difference-making cheerleaders practice?
5 Habits of Cheerleaders Who Make a Difference
