【星网专讯】Over the year of helping a lot of people, young or old, I have learned the importance of life, family and friends. Volunteering allowed me to express my concerns to improve my ways of thinking mentally and physically.

Students who participate in community service gain a strong sense of self-worth and pride meeting new experiences, new friends, new possibilities, increased independence and managerial skills improved decision-making abilities, visibility and prestige in the community and on the job experience for job advancement satisfaction from helping to build a stronger and safer community.

The people who end up working as a volunteer are people who are civic-minded, who love to have great discussions, and have strong opinions about the world around them. Helping someone brings to me how important it is to be involved in the world around me, no matter where I am or what I am doing in life at the moment.

I have gained so many friends. My interests in community service have grown since being involved, and I try to take advantage of the great knowledge I am exposed to. As a student, I have attained skills that I will have for the rest of my life including leadership, presentation and organization skills. I also now realize the importance of community involvement on any level and make it a part of my daily life and urge others to do so too. Community service, volunteerism and service learning enhance my high school experience in many ways.

The community service in Toronto provides those in need, the necessities are fulfilled by other people’s devotion to guide community members in our society and experience the personal satisfaction and social importance of community service. Current activities encompass traditional community service areas and consulting projects for non-profit organizations. Traditional community service areas include among others education, assistance for the elderly, food projects and fundraising activities for special causes.

Given all this, I cannot overemphasize the importance of students participating in community service. There are hundreds of organizations that need volunteers on a regular basis. Volunteers are needed several times a week at this time of year. While everybody knows the holidays are a great time to help others through local fund-raisers, food and clothing drives, gift donations and more. Volunteers are needed year- round. Students can volunteer at local elementary schools to tutor and/or mentor younger students.

All non-profit agencies are always looking for volunteers to ease their load as they try to help the community. Some of my personal favorite agencies where my brother and myself have volunteered in the past include: Church fund raising and school extra curricular activities, showing leadership skills, picking up trash, visiting the elderly, working through donations, coaching kids’ sports, tutoring math, science, camp counseling and more. I have made friends, try new things, develop career interests, and perhaps even win scholarships, awards, credit and fame.

In order to make the giving valuable, to the giver, they should experience or witness the lives of the less fortunate or sick. Community service is a very valuable way to get something out of life and give something back. Community service can help the more fortunate to understands and appreciate the needs of the sick, the poor and the destroyed environment.

Volunteering in a hospital will help teach healthy people the importance of life. Going into the hospital can help the volunteer learn the value of life and how important every minute of life really is. Working without pay in a homeless shelter helps people learn that being poor is not wrong. It is just an unfortunate way of life for some.

Volunteering in the shelters teaches us that we are all equal, whether we have money or not. Homeless and poor people have families too; they also have husbands, wives, children and even pets. Getting to know people who have less helps us remember that they have all the capabilities of a human being. The people who receive service from volunteers get to have a little bit of a better life and learn that people actually care about them.

People can learn to appreciate the earth by getting involved in organizations set up to help clean up the environment. The land becomes cleaner and the trees become greener. The volunteers themselves learn everything and everyone is valuable. Community service is a lot of fun.

备注：本文获得东南亚社区服务中心“义工征文奖”最具创意奖，根据原文有删改。