Young volunteers make our country a better place
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5 the world celebrated International Volunteers’ Day. It is a day where individual volunteers, communities and organizations can commemorate and promote their contributions to social development at local, national and international levels.
Maybe the best way to describe volunteer work is to imagine it as the glue that holds a community together. It really allows us to connect with the people around us and provides individuals with the opportunity to be part of a motivating group activity.
One of the local activates I thought worth noticing this year to commemorate volunteer day was the special celebration by TASAMY Center, which is a voluntary initiatives development center that is a subsidiary of Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation. The Center aims to embrace the development of group voluntary initiatives.
Many celebrities and young volunteers that were eager to share their voluntary experiences attended the activity. Everyone was especially attracted to a short YouTube video, which describes the feelings of young Saudis performing volunteer activities.
The young volunteer in the video is wearing an empty rice sack over his head (Khaisha), because he doesn’t want to be labeled as a softie, a hypocrite or a show-off. Slowly though, he gets other youths interested in volunteer activities.
One particular comment I liked on the video was from a Saudi tweep who wrote: “what u have done on the video really changed my mind about volunteer work. Keep up this effort and I wish I could be part of your work.”
Fortunately, connecting today to volunteer work has never been easier. With mass information technology at our fingertips, volunteers have a wide opportunity to match their capabilities with various services needed.
If you don’t have a clear idea on the volunteer work you would like to do, then you can ask yourself a few questions that can help you to decide which activity that is most suitable. For example, do you want to make something better in the area where you live? Or are you interested to meet people who share the same values and passions as you? Are you eager to try something new and existing to fill up your day? Or are you looking to do something in your spare time?
Most importantly while helping others should be your main goal make sure that you are having fun and doing things you love to do. When it comes to volunteering, passion and positivity are the only requirements you need to achieve your target.
A Tweet: “Founded on the values of solidarity and mutual trust, volunteerism transcends all cultural, linguistic and geographic boundaries. By giving their time and skills without expectation of material reward, volunteers themselves are uplifted by a singular sense of purpose.” — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
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