Volunteering is a form of donation

The recent article "Transforming lives, one student at a time" (AsiaOne; April 23) clearly described the power and beauty of volunteerism.

Volunteers donate their time, effort and energy to help some academically weaker students from low-income families.

With the assistance and psychological support received, these students flourished - brought back to the proper path to pursue better academic qualifications and are now able to repay what they have received through volunteerism.

Volunteerism is a form of donation, which we can inculcate in our society. Students can be taught to volunteer in areas that they are comfortable in or confident with.

In this way, they are not only helping others but themselves, too, as they have the opportunity to hone their skills and improve their self-confidence.

Adults need not always donate money but can explore ways to donate their time, effort, in their areas of expertise, to help those in need.

For instance, those who are academically inclined can give free tuition to students; those have green fingers can help share their knowledge on growing plants; those who are good coordinators can help to organise day trips for students or seniors, and so on.

These are some of the ways we can make our society better and more inclusive.

Lim Lih Mei (Ms)

This article was first published on May 4, 2015.
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