Former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965) once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” These are certainly words that millions of volunteers around the world could agree with.

In the US, April is National Volunteer Month, which recognizes and thanks volunteers who lend their time, talent, and support to causes (事业) they care about.

Volunteering means choosing to work without being paid for it. People who volunteer spend their time doing things they feel strongly about. For example, animal lovers may volunteer at an animal shelter to help improve the treatment and well-being of animals.

For students, valuable lessons may also be learned by volunteering. Take Andrew Makhoul, a sophomore (大二学生) at the University of Pennsylvania, as an example. Makhoul didn’t spend the 2012 spring break partying. Unlike his classmates, who planned on relaxing after a term of hard work, the 19-year-old decided to do something for people less fortunate than himself.

He traveled to an orphanage (孤儿院) in Guatemala in Central America. The orphanage is in one of the poorest and most violent parts of the country, and depends on volunteers to stay open.

Makhoul doesn’t speak much Spanish, but he found communication wasn’t a problem: “You communicated with love,” according to an article on his university’s website, “You could see love when you looked in their eyes.”

Makhoul’s first time as a volunteer only lasted a week, but by the end of that week, he knew he’d be back soon – because he saw love and hope.

US author Sherry Anderson once wrote, “Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.” And this is perhaps why volunteers all around the world keep doing what they do.

In many poor countries, children receive a low standard of education. Classrooms have few supplies, teaching materials, and books. One non-profit organization is trying to change that. The organization, founded in 2005, is called the One Laptop (笔记本电脑) per Child (OLPC). Its goal is to provide the world’s children with cheap, but powerful notebook computers.

The computer is special in that it is a children’s notebook. Its keyboard is small, and the machine is strong enough against being dropped. The notebook also has a webcam (a video camera) for taking pictures and recording videos. There’s also built-in Wi-Fi to make it easy to connect to the Internet.

In the classroom, the notebook has many functions. It can be used to take notes and do homework. Plus, students can draw pictures and create reports. It is also an e-book reader, and comes with many books pre-installed (安装). In fact, one of its goals is to replace books in schools with limited resources.

The notebook went into production in November 2007. Teachers in places like Peru and Nigeria are already reporting a difference. They say children are more excited about learning. Young scholars are also making new friends in other countries over the Internet. Children are even using the notebooks to teach their parents at home.

Many experts see technology as a way for the world’s poor to improve their lives. The OLPC’s aim is to bring the “light of learning” into children’s lives. Indeed, with tools like the notebooks in their hands, children are given a sense of hope for a brighter future.

Ever heard of the words “one man's waste is another man's treasure? ” Nabeel Alam has taken that idea to a whole new level.

He and 26 other high school students from Durham, east of Toronto, Canada, started a company that turns unused clothes into practical reusable bags.

Nabeel said the clothing they use is in good condition, but is being thrown away because it's no longer useful or it' s out of style. By repurposing clothes（given by family and friends) heading for the garbage dump(垃圾场），Nabeel can work toward achieving his goal: cutting down on textile(纺织品）waste in Canada. "We give it a new purpose, "said Nabeel, the company' s president.

How does the company work? The students take the clothes and put them in the wash. Then a team member cuts the clothes to match a pre-drawn outline. After that, the bags are sewn(缝制）together by a sewer who volunteers to help the company.

The team puts pictures of them on their website and Instagram so people can buy them for between $8 and $12. Nabeel said the goal of the company named Vivlio Amet—is to let people know how much textile waste leads to climate(气候）change.

But Vivlio Amet will only last for a little while longer. That’s because Vivlio Amet started in October 2019 as an 18-week Junior Achievement Program project. Through the program, volunteer advisers team up with students to help them start a temporary business from the ground up.

Though the program is completely separate from school, Nabeel said it doesn't feel like extra work. “I don’t treat it like a task. It’s something I like a lot,” Nabeel said. “If you want to be successful you need to work really hard at it.”