Volunteers

	I’m Jack. I’m 12 years old. I’m from London. I like gardening. I often help my neighbors with their gardens. In spring, I help them plant trees and flowers. I often help them water the plants in the gardens. They often give me some beautiful flowers to thank me.
	My name is Grace. I am 11 years old. I come from Sydney. I like helping the children in the hospital. I often give them some toys and books. When I go to see them, I often play toys with them. They all like me and now I often write letters to them.
	I’m Tom and I’m 13 years old. I’m from New York. I take part in neighborhood clean-up. On weekends I often take a bag to do some cleaning work with my friends. I pick up the dirty things and put them into the bag.
	I’m Lily. I’m 14 years old. I come from Vancouver. I like helping the old neighbors in our community. They can’t walk quickly so I often walk the dogs for them. On weekends I help them do some shopping. They all like me.

A little girl stood near a small church. She wanted to leave because it "was too crowded." "I can't go to Sunday School", she cried to the pastor（牧师）as he walked by. The pastor guessed the reason, and taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday School class. The child was so touched that she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place in the school.

Some years later, this child was dying because of bad illness in one of the poor building. And the parents sent for the kind-hearted pastor to meet their daughter. As her poor little body was being moved, they found a worn purse. Inside was 57 cents and a note which read, "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School." For two years she had saved for this offering of love. Carrying this note, the pastor told people the story of her unselfish love.

A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a Realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands. When he was told that the church could not pay so much, he offered it for 57 cents. Church members gave away a lot of money. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years, the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000, a huge sum for that dine.

When you are in the city of Philadelphia one day, look up Temple Baptist Church, with 3300 seats in it. Have a look, too, at a Sunday School building. It is so big that no child in the area will ever need to bf left outside during Sunday School time.

I’m 17-year-old Nadia Clarke. This summer I got the chance to spend a month helping out in a hospital in Africa as a volunteer. I wanted to study medicine at university, so I thought it was a perfect chance for me to get some experience and to see if I really wanted to be a doctor.

That month changed my life. It introduced me to a world quite different from mine. I was surprised to see how poor and difficult so many local families were. However, I was amazed at the ways that they spent their daily lives positively (乐观地).

I think many people here in the UK haven’t realized how lucky they are. My work in the hospital was hard. I spent a lot of time cleaning floors and changing sheets (床单). In addition, I spent some time looking after the sick. I got the chance to talk to some doctors and ask them about the job. I saw some bad things in the hospital, but none of them changed my mind about being a doctor.

Now, I know exactly what I’m going to do. I want to work for an international organization like the Red Cross or Medecans Frontiers. Many people aren’t so lucky as me in life. I’d like to spend my life helping them, and I can’t wait to get started.