“Volunteering (志愿服务) makes you look at the world differently. You see how little things can change a person’s life for the better, which makes everyone a better person,” Mason, a volunteer said.

National Volunteer Week started in 1974 and is held every April. It is a time to thank volunteers for their achievements (成就). It is also a good chance to encourage others to take their first step towards (朝向) becoming a volunteer. The following tips can help you to be a volunteer.

★Start out slowly, and don’t add too much pressure (压力). Even a few hours a month can make a big difference someone’s life.

★Choose an organization (组织) with the same interests and common values.

★Take part in a training meeting for new volunteers, even if it is not asked.

★Work with a veteran volunteer who volunteered a lot, so he can help you increase (提升) the confidence and understand the organization’s expectations.

★Invite a friend or family member to serve. It is a good experience to volunteer with them.

★Finally, it is the most important to enjoy the volunteer experience and to remember that not all volunteer experiences are perfect.

Spend some time on volunteer work and you will see great changes in people’s lives. As Mason discovered during his volunteer experience, “…little things can change a person’s life.”

247 graduate students of Fudan University have volunteered to teach the children in Xihaigu region (地区) of Ningxia for the past 22 years. The region used to be poor because of its terrible natural environment. “We expect to make a difference to the children’s life by sharing our knowledge (知识) in different fields,” one of the volunteers says.

The students have different abilities, so the volunteers have used different teaching methods to help them develop good study habits. “Local children had never learned English before, so we started with basic knowledge like English letters and pronunciation (发音),” says Li Lianshuo, a Fudan volunteer. The volunteers help the students remember English words, read articles and deal with their study problems.

“We visit the students’ homes in our free time. We communicate with their parents so that we help the parents understand the importance of children’s education, because the parents didn’t care much about it years ago,” explains Yang Chenhaotong, who was the leader of the volunteer team in 2019. According to Yang, the parents give their children a lot of support in their studies now.

The volunteers have helped the local children with their studies. They have also set up football clubs and held many ball games to make the children’s life colorful. Fudan University has also given away more than 10 million yuan to the region to build playgrounds (操场) and other buildings over the past 22 years.

“Thanks to my volunteer teacher, my life has changed a lot. I will study hard and become an excellent person like her,” Li Sumei, a local student, says excitedly.

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