When Ariel Cordova, 30, rode her bike to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York, last November, she planned to go hiking and bird-watching.

A mile into her walk, she noticed a pretty swan（天鹅）near the stream. Cordova, who had worked at the Wild Bird Protection Center in Manhattan, knew that kind of swan was usually very aggressive（好攻击的）. But as she walked close to this one, it didn’t move.

She was certain that the bird needed medical care. Cordova dropped her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm, carefully picked it up, and held it in her arms. And then a thought came to her: What should I do next?

Her best choice was the Animal Care Center but that was on the other side of town, across the East River. How was she going to carry a 17-pound swan on her bike all that way? Luckily, some strangers driving by offered her, her bike, and the swan a lift to a nearby subway station.

Cordova called the center. An animal-care worker picked her up at the subway station and drove her and the sick swan back for medical services. They found that the swan might have lead poisoning（铅中毒）, caused by fishing lines. Sadly, even with all the efforts, the swan died two months later.

It may sound a sad ending, but the real story is that many people are willing to save the swan in the big city. In all, Cordova traveled two hours on foot, by car and subway. “That’s the perfect summary of who she is,” said Mr. Higginbotham, manager of the center.

Each country has many kind people who volunteer to take care of others. For example, some high school and university students in the US often spend many hours as volunteers in hospitals or old people’s homes. They read books for the people or they just visit them and play games with them or listen to their problems.

Other young volunteers go and work in the homes of the sick people. They clean up their houses or do the shopping. For boys who don’t have fathers there is an organization called “Big Brothers”. University students and other people take these boys to play baseball games and help them get to know things that boys usually learn from their fathers.

Each city has a lot of clubs where boys and girls can go to play games or take part in other activities. Some of these clubs show movies or have short trips to the mountains, the beaches or the museums. Most of these clubs use a lot of high school and university students as volunteers because they can understand the problems of these boys and girls more easily.

Volunteers believe that some of the happiest people in the world are those who help to bring happiness to others.

Here’s something people don’t often think about: Helping helps even when there’s not a problem.

Getting into the habit of giving and receiving help builds good relationships. It makes us feel more care. It stops stress from building because we know someone else is thinking about us. And if there is a problem, we’re sharing it before it gets too serious. It just feels great to help.

Try these small practices at home and see how they make you feel:

· Help your little brother or sister with a homework problem.

· Help your mom prepare dinner.

· Help your dad carry living goods.

· Offer to do a chore that’s not usually yours.

There’s more to it than just feeling good: Kindness is contagious. It can create more kindness. So you might start to notice your family (or friends) reaching out to help more.

Just don’t fall into the trap (陷阱) of expectation (期待). If we help out only because we expect the other person to do something in return, we will probably end up feeling disappointed and angry instead of happy and fulfilled. So decide to help simply because of the positive feelings it creates. Then, when someone else does something nice for you (and it will happen), it’s a wonderful surprise.

Giving and receiving is one of the most basic friendship skills. With a good network of supportive people, we are less stressed. We feel loved and understood, so we’re better able to solve problems, come back from disappointments, and try again.