Volunteering not only helps others, but also helps ourselves. If we are unhappy, offering help to others can make us busy and forget our sadness.

Voluntary activities give us a chance to see our own lives in different ways. It can also help us accept or get used to our lives easily. Sometimes it is easy for us to worry about many things such as grades, friendship and so on. Sometimes we are easy to get angry because we don’t have the most expensive sports shoes or the newest cellphone. We may also get sad easily because of our friends’ words or actions. Volunteering helps us spend more time focusing on those people in need and helps us spend less time caring about our own feelings or things. What’s more, we can discover how lucky we are when we meet those poor people.

In fact, many people find that they enjoy themselves in volunteering. It also brings confidence to them. Volunteering can put them in different kinds of lives by making them meet different kinds of people with problems and difficulties. For example, you may meet some kids away from home and they can’t afford even a textbook. It makes you feel good if you help them have their own textbooks at last.

Generally speaking, doing voluntary work is meaningful and important. We can make a difference in the world. So let’s take action now!

Living in China, it is very easy for us to get clean water. However, in many other places around the world, clean water is unavailable. Take Liberia (利比里亚) as an example. Many people there have no choice but to drink dirty water. Every year, many children die of diarrhea (腹泻).

Destinee Whitaker learned this when she entered high school. The problem worried her a lot. The American girl wanted to make a difference. She shared her wish with her schoolmates. Together, they discussed how to help people in Liberia.

The students decided to donate water purification systems (水质净化系统) to Liberia. To raise money, they held bake sales at their school. Finally, they collected enough money. Whitaker gave a check (支票) to people in Liberia. The local people were excited about the “gift”. They were moved by what the students had done.

Remember: Not everyone in this world has what we have. Not everyone lives the way we live. By putting her “big dream” into action, Whitaker changed the lives of many Liberian people. Then, what can you do to make this world a better place?

This past fall was really unforgettable for me. I was at a neighbourhood pool party on a Friday afternoon. I live in Texas so it’s warm even in October. My friend and I went outside to look for a pair of swimming glasses and saw someone at the bottom of the pool. We thought it was one of our friends playing but we quickly realised that it was a little boy who didn’t know how to swim. I knew something was wrong right away.

We looked around, but the adults(成年人) were talking far away in the backyard(后院) and there was no time to spare. I jumped in the pool, dove(潜) underwater, and came close to the little boy. I swam as hard as I could and pulled the little boy onto a step in the pool. As soon as I got him out of the water, my friend and I started shouting for help. Once the adults heard us, they ran over. The little boy wasn’t breathing(呼吸), which was really terrible. One neighbour did CPR(心肺复苏) and someone else called 120. Soon the doctors came and took the little boy to the hospital.

Luckily, the little boy is doing great now. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get him out of the water quickly enough, but I did. I’ve been taking swimming lessons since I was three years old, and I’m thankful that I’m a strong swimmer.