President John F. Kennedy once said, “Never before has man had such a great capacity to control his own environment to end hunger, poverty, and disease, to banish illiteracy and human misery. We have the power to make the best generation of mankind in the history of the world.”
While living at college, it can become easy to build a bubble between yourself and the outside world. Life will continue to move on outside of your bubble but so long as it won’t be on the test next week, there’s a fair chance that you might not pay much attention. It is easy to forget that while we are studying for our tests, or going out with our friends, or marathoning Netflix that the world outside of our bubble still needs our help.
Volunteering can be one of the most beneficial and rewarding activities in life. While volunteering can be pictured as painstakingly passing the hours on a dull activity, West Chester’s Volunteer Fair demonstrated on January 28 that volunteering can mean much more than that.
Volunteering is a chance to make an impact on the world in an area of passion or interest for you. West Chester has certainly embraced this believe as it was evident through their expansive offering of Volunteer Organizations.
From the well-known Habitat for Humanity and Peace Corps to tthose interested in working with the youth, such as Girls on the Run, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts, the variety of organizations present at the West Chester Volunteer Fair still only represents a fraction of groups in need of volunteers.
Walking into the Volunteer Fair was like walking into a warm family party: everybody there was genuinely interested in what you had to say and just wanted the best for you.
The friendly atmosphere of the Volunteer Fair simply emphasized the concept that volunteering helps individuals grow and prosper just as much as it helps the community.
The representatives of the various organizations were some of the most grounded and happiest people you would ever meet, so utterly fulfilled by their vocation in life and believing that not only could they make a difference, but that every student there could make an equally significant difference. The atmosphere in the room alone was enough to inspire people to the belief that they can change the world.
Although the Volunteer Fair was just a few hours, the inspiration that it brought to campus will hopefully last well into the semester. Volunteering is an important part of a balanced life: it reminds us that the world moves and grows beyond just our bubble. Volunteering allows us to look at the world through a new perspective, one that is more empathetic to other people and that more accepting of others. Although the West Chester Volunteer Fair is over, the opportunities continue well beyond its walls.
For any more volunteer opportunities, feel free to contact the West Chester University Office of Service-Learning and Volunteer programs at www.wcupa.edu/volunteer or JReindl@wcupa.edu. Remember that volunteering is important to making a difference in the world. As Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.”
Casey Mullholland is a second-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at
CM806505@wcupa.edu.