VOLUNTEERING FOR WHAT?


By Lee Min-young, Student Editor

 Many students think that volunteer activities are worthy of doing during their school years. They have valuable experiences of volunteer activities at least once during middle or high school. As a matter of fact, it provides opportunities for students to improve themselves personally and socially and even advance their academic goals while participating in voluntary activities outside the classroom. Based on the results of a sticker survey conducted on around 200 students and interviews, Chonnam Tribune investigated why students participate in volunteer activities. The results of the simple survey seem not to be true for most students, but it is expected to show CNU students’ general attitude toward volunteering and their performances.


 
 Types of Voluntary Activities


 Volunteer is a compound word of Latin origin, which is composed of ‘voluntas’ and ‘eer’ that means free will and person, respectively. As a literal meaning, a volunteer is a person who works devotedly for other people or society with free will for free of charge continuously and altruistically. However, volunteer activities may be mandatory for most middle and high school students as a part of their curriculum. For university students, volunteer activities are no longer compulsory so many of them add voluntary service to their already busy schedule. We can see friends who participate in volunteer activities regularly only out of their own initiative. How many students choose to do a volunteer activity as an extracurricular?

 According to the survey results, about 70% of respondents answered that they have not done any volunteer activities since entering university. It shows that only few CNUians have taken part in those activities. If so, what types of volunteer activities did students do last year? According to the 2008 Student Volunteer Activity Record collected by the Division of Student Affairs, CNU, most students participated in voluntary service programs operated by organizations such as Newly Learning Field, Korean Language Assister or Gwangju Youth Music Festival on or off campus. The rest of the students chose social activities, such as blood donation and services for disabled people or orphans, and abroad volunteer activities in Asia, the Middle East or Europe.


 What Makes You a Volunteer?

 What makes students do volunteer activities in various fields? There are many reasons why students take part in these activities. First, many students are likely to participate in voluntary activities for experiencing the advantages and benefits they offer. According to the survey results, nearly one out of four respondents chose to volunteer for this reason only.

Recently, many students have considered a volunteer activity as one of the ‘five inevitable things for employment’. In our society, as corporate social responsibilities like business ethics and society contribution are given a great deal of weight, many corporations have started to employ people who are competent at work and tenderhearted in the community. So, companies are more likely to review an applicant’s volunteer history because it is a good indicator of their active and moral humanity. As a result, university students feel confused whether they should volunteer.

Lee Eui-jeong (Sophomore, Dept. of Philosophy) said, “I volunteered at the 2008 Gwangju Biennale with my friend. The Biennale is a representative cultural event held in Gwangju, so I thought it could help me in my career and I also felt good at the same time. It was hard to control spectators but I met many good people under the name of a volunteer activity.

Second, some students perform those activities because they wanted to volunteer for the benefit of the community. The survey results showed 28% of the respondents volunteered because they only wanted to do good for persons who need help. The most common volunteer activities of this kind are blood and money donation. The Blood Donation Center of CNU is famous for having the greatest number of blood donations compared to any other center located at national universities. CNU started to collect blood donors’ official registration cards to help persons who need it urgently.

A CNU student submits a blood donor's official registration card


Kim Jae-sang (Sophomore, School of Business Administration) said, “At first, I started to donate blood because of the free gifts that come after donation. One day, I saw a TV program in which people were suffering from pain because they did not have enough blood. Suddenly, I felt shame. From that day on, I have tried to donate my blood and recommend it to my friends. It is worth doing.”

From the volunteer activity record, removing oil at Taean beach stands out conspicuously. CNU volunteers worked in groups, clubs, individually or with their friends. It shows that CNUians have concern about local and national problems with a pure mind.

Third, some other students participate in voluntary activities for taking credits as a curricular activity. 23% of respondents answered they volunteered as a part of their classes. CNU operates a regular course titled ‘College and Welfare Service’ which is a one credit class. Students of the class should deliver social services to the
place assigned to them when they have free time during the semester.

Bae Soo-jeong (Professor, Dept. Clothing & Textiles) who has taught this subject said, “I hope students do not select this subject just for credit. If you are a university student, we can say you have benefited from society and your parents. As much you have received, it is right to give it back to society. I wish students do a real helpful volunteer activity.” Taking this class, participating students can serve the community continuously and also get credit.


Yang Eun-ji (Junior, Dept. of Clothing & Textiles) said, “When I first arrived at the Haengbok Rehabilitation Center, I was frightened of the screaming kids, but as time went by, I became familiar with them. As many participants failed to come on a regular basis, children became very disappointed when the students did not show up regularly. I wish students would have a stronger sense of responsibility.”



 Why Do You Volunteer?

 Any volunteer activity is the combination of learning and performing a social service because a volunteer makes an effort to satisfy the needs of those served, while at the same time advancing their development through participating in service activities. Moreover, a volunteer activity is a positive action to our society. To students, volunteer work can give a psychological satisfaction like responsibility for oneself and a sense of achievement. It also helps you to build a solid personality by meeting many other people who are less fortunate than us. If it is team work, we could learn team spirit and responsibility.

Not only physical benefits, it could also be helpful for employment. Some people could easily do volunteer work for personal interest. They think volunteer work is when a volunteer feels that it is more meaningful when needy neighbors have a lower standard of living or their changes come right away and if the change does not show immediately, they soon give up. We should be aware that the changes could not be made in few days or month, but might take a longer time.


 Conclusion


 As we have seen above, CNUians are doing various volunteer services for a diverse number of reasons. They are mostly doing it with content. Thinking that we should act for society could be stressful for us. Take it lightly and just think that you are helping your distant relatives. For whatever reason we volunteer, we should not forget the ultimate propose of the activity itself. Feel the pleasure of the volunteer activity!

 

 

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