I am ready to be a volunteer!

I am ready to be a volunteer! Having a boring weekend? Looking for an opportunity to give back to the community? Got a little free time to help others? Then, you should definitely be a volunteer and have fun with it.  There are various ways to get involved and I will introduce some of them based on my own experience. First, sign up for OVP (Office of Volunteer Programs) email list to get the  latest volunteer opportunities every week. I went on a weekend volunteering trip with them this semester and had a great time being an expo volunteer for the  Chicago 5k/Marathon. Weekend trips are a great choice for people like me who want to help others and get some fun at the same time. Usually, volunteers spend half of the time doing volunteering work and the other half sightseeing in different cities. Volunteers usually go as group and can always get group access which is way faster than normal visitors in places of interest. During the trip, I met a couple friends and now we still  keep in touch. When I go pass post boards, I will pay some attention and check if there are any interesting posts. Last year, I saw a post looking for volunteers in ICTM math contest and I signed up. It’s kind of interesting to spend few hours being a timer for preparation part and this reminded me of my high school time. This year, I saw the post and again I signed up for it!  On Saturday, May 7, I will be a volunteer and I hope maybe I can try to do it every year until graduation. Many Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) aim to give back to the community and organize lots of activities. UNICEF have organized couple fundraising, Syrian Refugee 5K, sending books to prison…Wesley food pantry has Evening Food Pantry Distribution regularly and it happens on campus in Wesley church, so it is very easy to just contribute a few hours for people in need. Every fall, students will have the chance to join their favored organization and I hope everyone could consider those organizations. I am always grateful for what I have right now and I couldnt live so happily without the help from my family, friends, and even strangers. Thats why I am  willing to do whatever I can to help others. The world can be a better place with all of our efforts. Hopefully my post can give you some ideas about volunteering! Connie Class of 2018 I am double majoring in Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering and Statistics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. My hometown is a historical and peaceful city called Suzhou, located in southeastern China.