时间：2022-09-05 12:58:30
Getting Started
I started volunteering when I was in the sixth form[年级]. I joined SVP注 with a few of my friends and we would spend a couple of lunchtimes a week at a local primary school, organising activities for the children and supervising[指导] them. It was something different to do; we thought it would be fun and look good on our CVs[履历，Curriculum Vitae].
While I was at university, my mum joined a local centre for Riding for the Disabled Association[协会](RDA) and volunteered as a helper, supervising the disabled children and adults. Whenever I went home during the week I would help with the children’s session[集体，集合], either supporting a child at the side of a pony or leading a pony. I rode from an early age so I’m very comfortable working with horses and know how to handle them. Being a part of RDA has enabled me to combine my love of animals with my love of working with children.
Nothing quite gives me the same satisfaction as volunteering. What you don’t notice at the time is how much difference it can also make to you. I have watched children at the riding centre as they progress into confident riders―it’s nice to know I helped them achieve that. It’s amazing how much difference an hour or two a week can make to someone.
Volunteering Abroad
I also became involved in the Campaigns[（政治或商业性）活动] Forum at university, and was particularly active in the Student Stop AIDS group. This led me onto various voluntary[志愿的] roles.
In my third year I heard about a trip to Kenya being organised for July and August of the upcoming summer. The trip involved helping to build a health centre in aid of[用以援助] Widows[寡妇] and Orphans International in association with[与……联合] The Kenyan Orphan Project. Each student going had to raise ￡500 for the cost of materials for the building. I signed up for the trip with a group of friends. I’d always wanted to go to Kenya as my dad was born and spent his childhood there, and I grew up listening to stories about the country. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to see some of the country, go to the areas that the tourists don’t see and do some completely different voluntary work. I also wanted to use some of the Swahili I’d been taught growing up.
The trip to Kenya is something that I’ll never forget. Going there, meeting the people, witnessing their generosity[慷慨] and doing something, no matter how small, was such an amazing experience. The harsh reality that the people (particularly the street orphans) have to face is something that I’d never had to contemplate[沉思] before. It was a very humbling[令人羞辱的] experience and affected[感动] everyone on the trip. None of us could really put into words our reactions at seeing the street orphans and the generosity that the widows of a local village had shown us.
Volunteering for Me
Since the trip to Kenya, I have wanted to do voluntary work that engages[引起兴趣] me, benefits others and would help further my career. I am now a volunteer at a local museum. My work at the museum has given me unique opportunities to get marketing, research, design and photography experience.
I am gaining skills and insight[洞察力] into life that, without volunteering, I simply would not have. It has enabled me to do work that I love and that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to do as a graduate with limited experience. Volunteering has got me out of comfortable lazy habits and the endless routine[例行公事] of applying for[申请] jobs that many graduates become trapped in. From a career perspective[观点], voluntary work is a brilliant way of gaining valuable skills and experience, but personally it has shown me different walks of life[各行各业], given me amazing experiences and provided me with a unique perspective on life. I would not be who I am today without it.
起步
我从六年级开始参与志愿活动。我和几个朋友加入了圣文森特德保罗协会（SVP），每周都会抽出几个中午去到当地一间小学，为孩子们组织活动并指导他们。这与我们平常的活动很不同；我们觉得志愿工作会很好玩，也可以为我们的简历增色。
我上大学期间，妈妈加入了当地一个为残疾人骑马协会（RDA）服务的中心，负责指导身患残疾的大人小孩。每周回到家，我都会去儿童组帮忙。我会在小马旁 边帮助小孩子，或者在前面牵马。我自小就开始骑马，所以和马匹相处得很愉快，我也知道如何驾驭它们。我喜欢动物，也爱和孩子在一起，成为RDA的一份子让我能够将两者结合起来。
没有其他事情可以像参与志愿活动一样让我如此满足。你当时往往没有注意到它同样可以给你带来极大的变化。我见证了骑马中心的孩子不断进步，最终成为自信的骑手――我帮助他们实现了目标，这真叫人欣慰。一周抽出一两个小时就能给别人带来如此大的改变，实在太棒了。
海外志愿服务
我也有参与大学的活动论坛，并在学生拒绝艾滋病活动组别活跃。这使我得以参加各种类型的志愿任务。
大三那年，我听说有人正在组织来年七八月的肯尼亚之行。活动包括联合肯尼亚孤儿计划建设一个用以援助国际寡妇及孤儿组织的中心。每个去肯尼亚的学生必须筹集500英镑用以支付建材费用。我和一班朋友都报了名。我一直很想去肯尼亚，因为我爸爸在那里出生并度过了他的童年。我是听着那个国家的故事长大的。这似乎是个绝好的机会――去看看这个国家，到观光客没去过的地方，从事一些完全不同的志愿工作。我还想用用从小学到的斯瓦希里语。
肯尼亚之旅让我终生难忘。去到那里，认识不同的人，亲眼目睹他们的慷慨大方，做点贡献――不管是怎样的小事――这些都是了不起的经历。我过去从没想过当地人（特别是街上的孤儿）不得不面对这么严酷的现实。这是一次令人十分惭愧的经历，它感动了队里的每一个人。当我们看着街上的孤儿，看着村里的寡妇对我们如此热情时，那种感受根本无法诉诸言语。
服务自己
肯尼亚之旅结束后，我一直希望参与自己有兴趣、能帮助别人并对我的职业生涯有帮助的志愿工作。我如今在当地一个博物馆当志愿者。博物馆的工作给了我很多特别的机会，使我获得市场营销、研究、设计和摄影等方面的经验。
如果没有参加志愿活动，我绝对无法得到现在掌握的技能和对生活的理解。它让我得以从事自己热爱的工作――如果我只是一名经历有限的毕业生，这是无法实现的。志愿工作使我远离了那些舒适的懒习惯，还让我免于像很多毕业生那样陷入没完没了地求职的困境。从职业规划的角度看，志愿工作是获取有用技能和经验的绝佳途径。但就自身而言，它令我接触到不同阶层的人，给了我很好的经历，并让我对生活有了独特的见解。没有志愿工作就没有今天的我。
注：圣文森特德保罗协会（Saint Vincent de Paul Society）是一个国际罗马天主教志愿团体，自1844年开始活跃于英格兰和威尔士。