The Value of Volunteering

                                                       Title: The Value of Volunteering

Thesis: I realized that working as a literacy volunteer taught me more about learning and friendship than I expected.

1. When I first went through the learning program to become a literacy volunteer, I leaned about the process of learning.

1. The person who trained me wrote a brief list of simple words on the left side of the chalkboard and demonstrated how to use those words in phrases on the right hand side.
2. She asked us to read and tell in which way those words are easy to memorize.
3. We replied that the right side part was easy to understand as it would make more sense.
4. The trainer showed us some more demonstrations so that we could get a grip.

1. I realized the true importance of reading while I began to discover the situation of lives of those people who cannot read.

1. On my first tutoring session I found out that Marie, a 44 year old single mom, walked two miles to the grocery store twice a week because she did not know which bus to take.
2. When I wanted to give her a bus schedule she replied that it was useless as she could not read it.
3. She could not list up all the things she needed from the grocery store.
4. She identified items by sight; if labels were changed she could not recognize them.

1. Learning how to read can build a person’s self-confidence.

1. She began to make rapid progress and was also able take buses to the grocery stores.
2. She felt self-confident.
3. She began helping her little son, Mark, with his reading.
4. Helping Marie to build her self-confidence was rewarding for me.

1. Marie and I developed a permanent friendship.

1. We saw each other frequently and spent time getting to know each other.
2. We had certain things in common, therefore, we began to share similar experiences to each other.
3. We baby-sat for each other’s children.

Conclusion: I learned a great deal about leaning, teaching, and helping others. I may have benefited more from the experience than Marie.