Volunteering

Volunteering has affected my life in many ways. It has changed my attitude on life, my goals for the future and I know I would not be here living in Malaysia for one year if I had never began to volunteer. In one of my favorite quotes his holiness the Dalai Lama states that “It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them.” I believe it is necessary to give in order to receive, to make others happy in order for ourselves to be happy. Through volunteering my life has brightened and developed tremendously in only the past 5 years, I hope that in the remaining time of my life I can give as much as possible because I know if I give, I will also receive. From when I was very young I have been involved in an organization in my hometown of Naples, Florida known as the Cancer Alliance of Naples. This non-profit, volunteer-based organization hosts community events to raise funds and awareness for local families affected by the horrible and very common disease of cancer. It is through this organization that I first discovered the benefits of being a volunteer and giving back to a community. This organizations helps families pay for hospital bills, provides transportations to doctor appointments, brings the community of my town closer and gives these families a well-deserved and needed break from the arduous struggles of dealing with this disease. The funds for this program are raised mainly on donations from members of the community as wells as from events that the organization has annually.
We all know someone who has been affected by cancer. For me it is my grandmother with lung cancer. For a close friend of mine it was her mother, who recently passed away from a terminal cancer after under-going treatment for several years. My first year of high school in America two of my friends and myself decided to spread the help and goodwill of the Cancer