There are volunteers in the world who do volunteer work for various causes. Why do people participate in volunteer work? The RCY, Korean Red Cross, said that volunteer activities are done for the purpose of humanitarianism. Humanitarianism is the philanthropic idea of promoting the coexistence of humanity and human welfare. The reason why people do volunteer work is that they care for each other and want to create a world with welfare for all. Different kinds of volunteer work can be divided into different categories: community service, learning and culture guidance, medical service, functional service, cultural service, counseling service, and job support service. Two members of CWNU’s volunteer club, Lee Ji-woong from the architecture department, and Ahn Jin-kyun from the civil engineering and environmental engineering department, give their perspectives on volunteering in an interview.

Q: What made you start volunteering?Lee: It started through the recommendation and promotion of my seniors and juniors in the department. I became interested in building service volunteering, so I joined the ZIP club, an architectural volunteer club belonging to the central club and Habitat. As a result, I started volunteering and now I am the vice president of the club.

Ahn: While returning to school and looking for a club to interact with other students, I learned about a school LEO volunteer club with the "International Lions Club" and started volunteering. I am currently the president of this club.

Q: What are the best parts of volunteer work? What are the most difficult parts?Lee: One good thing is that every time I volunteer I can meet a variety of people and learn something new. Also, another great part is the sense of accomplishment and pride in volunteering. However, when I first started volunteering it was hard because the people, places, and activities were unfamiliar.Ahn: One advantage is that you meet a lot of good people while doing volunteer work. Also, I felt proud and happy at the words of encouragement given to volunteers, such as “Thank you, you did a great job.” However, when I did physical labor as volunteer work, the labor itself was hard. Another difficulty to consider is putting volunteer work into your schedule so that volunteer work doesn’t overlap with other schedules.

Q: What was the most important volunteer work you’ve done?Lee: The club had a long-term project called 'The Way to Home' last year. I started my time as vice-president of the club under the theme of 'House Fixing', and I worked for Korean War veterans and independence fighters. We were able to visit their homes and improve their residential environment, communicate with them, and help those in need. Also, it was an opportunity for us to see and understand the situation of many vulnerable people in our region. I felt that communication with volunteers was important because we had to work together within the club.

Ahn: The first thing that comes to mind is the UJAT economic service organized by JA KOREA last summer vacation. I became a one-day teacher at an assigned elementary school. Prior to this, I prepared a lot by writing for the first and second reports with my partner.However, I had a hard time concentrating rather than teaching the subject of the class because I was in charge of the second grade in an elementary school. It is a volunteer activity that remains as a great memory as I invested a lot of passion and time from preparation to teaching.

Q: Do you have anything to say to college students who are thinking of volunteering?Lee: If you are still concerned or interested in participating in volunteer work, we recommend you give it a try. If you want to meet people with different personalities, value a variety of experiences, or try something that you have never experienced before, start with volunteer work! I think it will help me experience and grow on my own.

Ahn: You can try a variety of volunteer activities and services rather than just one. Volunteers can have meaningful experiences through various volunteer activities and personally grow through volunteer work.

As Lee Ji-woong and Ahn Jin-kyun said, volunteer work is an activity that can positively challenge students at Changwon University. There are many benefits to joining the school's volunteer club and regularly doing volunteer work.

Changwon has volunteer activities that anyone can easily participate in such as JA Korea and the SK University volunteer group, SUNNY. As such, students feel a great sense of accomplishment and pride for the volunteer work they have done. It is the hope of many that these good deeds will have a good influence all over the world and help ease the hardships of the needy in our society.

▲ Lee Ji-woong, a student who is volunteering to fix a house in a program called 'The Way to Home'.

▲ Ahn Jin-kyun, a student engaged in a campaign for Good Neighbors College Volunteers.

By Shin Jiwon, cub-reporter  jennna09@naver.com

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