11.VOLUNTEERS AND CHARITABLE COLLECTIONS

It is not uncommon in America for a person to belong to some kind of volunteer group. Donating one's time and services is very much a part of the American way of life. Much of this charitable activity is organized by churches and civic groups around the nation and even encouraged by the government. The helping hand is extended to the poor, the homeless, the underprivileged and the handicapped. Some people work to teacher youngsters how to read, others open up soup kitchens to feed the homeless and maintain day care centers for children of working mothers. Volunteers are also sought to take care of the handicapped by making reading tapes for the blind and working in orphanages to help children without parents.

It appears that this willingness to give and share without calculating the cost becomes most evident around the holiday season when a spirit of goodwill extends deep into the hearts of all people.

High school students are often encouraged to become volunteers and many school club activities center around volunteer services. Students may work with handicapped children during a summer program, or participate in a club activity which helps to bring meals to senior citizens who are shut-ins. With their sense of idealism students are often eager to donate their spare time. They see such activities as a way of becoming involved in the community and the adult world. Social action for them becomes as important as their academic studies.

In a like manner, throughout the year, fund raising drives are conducted by schools and community groups to raise money for a designated worthy cause. Dance marathons, raffles and church bazaars help to rally a group around a needy project to gather funds. They may respond to a recent earthquake in a foreign country, a flood somewhere within their own, or another natural disaster which has left people destitute and homeless. They many organize drives to collect food, clothing and medicines to serve an immediate need. Today even the Halloween custom of "trick or treat' has become an occasion to collect money for a charitable cause.
This call to assist those less fortunate than themselves arises from the humble origins of the American nation. Those immigrants who were poor and downtrodden became dependent on the kindness of their neighbors to make a new life for them-
selves.

This desire to help others without calculating the cost can even be worked out within the framework of the Peace Corps. Established back in the 1960s during the Kennedy Administration the Peace Corps remains alive and vibrant even today.
Volunteers work throughout the world in lesser developed countries helping local governments in fields as diverse as education, agriculture and animal husbandry. They volunteer by serving as a champion of goodwill both at home and abroad performs a valued service for his country which enriches both his life and those whom he serves.