98 teddy bears – looking back, that’s what marks the beginning of my longtime commitment to volunteering. As a child (and with the help of an obliging mother), I volunteered several hours of my time to collect donations of teddy bears to be sent to a local children’s hospital. 98 bears and 15 years later, I can say that volunteering has been one of the longest “constants” in my life. However, my thoughts on the
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The U.N. Volunteers program defines volunteerism as an action that an individual willingly undertakes, that is not financially compensated, and that generally contributes to the common good. The act or employ of volunteers essentially serves to elevate the wellbeing of individuals, communities, and the larger society; consequently, volunteerism values and promotes solidarity, reciprocity, trust, as well as feelings of belonging and empowerment. In the 21st century, general trends in international volunteerism fall into three categories:
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The concept of entrepreneurism is highly regarded by the general public, because it epitomizes the qualities of creativity, determination, and risk-taking. We root for entrepreneurs to be successful, because they show that such characteristics can lead to positive results. Social entrepreneurs augment this illustration of a business, because they aim to assist disadvantaged and impoverished communities. Social entrepreneurship is the backbone of development in third-world countries, providing opportunities for people to sustain economic prosperity. All
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Ever since I started my college life, about a year ago, I have always found myself extremely busy. Being very ambitious (to say the least), I decided to take 5.5 credits in school, besides all the extracurricular commitments I had already assigned to myself. I knew I wouldn’t have much time to dedicate to anything else other than studying when classes started. I couldn’t be more wrong. As days of classes and nights of study
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Although there is sometimes legislation to prevent it, caste systems are still in place in the 21st century. In some regions of India, such concepts have become ingrained in cultures. The most discriminatory practices victimize manual scavengers, who experience lifestyles that are hard to fathom to citizens of a first-world nation. Scavengers represent the lowest rung of the untouchables in India, a group of lower-class citizens that are legally considered equal citizens but are culturally
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