January 20, 2012
by Kat Foronda

Kat Foronda, a college student in Nevada has been helping Three Square Food Bank and Feeding America get the word out about hunger (and has previously been featured on this blog). We have invited her to write some guest blog posts about hunger in America. This is the third of a series of posts she has written.

The more people volunteer, the more struggling people have a chance at turning their lives around. Alone, we cannot reach out to everyone.. What we can do is encourage prosperous citizens to devote a fraction of their time to help those less fortunate than they are.

Why decide to become a volunteer? At UNLV, there is an on campus organization for the LGBTQIA community called Spectrum. They serve their community in different ways on a weekly basis. For example, they serve homeless people by volunteering to pack sandwiches for the homeless, serve our underprivileged youth by volunteering at the local food bank Three Square and packing them meals for the weekend, working with kids directly for a nonprofit named MonkeyGym that allow them to do artistic project for their community. I mean, they do so much! But why?

Thinh, a Spectrum member, says that as a homosexual he volunteers to educate others. Society frowns upon members of the LGBT community for unfair reasons. When he volunteers, he shows his community members that he cares as much as anyone else does, and that sexual orientation has nothing to do with how active someone is in their community..

Cai , another member of Spectrum, volunteers at a hospital for various reasons. His older sister volunteered and shared stories with him. As a role model, she inspired him to also do what he can for the needy. Cai is studying Biology at UNLV, aspiring to have a career in the medical field. He volunteers because it is also a great means of getting hands on experience in the field he is interested in. He also volunteers for Relay for Life, which is a cancer awareness walk to support those suffering from cancer. His grandfather, who he had never met but was told he would soon after he started high school, died before he had the chance to meet him when he was a freshman. Heartbroken by his loss, he decided to go out of his way to reach out to others that are suffering from the same kind of losses in hopes of there being less people in the world that would have to deal with losing loved ones to cancer.

All sorts of people volunteer, and they have their own reasons for doing so. However, there is a common goal: reaching out to people that have less than they do. As citizens of the world, we should all do what we can for our fellow man. Besides, with our support, they can have the opportunity to give so much back to others.

Tags: Volunteer , Nevada , Three Square Food Bank

Stay Informed
