Volunteering by Deyna

Volunteering by Deyna - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

Let me tell you why I volunteer.

My parents are Bulgarian. They came to this country to build a better life for my sister and me. But the beginning was difficult. Coming without anything to an unknown place to start a decent life is hard. In this struggle the ones who help them were the Bulgarian community – immigrants who came just a few years earlier.

Now, 20 years later, the Bulgarian community is like a big family to me. We get together to celebrate holidays. And in hard moments we help each other. My parents taught me that it is important to find a way to give back to the community. And it should be done without expecting anything in return, just as others did for us when we needed it. This is how I grew up. We do not have blood relatives in the States, but we have this big family of friends, all immigrants from Bulgaria. I cannot even count the hours I have spent tutoring a friend’s child, babysitting, or just helping arrange an event.

What I would like to talk about is about the Bulgarian school. In 2010, when the economy went down, a close friend lost her husband to lung cancer and her job as a teacher. She was devastated. She decided to use her talent and to organize a Saturday school for Bulgarian kids. From day one I was there. I was thirteen years old then. On one hand, I was interested in learning Bulgarian, to read and write using the Cyrillic alphabet. On the other hand, this is a great opportunity for networking with other kids. And since it is a non-profit organization, it requires the time investments of a lot of volunteers. So, for seven years, every weekend, I have been there – studying and volunteering.

I am involved in many activities, but the best is Christmas time. I am responsible for organizing the celebration. This is a huge event. The school now has over 600 kids from age of five to eighteen. All of them, along with their teachers, prepare a concert and present on stage. At the end, Santa Claus gives a present to each child. My job is to prepare the stage and the presents. The stage preparation is the easy task. I usually ask some of the older kids to come and help to place the decorations. But can you imagine packing 600 presents? After I buy the presents (many times online) I usually ask my sister to help me packing them. For two weeks, a few hours every evening, we sit in the living room and while packing, we sing, tell stories, laugh and have good bonding time together.

And here is why I like volunteering for Christmas. Have you seen a kid smile when Santa Claus (my dad) gave him or her a present? Multiply that by 600. On Christmas, I see 600 smiles of happy kids. Add to this their happy parents. There is nothing more rewarding after weeks of devoted time and effort than to see so many happy faces. The feeling of satisfaction is indescribable. My level of happiness is 15 on scale of 0 to 10.

Volunteering is not just about helping others. It brings even greater benefits for you, the volunteer. Volunteering does not have to involve a long-term commitment or take a huge amount of time out of your busy day. It provides a sense of purpose. The sense of accomplishment, the feeling of satisfaction improves your level of happiness. I feel like every Christmas I make people happy through the hard work and time I invest at the Bulgarian school. The Bulgarian community is my family and making even a small impact for one member of this community makes feel extremely happy and blessed to be a part of such a cause. If I make a difference for one child or one family, this is enough for me to do what I do. Volunteering has taught me how to be selfless and driven to help others. I love the fact that I have this opportunity to interact with fellow Bulgarians half-way around the world, so far away from our homeland. I plan on continuing my volunteering efforts for many years to come.