志愿服務，傳遞溫暖

by Tom Green

你是一名志愿者嗎？利用空余時間進行志愿活動，不僅能幫助別人，對你的履歷也大有好處。如果你希望在某個領域發展自己的特長，不妨參加這方面的志愿活動，熟悉有關方面的操作，鍛煉自己的技巧，結交新朋友——最重要的是可以幫助有需要的人。

今年的國際志愿者日（12月5日），你打算用什么方式度過？歡迎到我們的微博來說說哦。

I never really believe people who say that they like giving more than getting.

It is always going to be better to open presents than to watch someone else doing it. It will always be better to find a ￡50 1）note than to lose one. And， personally， Id much rather eat a meal than cook it.

There are some exceptions to this rule and volunteering is one of them.

2）Not that theres anything wrong with receiving someone elses 3）voluntary time—for many people， its a lifeline. But to give your time really is fantastic. Its better than getting presents or finding money. Well， almost.

There is an 4）incredible 5）range of things you can do. Volunteers are 6）involved in pretty much every area of life—from 7）conservation to health advice， football coaching to web design， youth work to hospital radio注. You can find details of volunteering 8）opportunities all across the country.

It 9）tends to be fun （if its not， you can leave）. You meet people you wouldnt normally come across and often get responsibility that wouldnt be offered in paid work.

If youre looking to get into a certain area of work， volunteering can be 10）a foot in the door， giving you the chance to learn about the job and make 11）vital contacts. Even if you dont have a particular career in mind， voluntary work always looks good on a 12）CV or job 13）application.

Many websites have information on all these things， some may even have 14）directories of organisations that run volunteering programmes overseas. Want to map a 15）coral reef in Fiji， or help conserve the 16）ecosystem in Ecuador？ Its all possible. Some overseas volunteering can be expensive （the cost of travel， 17）accommodation and living expenses etc）， but if you can save or get 18）sponsored， youll have the experience of a lifetime. Its a great way to get away from home for the summer （or even longer） and while some programmes do require payments， others are completely free.

Most of us have some spare time. So why not trade it in for something better？

有些人說，比起得到，他們更喜歡給予。我從來不信。

自己拆禮物，總比看別人拆禮物開心；撿到50英鎊的鈔票，總比丟了50英鎊好。就我自己來說，吃飯可比做飯好多了。

不過也有例外，其中之一就是參加志愿活動。

不是因為接受別人的志愿服務有什么錯--它是許多人的救命稻草，而是因為把自己的時間奉獻給別人的感覺實在太美妙了，甚至比收到禮物或是撿到錢還要好--好吧，幾乎比那些還要好。

志愿活動涵蓋的范圍極其廣泛，志愿者們參與的活動幾乎遍及生活的各個領域，從環境保育到健康咨詢，從足球教練到網頁設計，從青少年工作到醫院的廣播電臺等等。你在全國各地都能找到志愿者工作機會的詳細信息。

志愿活動往往很有趣（如果沒趣，你可以離開）。你會遇到平時不常遇到的人，要承擔一些有償工作中不常賦予你的責任。

如果你想進入某一領域工作，志愿活動可以為你打開一扇門，你可以借此機會了解這份工作，并建立重要的聯系。即便你心里還沒有確定某個特定職業，參加志愿活動的經歷也總會給你的簡歷和求職申請加分。

很多網站都有志愿活動的信息，一些網站還有境外志愿項目運營組織的名錄。你想在斐濟標記某塊珊瑚礁的地理位置嗎？還是想為保護厄瓜多爾的生態系統出一分力呢？這些皆有可能。有些境外志愿活動可能花費不菲（旅費、住宿費和生活費等），但是，如果你能攢起這筆錢，或者得到贊助，你將擁有畢生難忘的經歷。這是遠離家鄉度過夏天（或者更長時間）的絕佳方式。而且，雖然有些志愿項目需要付款，其他則是完全免費的。

我們大多數人都有一些余暇時間。既然如此，為什么不用它來換取一些更好的東西呢？