COMMUNITY SERVICE - 'UGRAD Gives Back'
Community service is an essential component of the Global UGRAD program because it opens a different window on U.S. culture and exposes UGRADers to the spirit of volunteerism among youths in America. UGRADers engage in 10 hours of meaningful community service per semester. Year after year, Malaysian UGRADers have engaged in activities like serving food in a homeless shelter; sandbagging in a flood zone; build homes; and teaching foreign languages. We are glad to see that many UGRADers continued to contribute their time and skills to engage in meaningful volunteer activities upon returning to Malaysia.
"Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." -Norman MacEwan
"Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." -Norman MacEwan
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Cleaning up and clearing weeds at the Youth Apostle Institute
Wilson had his first community service experience in America by volunteering to clean up the Youth Apostle Institute in conjunction with Sept 11. This community service was organized by the Marymount University's Campus Ministry. Several groups of students completed various volunteering services in school, house building and old folks home. |
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Building Homes with Youth Leadership Build and Habitat for Humanity
Gin Seng volunteered for Youth Leadership Build while Yeong Ru volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. Both organizations have the same objective, which is to build, rehabilitates and repairs simple, decent houses with the help of homeowner families, volunteer labor, and donations of money and materials. Gin Seng and Yeong Ru contributed their 'muscles' and had hands-on experience of constructing new homes from scratch. This experience opened their eyes to the |
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Prepared Food at Huntsville Downtown Rescue Mission & Tutored Mandarin
Zao Lon volunteered to help prepare and serve food at the homeless shelter. Together with other UGRADers from UAH, they helped with the preparation of food, served the food, and cleaned up the kitchen. Throughout his exchange program, he also volunteered to tutor Mandarin to the local communities in Huntsville. He took this opportunity to interact and share about Malaysian culture, lifestyles, and customs to make learning more interesting for his students. |
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Prepared Food in Salvation Army & Sandbagging for Flood Prevention
Yoke Hoon volunteered at the Salvation Army to prepare and serve lunch. Together with other volunteers, she helped to clean the dining area, wiped the tables and chairs, and prepared sandwiches and sweet rolls. She also helped the local community in Fargo to fill sand bags for flood prevention. Through this experience, she was impressed by the community spirit portrayed by the people in Fargo. These volunteering activities provided her with the learning experience that she wouldn't get in a classroom. She aspires to get involved in volunteering works upon returning to Malaysia and contribute to the local community. |
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Blue Team Volunteer for the Teaching Excellence & Achievement Conference
Khai Shing assisted the Office of International Programs in the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Conference to set up equipment, help out at the registration desk, provide support for the participants and escort participants to the Early Works Museum. This experience gave her the opportunity to meet and interact with teachers from other countries. Her own national background was an asset in the mix of participants from Central Asia countries and the local community. |
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Cleaned Up New Facility for Huntsville Downtown Rescue Mission
Khai Shing volunteered at the new facility of a homeless shelter to help organize all donated items and clean up the building. With the contribution and effort from many volunteers, the homeless shelter completed its renovation and was put into use in 2009. Subsequently, many other UGRADers hosted in University of Alabama in Huntsville continued to volunteer at the homeless shelter to give back to the local community. |
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Volunteer at the Oxford Animal Shelter
Khai Sheng spent a day volunteering with the Oxford Humane Society. Upon arriving at the animal shelter, he was given the task of walking a puppy. He also got his hand dirty and helped to clean the kennels with other volunteers. Despite the hard work, he found this experience rewarding and enjoyable. |
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Tutored High School Students and Volunteered at Festival of Trees
Shi Ee contributed to the local community in Illinois by teaching local high school students as a volunteer. Building on her actuarial knowledge, she shared about numerical cognition. Apart from teaching, she also volunteered to help out at the Festival of Trees during Christmas. Through this volunteering activity, she learned to put up Christmas trees and decorated them with ornaments for the first time! Besides, she also spent some time with the kids who attended the festival. |
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Volunteer at the International Fall Festival and Eau Claire Jazz Inc.
Choon Sian volunteered to help out at the International Fall Festival, organized by Downtown Eau Claire, Inc. During this event, he helped out as a coordinator, floater, worked at the information center, and helped to tear down after the event. Under his internship as a Merchandise Sales Manager for Eau Claire Jazz, Inc., he had hands-on experience of looking for merchandise to sell, negotiated the prices, determined the selling price, managed the inventory control and handled the logistic. |
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International Fair Volunteer at YWCA Mankato
Ryan volunteered as a performer and model during the international fair at YWCA. He shared about Malaysian culture by modelling and introducing his traditional outfit. He also performed 'Rasa Sayang' as part of the cultural performance. There were many other volunteers from other parts of the world during the event. Through this activity, he had the opportunity to introduce Malaysia to local communities and also the volunteers from other countries. |