Edited by Alyssa Wieting.
Students and families all over Shanghai are getting involved in their communities and local organizations. With more and more charities popping up around town, opportunities to give back are broadening. Here, we take a look at some expats who are working to make a difference in other’s lives and changing their perspectives on volunteering.
Mei-lin
Year 10
Dulwich College Shanghai student
Ever since I became a social entrepreneur by starting my own organization Safe Zone, which assists children with anxiety disorders, 'volunteering' has transformed into something of much more importance and meaning to me than before. I believe volunteering for different causes and programs has had a huge impact on my life.
It’s a privilege to be involved in something as special as a volunteer program. It has allowed me to explore the lives, situations and daily problems of others, while putting my very own lifestyle into perspective. When I first met an 11-year-old boy who suffers from agoraphobia and has regular panic attacks, I asked him what he would like to achieve sometime in the future. He blinked once or twice before giving me a shy, little smile and he told me that as of right now, he just wanted to be happy. I spent a lot of time with him talking about future help he could receive with Safe Zone and tried to get him to be more comfortable around me. The more time I spent with him, the more I noticed how much we take happiness for granted.
Seeing how he perceived the word ‘happy’ and how complex the feeling of ‘happiness’ seemed to be for him, I started asking myself where I felt happiest and when I feel the happiest. I realized it’s when I am around people like him – people whom I wouldn’t normally meet if I lived my life without joining these programs – that I feel the happiest. I encourage everybody to join my happy place. You won’t regret it.
Charity work has always played a significant role in my life, and I feel that there are so many ways to help or give back. I have also learned that they all lead to enriching experiences, personally, too.
Elisa Dalle-Piagge
Year 12
Stanley House/Wellington College student
From an early age, I started volunteering with my family to help the elderly and disabled in my hometown. Every summer we foster a child from Belarus as part of a project that enables children from the Chernobyl area to breathe fresh air and eat uncontaminated food. For every month they spend out of Belarus, their life-span increases and they are less likely to fall ill from cancers or similar diseases.
At times, charity work can feel as though it’s just a drop in the ocean. However, I remind myself that the impact of one small deed always has a much larger effect on the receiving end, not only in terms of their living condition, but also morally and emotionally. Giving your time means so much in itself. It is important that those less fortunate than us know that there is someone out there who cares and is looking out for them.
I am very excited about the upcoming Easter holiday, as I will be travelling to Tanzania on a medical experience trip, where I will have the opportunity to shadow a doctor and volunteer at a local orphanage. I am sure that this experience will really put into perspective how fortunate I am, changing the way that I treat the opportunities that I get on a daily basis and encourage me to continue volunteering throughout my life.
Charity work is, I believe, a win-win situation and I would encourage all my peers to find a charity to support, wherever possible.
Karina Neufeldt
Year 8
Yew Chung International School of Shanghai
The name of my charity is Comfort for Cancer. Our mission is to help as many patients as possible to feel more comfortable while going through cancer treatment, and to know that someone will always be there for them. When my grandmother passed away from cancer, our family donated all of her headscarves to the local cancer center. When I saw what a difference that it could make to people going through treatment, I realized that I wanted to help more people.
My favorite part is giving the scarves to the people personally, because then they know that someone is always there for them. Seeing their joy makes me feel really good. My mom, dad and younger sister go to events with me, and they have all helped me spread the word about what we do. They are the ones who initially encouraged my idea to create this charity.
Heather Neufeldt
Mother of Karina Neufeldt
We feel so lucky as a family to be living in Shanghai and have the life that we do. It is important to me that my kids understand that not everyone is as lucky, and charity helps make that connection. Karina was really the one who decided to take action and that has really helped us as a family to deal with the loss of her grandmother. Now we all have something positive to focus on and it’s something I think her grandmother would be really proud of.
I don’t want my children to go through life with blinders on. They should be able to recognize that other people face problems and obstacles that they’ve never encountered. I want them to take action to help others and make a difference. And I’m very proud to say that both of my girls have done just that!
