Volunteering requires a love, not supernatural, but true. The Gospel of Jesus presents us with the parable of the good Samaritan:
“Now when the Son of Man comes in his majesty, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory; — When all the nations are gathered before him, he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats — and he will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right: Come, you blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world; — because I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I lacked a roof and you took me in; — I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to see me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty and give you a drink? — When did we see you homeless and put you in; or naked and we dress you? — And when did we find out you were sick or in prison and went to visit you? — The King will answer them: Verily I say to you, as often as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”
Helping those who need help is like helping God, says the parable. But it's not a simple task to donate. Giving of your free time to help a brother in need, reaching out to those who need help, without asking for anything in return, not everyone can do it. The 28th of August, National Volunteering Day, is a day to be remembered and, above all, a festive day for volunteers who, many times, do not even celebrate it – tireless, they volunteer every day.
We can cite numerous ways to help those in need:
There are those who donate part of their monetary gain, becoming a godfather or godmother of an entity, an agency or specific people who are economically disadvantaged - for example, Doctors Without Borders, MSF, can only volunteer in hundreds from locations around the globe with donor resources. There are those who volunteer for children, in orphanages and day care centers; others, feeling the pain of homeless people, distribute food and clothing to those who do not have a roof over their heads; still, there are those who take pleasure in the pain of the elderly in nursing homes and give them the joy of a friendly word, of comfort in old age.
Not least, many people give themselves to stray animals like dogs and cats from shelters, fighting for their adoption or even large animals like cows and pigs in vegan sanctuaries. There are those who read or tell stories in hospitals, alleviating the affliction of yearning for more health – just like the Doutores da Alegria and Associação Viva e Let Viver. There are those who donate a friendly word, at the Life Appreciation Center - CVV (dial 188, to talk to someone, anonymously, if you are distressed).
There are those who donate blood or organs, what a beautiful gesture! There are those who work in vaccination efforts or in winter shelters, there are those who work as a board member, there are those who teach in a popular pre-university entrance exam or in youth and adult education (EJA), there are those who participate in sports projects or who teach how to manage a musical instrument; there are those who knit or sew clothes for those who need clothes; it is also possible to act helping the environment, cleaning squares and beaches of garbage or planting trees – or even in environmental disasters, forming a chain of support for people and animals. There are so many ways to donate that we can barely enumerate them! It encourages having time available, having knowledge or strength to share and a willingness to share love.
We can say that charity, or benevolence, nourishes volunteering, because being charitable, we are able to feel the pain of others and try to alleviate it. It is precisely because I put myself in the other's shoes that I distribute what I have and share, not because I expect something in return, but because I know that I have a lot, being grateful. And what we emanate is what the Universe gives us back, isn't it?
You may also like
- Does living need therapy?
- Learn why it's so important to give and receive love
- Watch out for myths and truths about blood donation
- Meet the 10 most generous nations in the world
Let us be good, let us be charitable, let us be useful to the world! Let us celebrate volunteering as part of us, always being grateful for being able to share our earnings and our surplus with those in need.
“The hands that make are worth more than the lips that pray”, said Mother Teresa of Calcutta, not demeaning the power of prayer, but knowing that acting is better than observing.
