When planning your submission(s), try to thinks about the following keywords and questions related to the theme “Volunteers – Heroes among Us”

KEYWORDS:

  • Volunteering – helping or serving another person, community or organization without pay
  • Altruism – unselfish concern for the welfare of others
  • Empathy – ability to recognize another person’s situation, feelings and thoughts.
  • Community Involvement – working together with others to make a difference in the life of a community by addressing an issue of common concern
  • Responsible Citizenship  – a model of citizenship where an individual not only realizes his/her legal obligations but also participates in his/her community to promote public good and well-being of its members.


SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: 

  • Have you ever undertaken any volunteer work in your community? How did you feel about helping other people without being paid for your work and time?
  • What do you think are the most important qualities of great volunteers? And why?
  • How can the idea of unselfish concern for others make a change in our community and the world?
  • How can empathy (for the needy and disadvantaged) motivate us to do volunteer work?
  • Why is it important to give back to community?
  • How can you inspire someone to take interest in community and to volunteer?
  • What are the benefits of volunteering to the volunteer?
  • What kind of life experiences and training make good volunteers?
  • In Canada, 13.3 million volunteers contribute 2.1 billion hours, the equivalent of 1.1 million full-time jobs every year (Canada Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating, 2010). Imagine what your community would look like if all that went away?
  • What happens if we all care for our self-interest only without any concern for others?

 

Please note that the questions and keywords above are there to help you to think on the theme.  However, they shouldn’t limit your thoughts as the theme can mean a lot more than those questions and keywords. Therefore, when composing your work, feel free to be creative. Just remember you want to present your ideas in a way that will inspire the reader to think and become aware of the importance of the theme.

*Please provide the copies of this worksheet to students participating in the contest