Volunteering not only allows students to give back to their community, but it also provides them a chance to learn more about American culture, build friendships, and develop a sense of empathy and social responsibility. By engaging in community service, our students gain a deeper understanding of the world around them and become more compassionate individuals. From cleaning public spaces to decorating cupcakes with children and preparing food for neighbors, volunteering gives the opportunity for Aspect students to make a positive impact!
Aspect coordinator, Brittani (back row, 2nd from the right) in Texas, has been volunteering with her local food pantry for the past couple of years. This year she took her group of exchange students along: Lieke from Netherlands, Daniel and Lola from Spain, Giorgia, Francesca, Lavinia and Matteo from Italy, Lucie and Melina from France, Patricia from Moldova and Yui from Japan! They individually packaged frozen food donations, labeled coats with sizes and steam cleaned the floor at the end of their shift. Francesca from Italy adds: “The place and the people there were lovely and I really appreciate that they showed us a way to spend our free time helping people. I enjoyed so much this experience that I’m planning to come back to help and probably bring my host family or other friends!” Patricia from Moldova agrees: “It was a wonderful experience and it made me feel like I contributed to the betterness of the country, helping communities in need of this kind gesture.”
In Washington, Farah from Lebanon, her host sister Keira, Sabina from Kyrgyzstan and Kata from Hungary helped to rake up leaves after a recent storm to prepare a Thurston County campground for the winter months. They were joined by other members of the nearby community and even some wildlife as Farah reports: “My favorite part was when we noticed 3 deer passing by! I got really happy because I’ve never seen one up close!” They had fun dodging rain drops in their fancy rain ponchos, too!
Verda from Turkey (top left: left) and her host sister Yanjin from Mongolia (top left: right) have been teaching kids how to decorate cupcakes. Their host mom, Rosanna, (top right: left) runs a cake business in Texas and she donates cupcakes to local children organizations. Verda says: “It was so fun! It was so warm to see the kids putting effort to learn. Our host mom is a cake decorator so first she teached us. Now I am happy to know a lot about decorating and I can still keep decorating when I go back to my country!” and Yanjin adds: “Teaching how to decorate a cupcake was a precious event in my life. I loved to see how children do their cupcakes carefully and differently. I taught them how to hold the bag of icing and how to squeeze to make a star. I enjoyed to see them being so proud of themselves and to see them being excited to show their cupcakes to their parents. I like to learn new things and I like to give a moment to someone to learn new things too. Especially the kids are so adorable when they are learning something.”
“When I first arrived, my host parents helped me to find a food pantry where I could volunteer. In the beginning, everything looked strange. I was scared, but after a few weeks, I got used to other volunteers and got the hang of how things work there. It was fun to volunteer there and I loved talking and getting to know other volunteers, but after few months I wanted to change something, so I found a shop called FurLuv. The main idea of this shop is people can bring in their old stuff to the owner and she sells it, but money does not go to her or the workers, it goes to the animal shelter. At first, I volunteered there for a couple of hours twice per week, but now I spend 5 hours there every Saturday because being able to help raise money for animals is heartwarming, other volunteers started feeling like my family and now I cannot wait to go there.”
– Saule from Lithuania (wearing a green t-shirt in the photo above)
In Arizona, Aspect Team Manager, Kellie (purple t-shirt, 1st left, bottom row), and her group of exchange students and host families volunteered at a non-profit organization that coordinates the packaging and distribution of food to people in developing nations. Shabir from Pakistan (orange t-shirt, 2nd from the right, bottom row) describes the experience as “truly heartwarming. Knowing that our small contribution could make a significant difference in someone’s life made the entire experience special. The camaraderie among volunteers and the shared goal of helping those in need created an atmosphere of positivity that lingered even after the event. It’s incredible how a simple act of kindness can ripple through a community, and I’m grateful to have been a part of such a meaningful initiative.”
Are you interested in making a difference in a student’s life? We are looking for American host families to welcome a student for the upcoming spring 2024 and the 2024-25 school year! Check out the profiles of our wonderful students! New student profiles go online every Thursday!
