Nancy volunteers to help her community

DL Teacher Nancy

This week we celebrate National Volunteer Week to acknowledge the generous contributions of those who give up their time and effort to help others.

Nancy is one of our DL teachers who finds great pleasure not only in teaching English but also in volunteering to help her community with her English skills.

Going back 30 years, Nancy remembers how difficult it was for her to settle in Australia as an adult migrant. Even though she was an English lecturer in a university in China, it was still hard to find a job here. Nancy had to go back to full-time study and after completing her Diploma in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), she landed her first job as a teacher on the AMEP program.

Twenty years later Nancy is still doing what she loves best, teaching English in the same program. Most of her students are from a Chinese background with low level English. She is passionate about helping elderly Chinese students in particular as she understands how challenging it is for them to settle in a new country. She makes learning English easy for them and takes pride in their progress.

Nancy did not go out looking for volunteer work but because of her English skills, her friendly personality and her passion to help people, volunteering seemed to find her.

It all started when Nancy joined a Tai Chi class in her community where the local council organises free classes for the increasing Chinese population in the Northern Sydney area.

Being the helpful person that she is, she was always happy to translate and interpret small messages between the organisers and the Chinese people in her classes. This led to Nancy playing a key volunteer role liaising between council staff and the Chinese community.  She uses her time and bilingual skills to help the council communicate class timetables, venues, enrolments and housekeeping instructions to the Chinese community and she translates letters and flyers.

Through these community classes Nancy not only learnt Tai Chi, enjoyed her sketching classes and made friends, but she also had the the chance to give back . She says "Volunteering makes me feel good about helping others".

Research shows that volunteers live happier and healthier lives.  No wonder the motto for National Volunteer Week is "Give Happy, Live Happy". 

• Have you ever volunteered? What did you do?
• What are the benefits of volunteering for new migrants in Australia?
• What kind of volunteer work is available and how can you find it in your area?  Check out this website: Volunteering Australia

Why not share your volunteering experience here and inspire other students!

Give Happy, Live happy - National Volunteer Week

This week we celebrate National Volunteer Week.  Volunteering means giving your time and working for no money, so why do we do it? Research shows that volunteers live happier and healthier lives.  We asked two of our teachers about the volunteer work they've done when they're not paid to teach.

Linda, far left

DL Teacher, Linda, volunteered to be a reading mentor and a role-model in public schools to help students develop their reading and comprehension skills. She works with one student on a weekly basis for one term through the ABCN Spark program.  She finds it rewarding to share her skills to help someone in her community and make a difference.  Linda says it is a lot of fun to see the students improve their reading levels, enjoy reading more and engage in conversations increasing their confidence and self-esteem.

Baby possums with Karen

DL Teacher, Karen, is a volunteer for rescuing and caring for injured or displaced native animals such as birds, lizards and possums through the wildlife rescue organisation, WIRES.  Her favourite are baby possums.  She enjoys bottle feeding them until they're ready to be released back into the wild.  Karen also plans to do further training to raise kangaroo joeys, koalas and wombats.  She does this volunteer work because she loves animals and finds it rewarding to save them, watch them grow and be safely free again in the wild.  She says this has also been a wonderful experience for her children.

• Have you ever volunteered?  What did you do?
• What are the benefits of volunteering for new migrants in Australia?
• What kind of volunteer work is available?
• How do you find volunteer work in your area?

Why not share your views or what you've done to volunteer here and inspire other students!