Baruch Cares

There’s a numerous amount of feelings you get after volunteering to help out for the greater good. Some feel relieved that they got their hour over with while others feel motivated to do more. Some feel sad for the impoverished, the less fortunate, the lonesome old, the sick, the list goes on and on. Whether you stick to volunteering or not just realize that an influence was made on someone. The simple acts of kindness like playing cards at a senior home or teaching kids about health can a huge difference. Volunteering with New York Care’s provides a gate gateway  to all of these feelings.

As a freshman at Baruch, everyone is strongly encourage to participate volunteer throughout New York. Through New York Cares, it creates more opportunity for many of the students at Baruch to help their community. Pete Aragones, a freshman at Baruch, volunteered his time teaching children chess at a local library. Active students within their communities feel great sentiments towards places where they were born. “I was born in the area, and although I moved away, I remember coming here with my mom and playing chess. It’s definitely a great feeling to give back”, said Pete when asked about why he volunteered. While at the library, he was actively teaching grade school to middle school children the fundamentals of chess and checkers. When asked if he lost any games, Pete responded, “You have to get their interest in playing somehow. I usually lose so they can tell their friends and parents they beat a college student.” Here pete was able to influence the children through encouragement and self esteem through beating a college students.

Another one of our very own fellow peers, Shafkath Ahmed ’17’, volunteered an hour of his time at a local library where he played chess with the youth population in Woodside. There, he found himself in the midst of a great battle with a young boy named Tenzin. “It was a blast,” said Shafkath. “I am an avid fan of chess and to be able to volunteer my time teaching Tenzin how to play the game was a great experience for him and me as well as we were both able to learn new things about the game as well as each other.” Within that hour of volunteering, Shafkath saw many bright young faces of his community eager to learn and play chess like their elders. “Tenzin was a great competitor as he unintentionally, but humorously, mimicked every move I made.” A community grows stronger if there is guidance, communication, and willingness to learn. New York Cares does a great job in bringing the community together.

In Addition, Volunteering may also provide insight into future career choices. Through the volunteering process you are able to get hands on experiences into fields related to your career and/or majors. If you wanted to be a doctor, you can always volunteer in hospitals to get a feel for the job. You would be working side by side with a person whom you wish to one day be. You will be able to learn basic skills, network and offer your services, thus overall helping your community. Volunteering can open many doors for you, through the people you meet and the connections you make.