Sunday, August 15, 2010

Volunteer. It's important.



Another thing that's interesting about that last post is that when I told some friends that I met a girl who can't read they were just as incredulous as I was. One guy actually said, 'C'mon now, she has to know something.' I thought it was interesting that none of us could believe that someone actually can't read. It's like hearing of the Loch Ness monster or Big Foot or something where you're always asking 'does it really exist?'

How sad that right HERE in America this can happen!

Ninety-five percent of my nuclear and extended family members have a college education and many have Master's degrees and PhD's. All of my friends have a college education. This situation made me think how fortunate I am! I'm essentially shielded from illiteracy. Most people I know and associate with have some college education. I know very few people with only a high school diploma, let alone bare minimum reading skills.

I would really like to give back to people like this. It's hard to find time to do things like this. It's so easy to make excuses. I'm so busy with school and all my other extracurricular activities that sometimes it's overwhelming. I would really like to find a way to incorporate volunteering to this group a priority.

1 comment:

  1. First of all, you already volunteer Kim! You are a great Mentor of our Latino students at Governors State University.
    I agree with you when you say that it seems almost unbelievable to accept that people cannot read or write in USA. However, when you go to third world countries, you can easily find several people without literacy. For example, in Brazil, about 80% of the population cannot write their own name. I personally know so many of those people that it is impossible to come up with a number.
    Keep up with the good work and let’s continue contributing with what we can to spread goodness.
    Great job!
    Monica Teixeira

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