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Holiday season: a time to give back to the Twin Ports area
OUR VOICE: EDITORIAL
As the holiday season approaches, most students are busy completing final papers and preparing for trips home to spend time with the family.
For most, the holiday season is a time to be thankful for all the good things. Yet others use the season to give back to their community.
As college students, we are members of the Twin Portscommunity, even if we only came here to attend college and primarily live elsewhere.
Even though our permanent addresses may be miles away, we do have an impact on this community. We should want and need to give back to the community that we call "home" during our years at college.
There are many people in our community that are less fortunate than us and organizations are always looking for volunteers.
Volunteering not only benefits the community, but also promotes self-development. It's a good way to build up your -sum-, learn new skills and may even lead to a career. It's also a good way to meet other people and participate in something that yields meaningful results.
However, people in their early 20s were the least likely to volunteer, making up only 17.8 percent of the 61.2 million people who volunteered at least once in 2006, according to a report issued by the United States Department of Labor. These statistics are shocking, considering that here at UMD students don"t even have to leave campus to set up volunteer opportunities. The Office of Civic Engagement, located in Bohannon 209, offers multiple opportunities for students to volunteer. Programs such as, reading to kids in school, community clubs and hospitals, are just a few of the possibilities.
Other places to volunteer in the Duluth area include the Red Cross, Salvation Army and United Way. So this holiday season, give while you recieve and participate in a rewarding and enjoyable experience by giving back to the community. After all, we do live here.
