志願服務精神 Volunteerism

住在美國最讓我感動的事是美國人的志願服務精神(Volunteerism)。 做父母的除了需要到孩子的學校做免費服務之外,有些家長也參於很多社區服務,包括男女童子軍 (Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America),少棒連盟 (Little League) 以及美國青少年足球連盟 (AYSO-American Youth Soccer Organization)。 這一切的活動與教學全靠有經驗的家長推動及執行。

AYSO (The American Youth Soccer Organization) http://soccer.org/home.aspx
Little League http://www.littleleague.org/Little_League_Online.htm
Girl Scouts of the USA http://www.girlscouts.org/program/journeys/your_world/default.asp
Boys Scouts of America http://www.scouting.org/

我九歲的女兒目前是個 Girl Scout Junior。她二年級時加入女童子軍,從Brownies 開始。她的團長及副團長全是她同學的媽媽。如果沒有這幾位媽媽專心致力的安排所有的活動及連絡,我想我也不會讓我的女兒參加女童子軍。女兒的課餘時間有限,所以她的課外活動必需要對她的成長過程有所幫助。

在美國,小男孩最重要的社交活動就是參與球隊連盟。足球是從四歲就開始,少棒是從T-ball 隊 (幼稚園大班或六歲) 開始打。兒子的教練(或副教練)全是他同學的爸爸或媽媽。因為球隊連盟要求家長一定要volunteer,害我老公都不大好意思不參與兒子的球隊活動。還好他很會考試,所以他就去上課考了個小孩足球裁判員的資格。去年當兒子的球隊要比賽時,我老公就得上場做裁判,非常辛苦。我呢? 我就做所謂的Team Mom。有雜事就找我。

通常如果男孩子對體育沒興趣的話,他在美國這個社會就會顯得比較格格不入。我很慶幸我兒子的運動神經很好, 在學校也比較容易交到朋友, 不會被其它小朋友取笑或欺負。因為兒子才一年級, 功課幾乎沒有, 因此我也讓他參加男童子軍。最主要的原因也是因為他的 Den Leader 是一位非常有奉獻精神的媽媽。我兒子目前屬於男童子軍的老虎隊 (Tiger Cub Scouts)。

美國人的志願服務精神(Volunteerism)真的讓我大開眼界。

I have always admired the volunteer spirit of Americans. When I was growing up in Canada, I didn't see any parents volunteering at my schools. Maybe it's the sign of the times--school funding had been reduced drastically by the government, so parents had to step in and help out the teachers any way they can. I do see that as the kids get older, the opportunity to volunteer in the classrooms decreases, but parents continue to volunteer at school, either in the PTA or other fundraising activities. As for myself, I volunteer in my kids' classrooms once a month. I would do more, but other parents have signed up as well, so we take turns. I am also known as the Box Tops lady at our school. Kids cut off Box Tops and bring them to school. I then collect, count, and mail the Box Tops to General Mills. A few months later, General Mills will send a check to our school. Each Box Top is worth 10 cents to our school. Each year, our school earned about $1,000-$2,000 from this fundraising effort alone.

Another form of volunteerism that I come across daily is the selfless dedication of parents to their kids' extra-curricular activities--namely sports organizations and scouting. Both my kids are involved in scouting. If it were not for the dedication and hard work of the parents (scout leaders) involved, I would not be bothered with scouting. Our scout leaders make participating in scouting activities an easy thing. Neither my husband and I are the outdoorsy type, so the opportunity to expose our kids to outdoor activities is very valuable to us.

Each Saturday from September to December, my son participates in our local AYSO league's soccer games. Then from January to February, he does winter soccer, also sponsored by the AYSO. Other boys often choose to do basketball or other sports while waiting for Baseball's Little League to start in March. So from March to June, my son is involved in the local Little League games. There is usually a game Saturday morning and a practice session with his teammates one hour a week, to be determined by his coaches. Needless to say, all of the coaches and referees of the Little League teams and the AYSO teams are volunteers as well. This is how American passes on their values and heritage to their children. When these children grow up, they will also volunteer in their children's schools or teams. This is a wonderful, selfless thing to be able to pass down from generation to generation.