Over 2,000 university students from the Eastern Province participated in the Second Volunteering Day here last weekend. The student participants were mostly from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). The student volunteers were joined by university faculty members and staff and representatives from 30 government and non-government organizations. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, President of KFUPM. In his message, Al-Sultan warmly welcomed the volunteers and lauded their volunteering spirit. “I know that you can feel the value of volunteering and giving; this event has strengthened your individual character and your love for your country,” Al-Sultan said. “What you are doing has a positive impact on our community, and the chance of working with you in volunteer activities encourages us all,” the KFUPM president added. The volunteer work included a number of social, cultural, environmental, health care, educational, and humanitarian activities. The 2,000 student volunteers were divided into teams to undertake various activities, such as cleaning the beaches and coastline of the Arabian Sea; visiting psychiatric wards and rehabilitation centers of hospitals; visiting prison inmates; distributing food and other materials to the poor, orphans and elderly; visiting social centers; and providing entertainment and educational programs to the children of poor families. Some of the teams also cooperated with charitable societies in undertaking volunteer work based on the programs of those organizations. Dr. Salem Aldini, Assistant Dean of the College of Applied and Support Studies for Skills Development at KFUPM and the Director of the Voluntary Work Unit at the university, praised the enthusiasm of student volunteers, and said that volunteer work should be supported by both the government and the private sector. He said a strong foundation to institutionalize volunteer work should be established by setting up regulations and policies for volunteerism. Aldini said charitable organizations, NGOs, and government ministries, particularly the Ministry of Social Affairs, are currently supporting the volunteerism movement started by KFUPM.
