Be a Volunteer:
Your Life Will Never Be the Same
(Neither Mine)
A volunteer is a person who does something - especially helping other people - willingly and without being forced or paid to do it.
When I started writing this page, I looked back to all the War movies I watched trying to find the words "Volunteers Wanted' in a central role. My only difficult was that I couldn't remember any!
However, very far from the Hollywood glamour, I recalled the days when I worked cutting and delivering paving stones, in my teens.
As most people performing heavy duties do, we used to whistle constantly. Once, while we were unloading a truck in a lady's yard, she noticed our attitude and asked our boss:
"- How much do you pay these boys to make them work so happily?"
Even 20 years later, I can still recall the feeling we had by realizing how we worked not only with our arms, but also with our hearts, though the severity of the job.
When You Are Young, The World Is Your Oyster...
But as paving stones forever weren't part of my plans, I tried some other jobs. I finally found my place of work when I became a teacher. Indeed, last month I quit my job after almost three years as a translator, to return full time to the classrooms.
(Online classroom, sweet classroom.)
What made many people surprised were my plans for this Web site. For me, however, it is extremely simple:
Work 400 FREE hours creating enough value to turn
Learn-Portuguese-Now.com into the #1 provider of free
(or low cost) Portuguese language resources on the Web.
In 3 weeks I've concluded 'My Language Journey' in Portuguese. It's a FREE Ebook in which I share the challenges I faced when learning English as a Second Language. Now I'm preparing the English version.
I hope you grab your free copy and apply some tips and ideas to improve your own language learning.
As I won't make any money from the Web site till I accomplish this goal - except by donations - I am offering vacancy for some limited volunteers.
(If you're concerned about how I am earning my living, don't worry: I will keep teaching English to some friends. I still have four little mouths to feed! ;)
"If I apply to be a volunteer, what is in it for me?"
I thought you would never ask!
Being a volunteer is an indescribable experience. I have been involved in this kind of thing long enough to say that the more you serve, the more you are served. Better: the more you learn.
I can't get into details here - as it would be the opposite of what serving is all about - but on becoming a volunteer you will have the following benefits:
A native teacher to sharp your Portuguese (Me!;)
Your skills being seen by thousands of people each month;
The satisfaction of having contributed to a good cause;
Multitudes thanking you for your unselfish service (OK, I'm stretching here...)
Your name recorded on this page (which I will later turn into an article) for years to come.
If your skills fit into any of the following categories, don't miss the boat: Make hay while the sun shines!
Here are the volunteers wanted:
HTML Expert - Changes texts into HTML.
Editor - Reviews texts in general, and take away the awkward words and expressions. (Like 'take away' in this sentence!)
Designer - Designs the layout of the site, and the covers for the Ebooks.
Programmer - Supports the creation of Interactive Resources.
Just fill in the form bellow, and I'll give you the first piece of work to be done. First come, first served.
I hope you find becoming a volunteer a quite rewarding task. If you don't...
I promise you a whistle-back guarantee!
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