I was nominated as Howard County Volunteer of The Year on Wednesday night. I really appreciate CA chair Andy Stack’s nomination and Jean Xu and Clarence Lam’s endorsement. Although I did not win the award, I was very excided to learn so many volunteers and their good heart and dedicated work to help our community.

I volunteer because I want to help and I want to change. It is easier to lead by example. I want to lead this new wave of Chinese Americans to volunteer and participate into the community in all aspects. As long as each of us contribute a little bit and continue to get involved, we will make a huge difference.

There are some differences and commonality between volunteer and activism.  One key common component is our passion for the cause we work for. In this new era with social media, everyone can be a leader and follower and advance the community’s common interests. The only difficulty is the indifference such that we get disconnected with the real world and dillusionally live in our small comfort houses.