Volunteerism Is Blossoming in Brazil

"We volunteered at the soup kitchen again. More chicken feet and necks. But this time we got to add all kinds of noodles and made a gigantic stew for all the folks. I love meeting people there and helping them all out and stuff. It's a Catholic soup kitchen, so we aren't allowed to give stuff out, but no matter, we love the people. The guy who owns it is cool. His name is Paulo. He's the third Paulo I know. Two are investigators and him. In my journal I refer to him as Paulo, the Soup Kitchen Catholic. Way cool guy."

Click on the the post heading for an interesting article on volunteer work in Brazil. In 1997 more than 50 percent of Brazil's volunteers lived in economic desperation, earning the equivalent of $230 a month. "I wanted to be part of Brazil's solution," said Joao Luiz Melo Tavares, 41, a civil servant who said he falls into Brazil's lower middle class. "When you're a volunteer, you forget yourself a little bit."

By volunteering his time in the service of others much less fortunate than himself Curtis is learning a valuable life lesson and showing his true worth as a fine young man.