Yonsei Volunteer Group Scene #1: Nanum Study Room in Ahyun-Dong Kim Deok-San (26), a senior at the Yonsei College of Business visits the Nanum (Sharing) Study Room in Ahyun-Dong, Seoul, every Saturday. There, he teaches English to middle-school students from low-income families. This is his third year with the students, since he first began teaching them in April 2006. Kim first began his volunteer work with the students when he saw a notice posted by the Yonsei Volunteer Group on the Yonsei website bulletin. He had been active in volunteer work since middle school, and was looking for an opportunity to begin volunteering again after finishing his mandatory military service. Kim focuses on motivating the students to study, rather than merely teaching them. Although he is a strict teacher who gives out a lot of homework, during breaks and times outside the classroom, he becomes a big brother to the students. Through his efforts, Kim’s students have become interested in studying. Not only are they interested in school, but they have become passionate about life. One student was able to enhance his English score from 45 to 90. Kim was so proud of the student that he bought a bike for the student. Scene #2: Volunteering at Taean Last December, Jo Eul-Seon (22, Political Science and International Studies) was part of the group of 560 students and 40 faculty members who visited the Taean oil spill area with the Yonsei Volunteer Group. Early on December 27, the volunteers gathered at Yonsei with their tools and went to Taean to wipe up the oil on the rocks for three days. “By volunteering, I feel that I have been able to share the pain of the Taean residents and help make the world a better place.” Scene #3: Sinchon Severance Hospital Every Tuesday, at lunch time, gospel songs fill the lobby at Severance Hospital. In addition to the gospel singing, which will continue this semester on every Wednesday, the volunteer group will be personally delivering hand-written letters to leukemia patients. Yonsei University is focusing on making the world more beautiful through “Happiness Marketing”. Beginning with the Yonsei community and looking towards the next generation, Yonsei’s goal is to create a total solution for happiness. The effort has brought together the founding spirit of servant leadership espoused by the missionaries who founded Yonsei and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) marketing strategy of Philip Kotler, who says that companies that do good are also successful. The Yonsei Volunteer Group is the strongest proof of Yonsei efforts to serve the community. The Group, which began in 2005 with the motto “With Yonsei, Make the World a Better Place”, is in its third year. Yonsei has adopted the community service credit system through which students are given credits for volunteering which they can add to their graduation requirements. The Group now consists of 20 volunteer groups and some 8,000 members. The goal of the Yonsei Volunteer Group is to spread the spirit of caring and nurturing as well as to create a network of alumni and parents. The Group also aims to increase the influence of the University in the community. The Group’s activities, initially limited to work in the immediate community, are looking to expand to the national level by 2009. Also, from 2010, the Group plans to work with NGOs and international rescue operations to reach out to the world. The Group’s main activities include academic, talent, international, and material support. This semester, volunteer courses including singing in the Severance hospital lobby, tutoring elementary and middle school students, and after-school mentoring will be available. Since last year, it has become mandatory for all students receiving full scholarships to participate in 30 hours of volunteer work per semester. If this condition is not fulfilled, or fulfilled in an unsatisfactory manner, the next semester’s scholarship will be withdrawn. This regulation is expected to help spread the spirit of community service to the entire society. Aid activities in the under-developed areas of the world are also being conducted. Short-term visits to Ethiopia (June), Mongolia (July), and the Hunchun district of China (September) were made to help the needy in these areas. The Yonsei Volunteer Group is expected to expand its activities by collaborating with the Graduate School of Social Welfare.