Volunteer Spotlight: Min Oo Thant

May is Asian American American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month – so is #GiveInMay.

Throughout the month, BEC will be sharing stories from its team, consumers and volunteers. For this week, we highlight a BEC volunteer, Min Oo Thant. We asked Min to share his experience volunteering at BEC, and here is his statement:

"There were many factors which inspired me to connect with the Bayanihan Equity Center (BEC) for volunteering. The first major reason was that I hail from Burma, a country in Southeast Asia so I strongly believe that the Bayanihan Equity Center would help me to interact with the Southeast Asian community. Since I am Burmese, I can recognize certain cultural similarities with Filipino culture. For instance, the word 'Ako' in Tagalog ('I' in English) means 'Elder Brother' in Burmese. In addition, the Center also helps me to bridge ties with other Asian communities.

Next, I am very grateful for the opportunity to get involved with the Center. Recounting my experiences as a volunteer at the Bayanihan Equity Center, I can continue to work on improving soft skills which are crucial in transitioning to a professional career in the future. For example, I am able to work on developing my emotional intelligence as I begin to realize that the values of empathy and adaptability are necessary in building connections with communities. Then, collaborative teamwork is another soft skill which I learn during my time as a volunteer at BEC. After that, I am also able to resume upgrading my communication skills as one of the volunteer tasks comprise making phone calls to reach out to senior housing related to the availability of food resources.

Overall, I agree and support the mission statement of the Center because the value of equity is very essential. I can personally connect my life with the Mission Statement of the Center. My grandfather once said to me, 'When you are doing well, give and help others. When you want to be happy, continue to give and help others.' Helping others in need does not only mean reducing inequalities but it is also about making others happy and spreading good values to build better communities."

Support BEC's work by visiting https://www.giveinmay.org/organization/Bec.