'The Sixth Floor' and other stories

Do you know that the United Nations General Assembly in 1985 declared December 5 of each year as International Volunteer Day? I didn't, until I came across iVolunteer.ph.

They are the Volunteers who support communities and governments around the world. Volunteers offer something that is far more valuable than a grant or monetary support--they offer their time, talents and own selves. It is through their vision and idealism that others continue to have hope. They are honored not with monuments, but with the genuine smiles of those they helped. Then, it is through touching other people’s lives that their own lives are transformed.

Nearly 300 Filipino volunteers are currently placed in various developing countries around the world. In the country, most of the estimated 318,000 non-profit organizations operate with a support network of volunteers. Indeed, Volunteerism plays a significant role in the social, economic and political development of the country.

One of the volunteers is Tina Alejandro, who wrote The Sixth Floor in which she relates her touching and thought-provoking experience with 7-year-old Mico and a few other seriously ill kids she spent time with as a volunteer for the Kythe Foundation. Her essay was among the winners in the essay-writing contest that iVolunteer conducted among the volunteers.

This page contains The Sixth Floor and more essays written by other volunteers.