It
is a tough time for immigrants to build their social connections in a new
country. New life comes with some problems. Where to live? Where to study? How
to get a job? Many immigrants are aware that there are no relatives, friends,
and acquaintances that can help them. They live in a big country but seem to
get lost in a lonely island, just as Hart, Dianne Walta wrote down an
immigrant’s feeling, “You are made to be your own land” (37). Life is much the
same, but the way immigrants live is totally different.
However,
in many cases, immigrants have professions and do not have troubles finding
jobs in their hometowns. They immigrate due to specific reasons. Some of them
are not allowed to take a formal offer because of the visa or the degree. For
example, immigrants cannot get a job if they do not have a green card or a
working visa. Also, immigrants get few chances if they do not have an American
college or university degree. Therefore, many of them face a career transition
and try something they are not familiar with. Also, it takes time to adapt to the
culture shock. Even a little stuff such as a dishwasher could be weird (Hart
121). Immigrants often feel they are limited by a wrong place.
Moreover,
life goes on and brings a series of problems. How to pay the bills? How to buy
a car? How to rent or buy a house? How to buy insurance? How to register a
community college? Is there any group to join? Is there any activity to attend?
These questions are all about daily life but are difficult for immigrants.
To
get familiar with new life, it is a wise idea to volunteer at a nonprofit organization,
especially an organization that consists of members who have something in
common, such as an alumni association. Having the same goals and passions is a
requirement to build a nonprofit group, and most of the members agree with what
they are going to achieve together. For example, the members of National Taiwan
University Alumni Association in Houston are graduates from National Taiwan
University, and they have three goals: to connect and enhance alumni in social
education and careers; to provide guidelines and information about community
service; and to act as a bridge between alumni and their alma mater (NTHAAH). If
immigrants join a nonprofit group with goals and passions, they can build
connections, find friends and mentors, and develop personal advantages.
1
Build
Connections
1.1 Contact Information
Building
connections in a new country is the most difficult but important thing. For
example, joining an alumni association is a legal way to get people’s contact
information: name, age, cellphone number, email address, profession, company’s
name, and personal message. Why do immigrants need this? In Eric Butow and
Kathleen Taylor’s book, the authors encourage people who are preparing for
their career to exchange contact information with people who know them and
trust them. In this way, they could be referred to others first for business or
something else someday (68). Also, if immigrants are looking for a job, there are
successful seniors in an alumni association, and this is a good beginning for
immigrants to build appropriate connections.
1.2
Event
Notifications
In addition, other
important functions of an alumni association are to hold various activities and
distribute important news about the hometown and the new country. The reason
why immigrants need this information is that the association filters the news
related to immigrants’ life, health, education, and career, so that they do not
have to look for a needle in a haystack. Also, it is predictable that famous
people will join specific events. If the members know exactly what they want,
they have the opportunity to get assistance from famous people through information
provided by the association.
2
Find
Friends & Mentors
Besides,
making appropriate relationships is important, too. When volunteers in a
nonprofit organization- such as an alumni association- have same hobbies, it is
easy to form small groups or clubs, such as dance clubs and karaoke clubs. These
clubs make immigrants’ life livelier and healthier. Moreover, there are related
industries in the same area, and it is a good opportunity to know people who
work for another industry. For example, in Houston, the oil industry is
important, so a lot of people have a mechanical and chemistry background. These
people who volunteer at an alumni association get more information and can share
their experiences with one another. In this way, when they have problems with
work, they will get help easily. Furthermore, they have better chances once
they are planning to look for a new job. Yuan-Hong Kuo, an NTUAAH member, who was
laid off from an EPC company, has built his own company since he got advice
from other members. Also, he found his partners from NTUAAH during the time he
was building the company. Appropriate connections could change immigrants’
life.
Finding
mentors is another helpful thing in immigrants’ career. There is an old saying
in China: aged horses always know the route. This means that experienced people
can be young people’s advisors in career and life. Bob Su, vice president of Nabor,
an HTUAAH member, provides several tips for young professional immigrants in
his speech during a Nov 19, 2017 career workshop held by NTHAAH. First,
immigrants should find ten mentors in life, and volunteering is a good way to
network and then find mentors. Second, be ready to ask appropriate questions to
experienced people. Third, constantly keep up the relationships through talking
or hanging out with experienced people. These mentors can help immigrants to acknowledge
who they are. For example, immigrants figure out the pros and cons they have.
Then, they start to think about what they really want. After that, they set
their goals and plans for achieving the goals.
3
Personal
Development
3.1 Leadership and Teamwork
Personal
development is also a benefit of nonprofit organizations. However, it is a
challenge for all nonprofit organizations to build leaderships and a good
teamwork environment. If there is no financial support, how is this possible? In
an alumni association, the board members are not paid, yet they devote
themselves to activities which are meaningful to them. Beside the group’s
goals, when the leader inspires the members’ passions, they may successfully do
a good job, and that is the key skill a leader in a nonprofit group should
have. In addition, it is not easy to make appropriate decisions for nonprofit
events because the leader needs to consider the organization’s sustainability
and ensure that the events are not against the law. For the team, members are
supposed to cooperate with other team members from similar or different
backgrounds. If everyone is talented, contributing individual talent in the
team could be a lesson of art. There is much to learn, and teamwork is
important in any place in the society.
3.2 Intangible Lessons
Gang
Lin Shieh, a member of NTUAAH, mentions that he appreciated the value and
attitude that he learned from some excellent seniors (NTUAAH). In fact, people
who help others always harvest more from what they have given. Tomi Somers, a volunteer of The Gardens Assisted
Living Facility, memorizes his volunteer experience and states,” I know that if
I am ever alone and need a place to live, there’s a place I can go where people
will remember my name” ( Netmark, 36). This is an intangible reward. Penny
Black, volunteering in a library, recalls a specific day in the past. She says
she was the most fortunate person because she learned the lesson that
struggling alone through life’s challenge is a lonely journey, but when she
went with other people, she could face even the hardest difficulty ( Netmark,
32). A volunteer’s life has the spray of sprinklings, and before asking who is
helping whom, the volunteers have had their answers.
Is
Volunteering a Waste of Time and Money?
Some
people doubt that nonprofit organizations are built for earning money, but they
do need money to operate. In an alumni association, sometimes the board members
sponsor the money, and this is not affordable to young members. Moreover, it
takes a lot of time to prepare and hold activities, and there is no pay. Also,
volunteers may waste money and time to serve other people without getting any
positive responses. That is true, but there are several ways to solve these
problems. For the money, nonprofit associations can have fundraising events in
order to help people who need supports. Also, the board members are responsible
for different duties. For example, the more rich, willing, and senior members
sponsor more money; on the other hand, the younger and junior members do more
physical work. For the lost time, volunteers gain more intangible rewards when
helping people. For instance, they can develop personal abilities in a flexible
time management; also, they learn to be good leaders and team workers. If the
thought is changed, people may not say it is a waste anymore.
Could
they be Criminal Organizations?
Other people may be concerned that some of the nonprofit
organizations do illegal things, such as tax evasion. However, according to the
Texas law, nonprofits have to file valid documents with finance conditions to
prove that all the cash goes to appropriate places. In addition, volunteers
should do some research before they become a member of an organization in order
to prevent themselves from dangers. There are still many legal nonprofit
organizations in the United States.
In
conclusion, volunteering may become more and more popular in the United States,
as will nonprofit organizations. It is good for immigrants in the United States
to choose nonprofit organizations as their beginning in the new country due to
the reasons which are listed above: building connections, finding friends and
mentors, and developing personal advantages. Serving other people could be an
important and helpful stage to immigrants. Joining a group instead of being
lonely in the journey of life is a wise choice.
Works
Cited
Butow,
Eric & Taylor, Kathleen. How
to Succeed in Business Using LinkedIn : Making Connections and
Capturing Opportunities on the World's #1 Business Networking Sit., AMACOM, 2009
Hart, Dianne Walta. Undocumented in L.A.: An Immigrant's Story.
SR Books, 1997
Penny
Black.” Shared Challenges.” Amy Netmart. Volunteering
& Giving Back—101 Inspiring Stories of Purpose & Passio. Chicken Soup for the Soul, 2015
Toni
Somers.” The Accidental Volunteer.” Amy Netmart. Volunteering & Giving Back—101 Inspiring Stories of Purpose &
Passion. Chicken Soup for the
Soul, 2015
Pablos,
Rolando B..“ Nonprofit Organizations.”, Texas
Secretary of State, http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/nonprofit_org.shtml.
Accessed 16 November, 2017
Shieh,
Gang Lin.“ National Taiwan University & Me.” NTUAAH, 18 January, 2017,
http://www.ntuaahouston.org/ntu-and-me-ganglin-xie-2009/.
17 November, 2017
Su,
Bob.” From Small Businessman to VP of Nabor.” NTUAAH IV Career Workshop. 19 November, 2017. Chinese Cultural
Center, Houston, TX
Kuo,
Yuan Hong. personal interview. 11 November, 2017
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