Lois Nichols, assistant director of and six-year volunteer with Cougars for Kids at UH, advocates the sense of achievement commonly experienced by both volunteers and the children they are helping.
Cougars for Kids at UH, a program centered around spreading tokens of good will in the form of volunteer hours, strives to give back to those participating in as big of a way as they are giving to those children in need. It encourages the UH community to volunteer at local hospitals and schools.
"Working at Texas Children's Hospital, I've found that no matter how much you give you always get more back...seeing what (the kids) go through and still having positive attitudes is something to be inspired by," Nichols said.
The Cougars for Kids program accommodates volunteers from different backgrounds by enabling them to select both a certain area they would like to be placed in and the type of volunteer work they will do.
"In the schools they are asked to mentor the children as a 'big brother' or 'big sister' role and will be placed according to volunteer work the school is looking for," Nichols said.