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North Van teen giving back through volunteering

When Morgan Won was 15 he was presented with a bit of a challenge.
Teen volunteer

When Morgan Won was 15 he was presented with a bit of a challenge.

He had volunteered at a Christmas gift-wrapping booth for North Shore Community Resources because his sister was volunteering there and he thought it would be a good way to give back to the community and to learn how to wrap presents.

One of the first items he was presented with, however, was not an easy-to-wrap box.

It was a vase.

"That was a bit of a challenge but that was fun," says Morgan of the "interesting" gifts people brought to the booth to wrap.

Now 17, and a Grade 12 student at Argyle secondary, Morgan has continued to be a volunteer gift wrapper and he also volunteers at school.He assists teachers and parents on parent-teacher interview nights, and works with the Argyle cancer awareness club.

He joined the cancer awareness club when he was in Grade 9 and became a leader the following year. The club helps promote cancer awareness among students and holds various fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.

In April, the club will host its annual daffodil day event, giving out daffodil pins and asking for donations. In November, they hold a Movember Mustache day event, and in October they hold a bake sale for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Morgan says he wants to continue volunteering after he graduates, and is especially interested in working with the cancer society because his mother passed away from breast cancer when he was 10 years old.

"I really would like to volunteer especially with the Canadian Cancer Society because that hits home with me," he says.

Morgan hopes to move on to post-secondary studies in sciences and admits it may be more difficult to find time to volunteer after high school. In his spare time he is already involved with singing in the school choir, playing percussion in the band, as well as reading and playing soccer, volleyball and curling for fun. Young people can get pretty busy, he says, but it's worth making time for volunteering.

"Just try your hardest," he says to other teens who think they may not have the time to volunteer.

"Volunteering, it makes you feel really good about yourself, and you have that sense of belonging and community and that's what I found over the years of volunteering."

Volunteers help bring a diverse range of talents and skill to various organizations and groups, and Morgan says teens in particular have a lot to offer, including a unique perspective. But it's a two-way street, and Morgan says he also gets as much out of volunteering as he puts in, including improving communication skills and building new relationships.

"Teens should volunteer more if they have the time," says Morgan. "It's great to get the experience, and really you think that you're giving something to them but they're really giving more to you."

This story originally appeared in the North Shore News Volunteer Week special section.