This week’s Throwback Volunteer Spotlight is Pulin Agrawal. 

This interview took place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

What causes are you passionate about and what are some of your favorite non-profits in Memphis?

I am really passionate about education. I believe children are our greatest assets and education is the most robust tool. If we can educate children and other groups who crave for learning but don’t get the resources, we can make a big difference in our society. Educated masses can become an efficient workforce, entrepreneurs, teachers and researchers that can uplift the standards of living of any community. My favorite non-profit in Memphis is CodeCrew. I strongly believe in their mission of teaching coding to young people. Today, coding is a skill that will allow people to excel in many educational programs and also find well-paying jobs that can help Memphis to grow as a city.

Can you tell us about your best volunteer experience so far? What makes it memorable?

My best volunteer experience was CodeCrew Memphis in May Hour of Code as a Technical Volunteer. I got to interact with a lot of young minds who creatively made music using code that was written in Scratch. Scratch is an easy to use visual tool to teach coding to kids. The most memorable aspect about the event were the passionate parents who wanted their children to learn the skills of tomorrow. I felt comfort in knowing that parents who themselves do not know coding realize the importance of this skill for a better future of their kids. This goes on to show that they will continue to focus on educating their children and help in making Memphis better.

What are some lessons that you’ve learned from volunteering in Memphis?

I have volunteered for many cultural events in Memphis along with an educational event that taught coding to kids. I realized that we need people of management, event planning and marketing expertise to come forward and lend their services to volunteer groups to improve the outcomes for organized events. I learned that Memphis is a great city to volunteer in because the people in this city are very helpful and courteous. With just a little bit of effort this community can be transformed very rapidly as compared to any other big city which has compounding effects from a sheer number and variety of other problems. 

—

Visit the Volunteer Odyssey Platform to find your ideal volunteer opportunity.