Earlier today, more than 100 volunteers from the UAE community joined Dubai Cares in renovating and enriching the educational environment for the students of Umm Al Qura Private School, a non-profit school in Umm Al Quwain. This first edition of Volunteer Emirates 2013 involved volunteers in landscaping and painting work, assembling and installing new playground and classroom toys, as well as providing new sports and music equipment.
Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares said: “Volunteer Emirates is one of our most anticipated events of the year. Volunteering one’s time and effort for the benefit of others is an extremely rewarding experience, and is an important characteristic of the UAE culture that we continuously aim to cultivate. This is why we decided to run more editions this year that will engage the maximum number of volunteers possible.”
Mariam Ghanem Ali, Principal of Umm Al Qura Private School, said: “On my behalf and on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the school, I am delighted and honored to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Dubai Cares for the supplies and aid they offered that will definitely serve education and create a safe and fun learning environment within our school.”
Participating in the activity, Aisha Khalid said, “It is my pleasure to be a part of this wonderful initiative and I feel happy I can use my time and efforts for a good cause. It feels good to know that our efforts will help students of Umm Al Qura have a better school environment and I thank Dubai Cares for this volunteer opportunity.”
Volunteer Emirates is part of a series of local initiatives launched by Dubai Cares to offer UAE residents opportunities to give back to their community here at home by dedicating their time and effort to support a worthy cause. In November 2012, over 100 volunteers helped Dubai Cares improve the learning environment at Al Ahliya Charity School in Dubai, assembling 1,000 chairs and desks and installing new sports equipment for the school’s students.