Volunteering

Hello everyone and welcome to EnglishPod. My name is Marco

My name is Catherine and today we're talking about helping other people.

That's right, we are going to volunteer, and to help other people that maybe don't have as much as we do and so this is a way to give back to the community.

That's right, so this is an intermediate level lesson and before we get going, we have a phrase to preview in today's "vocabulary preview". Voice: Vocabulary preview

All right. So on "vocabulary preview" today we have this phrase: a soup kitchen. Or it is a noun, soup kitchen.

That's right. A soup kitchen is a place, basically it is a place where volunteers can help cook and serve people who don't have enough money to feed themselves.

Okay, so that's a soup kitchen. It's basically a place where people can get free food.

That's right.

Okay. So this is where we're going to be today, we are at a soup kitchen and we're going to hear a couple of people talking about helping out, at a soup kitchen. Let's listen. Dialogue first time 1:05- 2:35

All right, we're back. So obviously this person, (eh what was it?) George, he didn't really need the food, but apparently I think he's divorced from his wife and he's like: eh I need your food. But other people that were there were very much in need of this food, so why don't we take a look at some other words and phrases on "language takeaway". Voice: Language takeaway

Well we've got a couple of interesting words here, to beginning that have to do with volunteering, or helping other people. The first phrase you have actually is to pitch in.

That's right, to pitch in. So when you pitch in, that's a way of saying helping right?

That's right, to help. So I could ask you for your help or something, I could say: Hey Marco can you pitch in a little of your time with this project that I have?

Okay, so dedicate ? 3:27 My idea: dedicated - or to help , to pitch in. So when you pitch in, you're helping. This is a really common phrase, very colloquial though, right?

To pitch in, that's right.

Okay, and then moving on, another adjective when a person like to help or gives money to the poor: that person is generous.

That's right, so generous is an adjective. That means a person can be generous, or an effort can be generous. For example, a very famous generous person is ..

Mother Theresa of Calcutta.

I was thinking of Warren Buffet, but both of them are very generous. Mother Theresa for giving back to the poor, and Warren Buffet for donating most of his money.

Okay, very good. So that is a sign of a person that is generous. So usually generous people like Warren Buffet, you said, he give a way his fortune to people that didn't have money, we call this people the less fortunate.

That's right. So as you said we've got three words here that mean poor people, basically. And we don't like .. we don't like to say poor people in English, because it's not very nice. You know, people can't control this situation in many cases and it's more of a situation of not having what others have. And so one way to say this is: less fortunate. Okay.

So a person that is less fortunate is a person that is poor.

That's right. So I could say e.g.: We often try to help the less fortunate by volunteering our time.

Okay. So fortunate is a way of saying that you have fortune or you have luck. So if you say "you are very fortunate", that means that you are very lucky.

That's right.

Okay. So less fortunate means poor. And another way of saying that somebody is poor, you say that person is needy.

Needy. So it does probably makes you think of the word need, to need, and you're right. This comes from need. So someone who is needy needs things, needs money, needs help, needs food.

Okay, even attention right, somebody that's needy might need a lot of attention all the time.

That's right. So this actually could be a bad thing; someone who's needy is like: look at me, look at me, oh my God listen to me. And that can be very annoying.

Okay, so the needy. And now finally, a very common word, to say that somebody is very poor, doesn't have a place to live, doesn't have a home, you say that person is homeless.

Homeless. Literally it means without a home. And so we often talk about the homeless, as being a group of people we wanna help in society, because the homeless live on the streets, they live in public. And in the winter, in times when it's really really cold, it's very dangerous for them. So the homeless are a group that people try to help these with soup kitchens and shelters.

Okay, very good. So a lot of interesting words, common phrases there, very useful, so why don't we go back, listen to this dialogue again and we'll back in a little bit with "fluency builder". Dialogue second time 6:20 - 7:45

All right, we're back. So on "fluency builder" today we have three key phrases. So we're gonna take a look at those now. Voice: Fluency builder

Okay, so what's our first phrase.

Our first phrase comes from the beginning of the dialogue, with Mark, who says you know there's some people are struggling to make ends meet. So the phrase is here: to make ends meet.

Okay, to make ends meet. So I have ... so if you take a look at this phrase, it's very hard to determine what that actually means. What does it mean?

Well, think about a string. If you want to make a circle out of that string, you have to connect the ends, right. And I think that's being about your income and the money that you spend. I cannot make ends meet if I earn ten dollars every week but I spend fifteen on my house and my food.

Right.

Okay. So be not being able to make ends meet, means you spend more then you earn. And that's not about cars and fancy TV's. That's about your house, your heat, your bills, your food.

Your food, right.

But I've said I've been able to make ends meet for a while now, because I have a pretty good job. Okay, so to make ends meet is to be able to pay for your necessities.

Okay.

But he can't make ends meet means he can't support himself financially.

Okay, very good. So to make ends meet is pretty much to satisfy your basic necessities.

Financially.

Financially. Okay. Very good. And moving on, when we were talking about generosity and people helping out, you know if you help people that are less fortunate, you are making a difference, in a small way.

Okay, so this is a phrase that we hear all the time in the States, I'm not sure if it's the same in other English speaking countries, but eh it's a very popular phrase, we are talking about making a difference or trying to make a difference. And it's not very clear what a difference really is. But generally this means doing good things for other people.

Okay.

Okay. So celebrities try to make a difference with their money and their fame. Some people try to make a difference by working at homeless shelters, or at soup kitchens. And so their are many different ways to make a difference. But it's basically the idea that you volunteer or you give money to help other people.

Okay. Very good. So even if e.g. you recycle, you can say you're making a difference in the environment.

That's right. You're making a difference. Usually a difference is a positive thing. So keep that in mind.

Okay, very good. And for the last phrase on "fluency builder" today, we say that people who come here, have fallen on hard times. So people that have fallen on hard times. What does that mean if you fall on hard times?

Well basically hard times are difficulties. Right, so not being able to make ends meet. Not being able to pay for your food and your housing. And so we have the verb to fall. You've fallen on hard times because you've going from a place where you're comfortable, to a lower place. The place where life is really hard.

Right.

And so and think of this is a fixed phrase: he fell on hard times. Or, they fell on hard times. This means they don't have much money, or they can't support themselves, or they went bankrupt, for example.

So somebody that looses their job may have fallen on hard times.

That's right.

Okay.

And there's one more phrase here that deserves a little attention, we heard this word to bolster. To bolster is a verb that means to improve. So a hot meal can really bolster their spirits. That means that can make them feel better.

So " to bolster their spirits" makes .. means to make them feel happier, to lift their spirits.

That's right. Exactly, as you said, it makes them feel happier.

Okay, awesome. So a lot of interesting phrases there. Why? (where?) 11:24 is that that you can talk in English about making a difference about volunteering. Very interesting stuff, very good for conversations between friends and family. So why don't we go back, listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back to talk a little bit more. Dialogue third time 11:40 - 13:15

All right we're back. So talking about volunteering, have you ever done any volunteer work?

I have, I've done quite a bit actually.

Yeah, where.. what have you done?

Back, when I was living in the United States, in Chicago, I used to cook for homeless shelter. Every week. So bringing food every Thursday, eh

So you cooked at home and you bring the food over to the shelter.

That's right. So the shelter had a kitchen, but they used donations from people because there were so many people who came there for food. And eh once a month I would volunteer there also serving the food.

Okay.

So I would bring lasagna or pasta, things that most people like, and then once a month I would sit there with people and talk. You know a lot people are lonely, when they are .. when they are in homeless shelters, because they come alone, or maybe some mother with her child. It's nice to also come and sit and talk to them.

Ahem, nah it's very interesting. And I think volunteering is a much better solution than e.g. just giving out money to poor people, ore some like that. I don't think that's really the solution. I think you should dedicate your time and your energy to making a difference like in the dialogue.

Well and I think that the other benefit is for you, the volunteer. Because it changes your perspective on poverty and on humanity and you think about: well, you know, I could be this person, he was a banker two years ago. And now he doesn't have a house. And so I think it's a .. it has a positive effect on everybody involved.

Yeah, for sure. Now I think it's a very very rewarding experience and I think Englishpod definitively supports that you should volunteer, you should make a difference, and I think we can all help each other, right.

That's right. And let us know, have you ever volunteered, what kind of volunteer work have you done. Has it been environmental, or social. Let us know on our website Englishpod.com. We hope to see you there.

All right, bye everyone. C,M Bye.