August 16, 2026
August 16, 2026 was the day of the community health fair hosted by Airong Association, and it was my second time volunteering at the health fair. This year, my mom and I started thinking about what more I could do besides helping as a regular volunteer. Since I enjoy art, I decided to do something in that aspect to show appreciation to the doctors in our community. To do this, I decided to buy blank thank-you cards and invite youth art volunteers to design them in their own ways. On the day of the health fair, we would invite community members to sign the cards, bringing their messages of appreciation to the healthcare professionals.This made me more thankful for community service and volunteering and what it can provide for others.
On July 31, twelve youth art volunteers gathered at the community centre library where the health fair would later be held. Before we began, I introduced the background of the health fair and shared the goal of the event, and we began creating cards. Each person had their own unique style and drawings, and the different ways the volunteers expressed their individual personalities through mediums like writing, traditional art, and digital sketches helped elevate the 27 cards.
On the morning of the health fair, I began preparing a display board about our youth art volunteer project. Then my mom and I prepared the envelopes for the cards, each with a healthcare professional’s name on it. This year, 27 healthcare professionals provided medical consultations to community members. At the health fair, the organizers assigned a reception volunteer to each doctor. Since patients arrived at different times, we gave the thank-you cards to the reception volunteers first, and they then invited patients to sign the cards during the health fair.
Most of the event, I was acting as a helper, or someone running errands between the appointed “head” volunteer of a specific section and the event organizers to ask questions or clarify something. One of the professional photographers they hired to help film the event was able to interview me about the volunteer art event, and after 4 p.m., we began organizing the thank-you cards signed by patients and placing them into the envelopes with the healthcare professionals’ names on them. Even though they were very busy with their patients, they still managed to show appreciation for the cards.
Overall, this event helped me think more about how people can help their community become healthier, stronger, and more connected, not only through big events like a health fair, but something like holding the door open for someone, giving up your seat, or complimenting someone, and next year, I would be glad to attend again.
