Activos financieros

To enhance my understanding of writers’ perceptions of reasons or motives for volunteering, which gives insights into community service and VQ assignment writing, and can ultimately be beneficial for the design of the training curriculum (Kerka, 1998), I planned this component in my interview guide for the first series of semi-structured interviews. Kerka (1998) comments that the most explicit motivational factor behind volunteering is altruism. Interestingly, in spite of sharing the same commitment to volunteering, I am aware that all four active volunteers had different reasons for serving other individuals and the community. Their different aspirations for volunteering are distinctive as well. Before I explain the literacy practices of the VQ writers in my research, this section aims to highlight the fact that all four writers have different reasons or motives for contributing of their precious time, money and energy to get involved in volunteering or, more specifically, to join a UG as volunteers.

4.2.1 Volunteering for Leisure

Volunteering, from Chris’s point of view, is for leisure, although voluntary work has already merged into his life. He commented, ‘I didn’t think of whether I did volunteering or not. I started playing in 1976 and suspended in 1979 because of my cert exam (Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE)) … I rejoined Air Cadet Corps in 1985 when I was 25-year-old … I didn’t think of volunteering but just wanted to keep my activities in ACC’ (Chris, semi-structured interview 1, 2014). Like his fellow cadets and classmates, Chris submitted a written request for study leave and sat for the HKCEE, the first public examination taken by secondary students when they reach the end of their five-year secondary school education in Hong Kong during the period 1978–2011. Chris expressed that he got used to seeing the HKACC as his leisure pursuit, so he decided to resume his membership after the public exam.

Sam shared the same view of volunteering for leisure when he was asked about why he joined the voluntary organisation when he was just a junior secondary student. He was first advised by his mother to join ‘a summer interest class’ (Sam,

unstructured interview, 2014) during the three-month summer break in his secondary

schooling in the mid-nineties. Sam recalled that his mother glanced at a recruitment advertisement for this ‘summer interest class’ in a local paper by chance, which marked the beginning of his cadet life in the voluntary organisation. In fact, cadet recruitment is normally conducted in the summertime by respective squadrons (Sqn16₎

before squadron-training activities officially commence in the new academic year. Therefore, the so-called ‘summer interest class’ for leisure was a serendipitous coincidence.

4.2.2 Volunteering for Passion

The HKACC can be viewed as a community that shares knowledge, ideas and passions, since volunteers form a CoP in which they “are informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise” (Wenger & Snyder, 2000, p.139). Being volunteers in an aviation-centred youth group can be simply because of a common passion. A joint enterprise emerges since the main purpose of helping young people links adult volunteers together and provides an ultimate goal for their practice. For instance, Sam’s motive for volunteering was to have a change when his cadet life came to an end. When Sam reached the age of 21, like other fellow cadet members,he was able to opt to ‘leave’ or ‘stay’. Sam realized that his service was not a temporary but a long-term passion, ‘As I wished to served the Corps and the community as well as sharing my experience and providing training and guidance to the fellow cadets, I kept on my service in the Corps and joined the Officer Cadet Training Course (“OCTC”) in 2002 right after my cadet life ended’ (Sam, reflective

report, 2010). Sam’s endeavours and enthusiasm to serve the community grew as an

adult volunteer. He felt his experience was of value to other volunteers. I extrapolated his desire to devote himself to the Corps to contribute his knowledge to a new generation from his written remarks in Data extract 4.1.

Data extract 4.1 Sam: ‘I wish to be the role model to my fellow staff and cadets’

16 _{Sqn (squadron), the basic operating unit of the HKACC, is where cadets have their regular meetings}

and training.

I do try my best to cascade the ‘positive ideology’ and ‘positive energy’ to the teenage cadets. So that they all can have a higher chance to establish the positive values during the critical ‘shaping period’ of their lives. And moreover, most importantly, I wish to be the role model to my fellow staff and cadets that we should serve our community by providing voluntary contribution to the public welfare as what is mentioned at our Corps’ objectives.

Similarly, Jayden shared this passion though he was a relatively new joiner in the community compared with Chris and Sam. Though his passion is more oriented towards aviation education compared to Sam, Jayden is also keen to contribute to the society. Jayden mentioned that ‘…since I decided to pursue my passion for aviation and give reward to the community at the same time, I joined HKACC in 2000’ (Jayden, thesis, 2011). Having served the aviation industry for over thirty years, Jayden was determined to immerse himself in this aviation youth group and hoped his own professional knowledge could be beneficial to the organisation after he was invited to join the HKACC by his friend (Jayden, semi-structured interview 1, 2013).

4.2.3 Volunteering for Social Networking

In contrast, Holiday’s reason for volunteering is more closely related to social networking, ‘Since I felt I had some free time and wanted to meet more friends after I finished my undergraduate degree’ (Holiday, semi-structured interview 1, 2014). Holiday took advice from her former colleague who was an Officer Trainee (OT) in the Corps. This OT suggested that Holiday could try to join the Adult Training Squadron as a starting point. Computers are like friends to Holiday in the Information Technology Industry. Through voluntary work, Holiday managed to meet more friends from different professions and so the number of her social contacts expanded.