Getting to Know Sara La Rocca—Wife, Soon-To-Be-Mom, Volunteer

​Meet Sara. She's a wife, a law school graduate, and an avid volunteer. She's made it part of her lifestyle to give her time to causes she believes in.
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This 2-minute, 50-second video talks about her community involvements in the past in Manila, and currently in Singapore; and why she believes volunteering is a two-way street.
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Tune in!

Joanna: Hi everyone! I'm here with my friend, Sarah LaRocca, and I'm very excited to have a conversation with her about her generosity story, here on Giving Is Social.

So the first time that we met, Sarah, we started talking about volunteering and participating in community service and I felt just so happy that I can talk to someone who is also very much interested. And now that you’re here in Singapore, you’re also very much involved still in the giving space. Can you tell us more about that and your past experiences back in Manila?

Sara: I was entirely new in Manila, and I tried to find a community that would share that sort of passion for volunteering. Because for me, the generosity part is always more of giving my time than giving money itself. Maybe because I never had a lot of money. I was a student for most of my life, so I didn't feel right giving away money that wasn't mine anyway. So I would instead give my skills and my time.

So in Manila, I was volunteering more with kids that are in the hospital. So we would go with a group of people, and we would organize games and fun days for kids who have dengue so they are hospitalized and cannot move around that much. And that was one of the first things for me. And then when I moved to Singapore, it's a calling more than anything. Like it's wherever I am drawn to join a community of people that I like to share this kind of lifestyle in the end.

My experience in Singapore, when I started, if you want to call it volunteering, is with the Red Cross. I was doing many things at the same time and maybe too much. My husband and I joined the Red Cross, and it was our first day there. We started regularly volunteering on that. And then I was volunteering with another organization that was beginning. I think it's a learning process for me too. Whenever you volunteer for someone or a community, it's not just about what you give, but it's about what you get out of it. It's a two-way street for me. It's like it's always a way for me to meet new people and learn something new about a place, about culture and yeah perhaps give something that is my skills, maybe give something that can be helpful. I think that's been my experience.

Check out my other interviews with Sara La Rocca to learn about how you too can volunteer your skills where you are.

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Read other related blog posts

What is the experience you get out of giving? (Interview with Sara La Rocca)

How do you think people can give? (Interview with Sara La Rocca).

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