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Fear not. TD-33348 of the Makaze Squad, Florida Garrison at your service to share my story in the hopes that you might become a volunteer in your community 麻豆精品 S because when we give back, everyone wins.
I joined the 501st Legion of professional Star Wars costumers in June 2020. The 501st is the largest Star Wars costume group in the world, with members in nearly every country. We have thousands of members in Florida alone.
The group 麻豆精品 S檚 webpage notes, 麻豆精品 S淲hile the 501st was initially founded to unite costumers with a penchant for Star Wars villainy, one of our real-world missions is to bring good to our communities through volunteer charity work. The 501st is always looking for opportunities to brighten the lives of the less fortunate and to bring awareness to positive causes on both a local and global scale. 麻豆精品 S
Why did I join this particular group? Because Star Wars is my passion.
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To become a member of the 501st, you must first build a costume and have it approved by your local garrison. In my case I spent nearly six months ordering plastic armor from the UK and sourcing parts from all over the states to complete my sandtrooper build. A buddy remarked, 麻豆精品 S淭his is the largest model kit I 麻豆精品 S檝e ever put together. 麻豆精品 S That 麻豆精品 S檚 an apt description.

Once your costume is complete, you submit photos to the garrison for approval. Once approved, you can 麻豆精品 S渢roop 麻豆精品 S with your local squad, participating in all kinds of events. The cool thing about being a trooper is that it combines my love of Star Wars with the importance of giving back to my community.
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During the past year I 麻豆精品 S檝e completed nearly 30 troops, and I 麻豆精品 S檝e come away from every event with a deeper sense of gratitude. I 麻豆精品 S檝e learned that volunteering is as beneficial to the volunteer as it is to those in need.
The Mayo Clinic has done extensive research on this subject and shares the benefits of volunteering, from decreasing the risk of depression to developing new and meaningful relationships to even enabling people to live longer.
It 麻豆精品 S檚 a win-win, or as Obi-wan Kenobi might say, if you volunteer, you 麻豆精品 S檒l take 麻豆精品 S測our first steps into a larger world. 麻豆精品 S I never realized that putting on a 麻豆精品 S渂ucket 麻豆精品 S (stormtrooper helmet) would allow me to experience so many emotions and so many mental and physical benefits.
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Students who want to learn more about volunteering at UCF can visit the .
The world has never needed us volunteers more than it does now. I urge you to get out there, donate just a few hours of your time to a worthy cause, and then reflect on that experience.
Being empathetic to the plight of others is a great step toward a kinder and more peaceful world 麻豆精品 S攁nd a more healthy you! These are the volunteer experiences you 麻豆精品 S檙e looking for.
Do or do not. There is no try.
Students who want to learn more about volunteering at UCF can visit the Office of Student Involvement 麻豆精品 S檚 VUCF webpage:
VUCF Facebook page: facebook.com/volunteerucf/
May the volunteering be with you!
Peter Telep 麻豆精品 S95 麻豆精品 S98MA is a senior instructor in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of English. He can be reached at Peter.Telep@ucf.edu.
The UCF Forum is a weekly series of opinion columns from faculty, staff and students who serve on a panel for a year. A new column is posted each Wednesday on UCF Today and then broadcast on WUCF-FM (89.9) between 7:50 and 8 a.m. Sunday. Columns are archived in the campus library 麻豆精品 S檚 collection and as WUCF podcasts. Opinions expressed are those of the columnists, and are not necessarily shared by the University of Central Florida.