Mystery Shuttle Volunteer: in the Spirit of Christmas

On December 21st, Planet Zoom-In held another successful event in the spirit of Christmas and giving back during the holiday season. The Mystery Shuttle volunteer event began around 9AM and lasted for 12 hours, where the volunteers separated into two groups and departed for two different volunteer locations. After a long but fulfilling day of volunteering, the day ended with a fun dinner party at The Soul by Jess, a snazzy bar in Itaewon. 

Everyone gathered in the lobby of HI-KR Ground and during check-in is when the volunteers could pick from two mystery volunteer activities. Shortly after, everyone departed on their respective shuttle buses and off they went!

For the volunteers that chose the bell image, they were headed to the Global Children Care Center, where they were to interact, play games and teach an English Christmas carol to young kids. The Global Children’s Center, located in Guro-gu, is a cultural center that provides protection, education, and emotional support to children that need a safe place to go after school. Their goal is to help improve school life and peer relationships through teaching them the Korean language, providing fun activities and camps. The volunteers prepared the activities and teaching materials in the morning and began volunteering in the afternoon. Each volunteer had the chance to lead a specific section of the afternoon, including ice breakers, taking charge of musical chairs, teaching the kids English vocabulary from the songs, and more. 

The kids had a wonderful time with the volunteers and sang along loudly and happily! While there were varying degrees of English levels, everyone put in the effort to listen and try their best. Some of the kids were even sad that the singing session ended and the volunteers had to go. It was a day filled with warmth and high spirits from both the kids and the volunteers~

For the puppy image, volunteers took the trip to a more rural area where ARK, an animal rescue organization, is located. It’s regrettable, but historically, Korea has a tradition of consuming dog meat. ARK actively participates in protesting the dog meat trade and also rescues dogs from the streets, mountains and from the dog meat markets. The volunteers took on a variety of chores, including washing bowls, cleaning up the dogs’ living areas, changing water bowls, feeding, and walking the dogs. 

And although it was -15 degrees Celsius, everyone participated enthusiastically and did their best to care for the dogs. 

The dogs definitely appreciated it too!

After a long day of meaningful work, everyone headed towards The Soul by Jess in Itaewon. It was a time for winding down, relaxing, eating dinner and mingling with all the volunteers from different walks of life. Everyone socialized while eating yummy food like tteokbokki, gimbap, pizza, and chicken wings! Throughout the night, there were fun prizes being given out, including slippers, coffee, candy and even free Planet Zoom-In trips.

It was a great way to end the day and get in the Christmas spirit by celebrating a day of hard work with fun music and delicious drinks.