This charity says the number of volunteers in Dubai is on the rise.

While most of us were catching up on Netflix, a group of volunteers spent their weekend helping to catalogue 10,000 books, destined for Syrian refugee children in Jordan.

Dubbed “Volunteer Emirates”, the initiative was set up by Dubai Cares, a charity working to provide children in developing countries with access to quality education. The initiative was described as in line with the spirit of the UAE’s “Year of Giving”.

Around 200 volunteers met at the National Charity School in Al Garhoud on Saturday, working in four-hour shifts to sort through 50 Arabic-language books each. Their job was to enter the title, author, year published and other details about the book onto a spreadsheet.

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Dubai Cares chief executive officer Tariq Al Gurg said the charity has seen an increase in interest from the UAE community ever since the “Year of Giving” was declared by H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

“At Dubai Cares, we are doing our best to accommodate the increasing demand for volunteering opportunities and this edition of Volunteer Emirates is the first of several initiatives we have lined up from now till the end of the year,” he said.

“Today is about the community working together to boost children’s learning potential simply by making books an integral part of their lives.”

So, if you’re still looking for ways to get into the spirit of volunteering – and are prepared to give up Netflix for a few hours of your weekend – get in touch with the folk at Dubai Cares to find out more about their upcoming initiatives.

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