Meet Caitlin. A student at the Blake School in Hopkins, 13-year-old Caitlin, is one of MATTER’s young volunteers with an inspiring volunteer story.

Back in 2020, Caitlin began to take part in a service program through her school that encourages students to volunteer during their free time. This inspired her whole family to volunteer. They bought a couple of Volunteer Kits (装备箱) and packed healthy snack packs in their home for people suffering during the pandemic (疫情). Over the course of a year, Caitlin took the challenge to raise enough money to buy snack packs for the community! But Caitlin didn’t stop there. Now her mom, Leigh, joined her at MATTER.

Caitlin explained why she was so devoted to helping people. “I think it’s really important to volunteer and give back to your community, especially when you’re offering people food, which is such an important need.” And what do Caitlin’s friends think of her passion for helping others? “My friends think it’s really cool that I have such a big commitment (奉献) to this. A couple of them are interested in volunteering next year because they’re inspired by what I’m doing at MATTER. It makes me feel good to know that others want to volunteer because I’m doing it.”

During this National Volunteer Month, we want to thank Caitlin and all of our devoted volunteers who selflessly give their time and energy to support MATTER’s mission. We know each of you has an inspiring volunteer story to tell and because of your efforts, we are able to help people launch projects that improve communities here at home and around the world. Thank you! You matter!

When I was a junior doctor in surgery, I was told that a group of researchers found the music played in operating theatres isn’t just a way for the doctors and nurses to pass the time-it can actually have very positive benefits for the patients too. Obviously there’s good evidence for its benefits in patients having surgery under both local and general anesthetic.

The study has shown that playing certain types of music with a rhythm like the heartbeat was as effective as midazolam-an anesthetic given to patients going through a variety of procedures. Studies have also shown that music can help reduce post-operative pain so much that patients are less dependent on medicine to reduce their pain.

The operating room is a rigid place tightly governed by procedures that make sure operations run smoothly. Among all the rules and regulations though, I suppose the one thing that there is choice over is the type of music played. The most senior surgeon in the room gets to choose the music.

Although it tends to be classical music, it obviously opens up all sorts of possibilities — suitable songs that could be played. “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees is one I hope surgeons consider, for example. My mum is about to have her eyes operated, so she should, I think, ask her surgeon to play “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash. But some should perhaps be avoided, for the sake of the patient. I think I’d rather have that anesthetic when having a surgery, than listen to “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash, for example.

Australia officially listed koalas across its eastern coast as “endangered” on Friday. Conservationists (自然环境保护者) said koala populations had crashed in much of eastern Australia over the past two decades, warning that they were now sliding towards extinction.

The koala a globally recognized symbol of Australia’s unique wildlife, had been listed as “vulnerable (易危)”   on the eastern coast just a decade earlier. “We are taking unprecedented (史无前例的) action to protect the koala,” the Minister of Environment, Sussan Ley said, highlighting a recent government promise of Aus $50 million to protect and recover koala habitats.

Environmentalists welcomed the koalas’ new status (地位) but blamed Australia’s failure to protect the species so far. “Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to endangered within a decade. That is a shockingly fast decline,” said WWF-Australia conservation scientist Stuart Blanch. “Today’s decision is welcome, but it won’t stop koalas from sliding towards extinction unless it’s accompanied by stronger laws to protect their forest homes.”

Alexia Wellbelove of the Humane Society International said east coast koalas could be extinct by 2050 if no action was taken. “We can’t afford any more clearing,” she said. “The extinction of koalas does not have to happen,” she added, “we must stop allowing their homes to be cleared for mines, new houses, agricultural projects and industrial logging (伐木).”

Australia’s koalas had been living on a “knife edge” even before the “Black Summer” bushfires of 2019-2020 because of land-clearing, drought, disease, car strikes and dog attacks, said Josey Sharrad, wildlife campaign manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare. “We should never have allowed things to get to the point where we are at risk of losing a national icon (象征),” Sharrad said, “The bushfires were the final straw. This must be a wake-up call to Australia and the government to move much faster to protect critical habitat from development and land-clearing, and seriously deal with the impacts of climate change.”

You learn, connect with friends and play games online. Just as you look both ways before crossing the street, be sure you are using the Internet more safely. These tips, based on the latest research, will help you stay fun and safe online.

Be your own person. Don’t let friends or strangers pressure you to be someone you aren’t.     11     You may be Internet smart, but people and relationships change, and unexpected stuff can happen on the Internet.

Be nice online.     12     People who are annoying and aggressive online are at greater risk of being bullied (欺凌) themselves. If someone is mean to you, try not to react. Talk to a trusted adult or friend who can help. Use privacy tools to block the meanies.

Passwords are private. Don’t share your password even with friends.     13     One trick: Create a sentence like “I graduated from King School in 15” for the password “IgfKSil5”

    14     It may be fun to check out new people for friendship or romance. But be aware that, while some people are nice, others act nice because they’re trying to get something. Praising or supportive messages may be more about controlling than friendship or romance.

Avoid in-person meetings. The only way someone can physically harm you is if you’re both in the same location, so-to be 100% safe-don’t meet them in person. If you really must get together with someone you “met” online, don’t go alone. Have the meeting in a public place.     15