His Excellency, Prof. Faleh bin Rajallah Al-Solami, President of King Khalid University, inaugurated the International Volunteer Day 2024 event. This event coincided with both the Saudi and International Volunteer Days and was organized by the university's Agency for Community Partnership and represented by the General Directorate of Volunteering and Community Partnership. The event took place at the university's Al-Far'a campus, with the attendance of several directors of various departments in the Asir region.

In his speech at the ceremony, His Excellency the President commended the wise leadership's clear attention to volunteer work, considering it a supreme civilizational value that reflects the society's awareness and advancement. He also highlighted the distinguished models of volunteer work in the Asir region and the region's continuous progress in this field, stating: "Awareness of the importance and value of volunteering is growing and renewing. The Ajwad initiative launched by His Highness the Emir of the region and the chairman of its development authority is a prime example, in addition to the many initiatives in the region that are based on volunteering and fueled by the efforts of the dedicated and the creativity of the innovators."

His Excellency continued, "In your university, King Khalid University, volunteering has become, thanks to God, an icon of giving and a source of success for many of the university's projects, initiatives, and programs. This has resulted in the university achieving first place among Saudi universities in activating volunteer work, as well as receiving the national award at the educational sector level from the National Center for Non-Profit Sector Development for this year, 2024. This is proof of the existence of high-quality work in this direction, which we hope will receive more focus, depth, and consistency with the university's and the region's strategic orientations, which align with the Saudi Vision 2024."

For his part, the university's Vice President for Community Partnership, Prof. Abdullatif bin Ibrahim Al-Hudaithi, congratulated everyone on the university's well-deserved awards in volunteering at the Kingdom level.

Al-Hudaiti highlighted the number of volunteers at the university this year, noting that it had reached 16,029 male and female volunteers, representing a quarter of the university's staff and students. This is the largest number of volunteers in a Saudi university. He explained that they had contributed more than 800,000 volunteer hours this year, with an economic return exceeding 16 million riyals.

Al-Hudaithi reviewed the university's participation in local and international events, noting that the university was the largest Saudi university in terms of the number of participating volunteers in Hajj 1445 from outside the Makkah region. They participated in awareness-raising, crowd management, guiding pilgrims, first aid, rescue, and translation. Internationally, the university's doctors participated in providing voluntary assistance to refugee camps in several countries, extending humanitarian and charitable giving to three continents.

Al-Hudaithi concluded his speech by emphasizing the importance of continuing to expand volunteer work locally and internationally, such as continuing to develop the specialized program "Mubadaroon" and relaunching the community health and cultural camp program, which will tour the region annually with caravans of volunteers from the Asir region in blessed campaigns that enhance the university's appearance and increase its social and developmental impact in well-planned and impactful programs.

During the ceremony, His Excellency the University President launched the sustainable volunteering system at King Khalid University, which aims to make volunteer work at the university an institutionalized and sustainable work that continuously develops and grows.

The International Volunteer Day event featured an accompanying exhibition, specialized consulting corners in various family, medical, legal, and engineering fields, a mobile blood donation unit, and a specialized workshop on leadership in volunteer work.

As part of the event, the university signed a cooperation agreement with the "Tarahum" Association for the Care of Prisoners, Released Prisoners, and Their Families in the Asir region. The agreement was signed on behalf of the university by the general supervisor of the General Directorate of Volunteering and Community Partnership, Dr. Masfer Al-Asmari, while the "Tarahum" Association was represented by its executive president, Khaled bin Salem Al-Awashz.

At the end of the ceremony, His Excellency the University President honored the male and female volunteers and distinguished entities in the Mubadaroon 5 project. The Applied College in Abha won first place for the best volunteering entity and received the volunteering flag, followed by the Deanship of Student Affairs in second place, and the Applied College in Khamis Mushait won third place.