There are many ways how to apply knowledge in practice. And although majority of people prefer paid options, there exists also one with no primary financial profit, but able to give a person much more than any paid job – it’s volunteering. What is awesome is that more and more especially young people realize that also things that are done for free have some meaning and that are able to provide a wide range of benefits.
Our organization is not an exception and uses the help of volunteers too. They occupy various positions focusing on different issues, within which they can transfer their knowledge into practice but what si more, they can also learn new things.
The team is composed by translators, thanks to which we can extend the group of content recipients; writers, processing all interesting and necessary information and make it look attractive; volunteers with managing skills help us operating all organizational networks, controlling the performation of tasks or recruiting new help to our SYTEV team; members with marketing know-how are irreplaceable in promoting our organization outside the space of social networks and in designing our campaigns, as well as in creating email marketing and taking care of electronic communication. If you are looking for information on our website or Facebook page, you should know, that reading the content is possible thanks to our “webbers” and “Facebook bosses”. And to assure ourselves that all of this information is available for everyone, we are also using the help of “sharers”, focusing on less accessible groups while utilizing social media on 100%. It is important to point out that this content would not exist without skillful searchers, looking not only for intriguing materials but moreover for inspiration and examples, thanks to which we can improve ourselves and the work we do as well. In case you are interested to have personal interaction with us, it is possible to meet our educators, spreading all the facts about Erasmus+ program and what is more, they are dedicated to informal education and take a part on youth exchanges and trainings through which they enrich the quality and quantity of knowledge, willing to share it further. Last but not least, this organization would hardly operate without our financial elves, searching for sponsors as much as searching for project options and coordinating financially the whole organization.
To make sure that relation between management of the organization and volunteers works, it is necessary to follow some kind of standards, guaranteeing smooth communication between both parties and eliminating the risk of raising any misunderstandings. These standards cover using of all modern information and communication technologies, thanks to which both parties can run at the same tempo and, at the same time, they make the access to all information for the wide range of people possible. Next point, provision of sufficient motivation to our volunteers so they will not lose the “fuel”, inter alia by guaranteeing the diversity of activities, providing enough of space for self-fulfillment and active listening of views and ideas. An essential point is definitely a feeling that this voluntary work, in addition to adding one more line to your CV, will also bring the flow of new knowledge, useful for ongoing personal and professional development. It is also necessary to provide an informal approach, which will make work a fun and in case the organization works with people with fewer or lack of opportunities, it is inevitable to ensure that all specific needs of individual members were taken into account. If all these points are met, the organization has guaranteed success on the field of working with volunteers.
We presented short summary of how volunteering works within our organization and what is necessary to take into account for making cooperation with volunteers successful. One thing you will not find in any guidebook is the feeling of working as a volunteer. What awesome experiences and memories it brings, being a volunteer, how volunteering helps to move on with one’s life, how satisfaction comes hand in hand with the fact that even though I am doing something for free, I feel richer than any holder of a paycheck. Long story short, there si no way to understand it without experiencing it.