Volunteer with us! Why should you? Between september 20. and 28. 2010 4 volunteer from Rybnik had a chance to represent CRIS in Youth Exchange, bearing the title “Make Yourself Useful” organized by the Academy of Experience in Csobánka, Hungary.

The program, funded by the Youth in Action project, attracted 28 young people from Poland, Romania and Hungary, who spent nine days together with the aim of learning about themselves and volunteering.

The project was conceived with the goal of encouraging responsible behavior and involvement towards the community, and to provide an opportunity for getting to know volunteering. The aim of the project managers was to provide the participants with an opportunity for realizing their own potential and weight in society and their immediate surroundings. A chance to see how much joy lies in volunteering, and what precious adventures and learning lie before them. The exchange serves as a showcase for means of service and “good practice” for when they go home to start actively participating on their own turf.

The methodological background of the youth exchange had been based on the range of practices of experiential and adventure learning, which holds the pivotal point of using natural resources, actively being outdoors, problem solving and physical excercises to model real situations to experience from the participants’ lives. Along other activities we went on a day-long hiking expedition, challenged ourselves on high and low ropescourse elements, went rock-climbing as well as planned and delivered our own volunteering project.

And why should you volunteer?

• to give back some of the great things you have been given;
• to feel that you are useful: there is something YOU can do;
• to seize your opportunities;
• to network and get to know people;
• to familiarize yourself with, and soak up a different country, system, language, organization;
• to learn and have work experience;
• to get to know yourself more;
• to get feedback about yourself, from which you can learn and will help you later in life;
• to have a lot of fun while doing all of the above;
• and because volunteers are AWESOME!
  

Take a look around yourself, and ask how you can help. And believe that a new world will open for you, a huge warehouse of opportunities.

2011 the year of VOLUNTEERING

If You would like to contact the organizer use the email: kriszta.gyongyosi@gmail.com or check the website : www.elmenyakademia.hu