In June, we launched the first edition of the Junior Volunteer Academy, powered by Banca Transilvania. We gathered at the Stup for two days of volunteer activities with 18 energetic juniors committed to BIG deeds.
On the first day, we met Omid Ghanaddi, a super volunteer, a great supporter of ours and someone who does Good deeds as easily as he smiles. He not only gave us inspiration, but also practical advice on how to be a little better. From him, we learned that volunteering is a lifestyle and the power that builds resilient communities. Valuable lessons that the juniors are sure to carry forward.
The second day was dedicated to a practical exercise: we shopped for food and hygiene products for the vulnerable children in our programs and we visited them. Thus, the volunteers discovered a small part of the work of a social worker and, equally, felt how the kindness and generosity of people can bring about the positive change that is much needed.
In the family-type home and in the placement center in Bucharest that we visited, the juniors did not only offer the children food and hygiene products, but also their time, energy and attention. The volunteers took advantage of the beautiful weather and played basketball and volleyball with the children there. And in order to recover our energy after so many team games, we also organized a spontaneous picnic to tell stories and get to know each other better.
Indeed, we managed to get to know each other better and found out that the volunteers are juniors only in age, but seniors in Good deeds. They are young and their energy they to change the world for the better is unmatched. Today’s small volunteers are surely tomorrow’s big people!