TC “Volunteering 101 – defining, understanding, and developing programs for volunteers”

The benefits of volunteering are enormous to an individual volunteer, their family and community. Aside from helping with college applications and resumes, volunteering can also have a life-changing effect on their personal life. One fantastic thing that volunteering can offer is a new understanding of volunteers’ own abilities. Whether they are planning a huge event or making flyers for a small gathering, every task can help them understand how to accomplish something new. Volunteers can learn important skills like how to plan a budget or how to supervise and manage. Or, they can take time to enhance skills they already have by spending more time actively using them. An added side effect of volunteering is that it gives volunteers an opportunity to try out possible careers and opportunities, depending in which department they volunteer: fundraising, PR, project management, youth clubs, event management, etc. 

This training course is focused on basics of volunteering and understanding on how to develop and manage programs for volunteering. Participants will develop their understanding and knowledge on volunteering and existing volunteering opportunities in their local communities and as part of Erasmus+ programme and ESC. Furthermore, they will develop knowledge and skills for developing volunteering activities based on the real needs of the local communities, will learn how to recruit, educate and support volunteers; and how to evaluate and further improve programs and activities for volunteers. Last days and follow-up of the training corse will provide opportunities for participants to engage in development of join initiatives and projects on topic of volunteering and volunteering programs development.

What will the TC look like?

Each working day will include 4 workshops in the duration of 90 minutes each. Two of them will be implemented in the morning session (before lunch break), and two of them will be implemented in the afternoon session (after lunch break).

A coffee break with refreshments and snacks for a duration of 30 minutes will be organized between each of them. At the end of every working day, we plan to organize self-reflection and evaluation sessions led by trainers and the staff team.

During the evenings, we are planning to organize some free time activities. Still, participation in them will be voluntary based, and participants will have a chance to develop them on their own mostly. Such activities are intercultural nights where they will have an opportunity to present their countries, cultures, traditions, food, and drinks through interactive games or presentations; NGO fair where participants will be able to present their organizations and regular work they do in local communities; one night is planned for visiting the city of Zadar and sightseeing. 

The whole training course will be based on non-formal education and learning by doing methods. We are planning to use general methods: working in smaller groups, interactive and creative presentations, brainstorming, work in national groups, simulation activities, role plays, etc.

PREPARATION FOR THE TRAINING COURSE

In preparation for the training course, selected participants will be invited to take part in a preparatory online learning course for a duration of 2 hours. Online learning course will serve as preparation of participants ensuring all of the selected participants have the same basic and starting knowledge; that will be later improved and actually serve as a base for sessions and workshops implemented during training course activity.

Objectives:

• To raise understanding and knowledge of participants on volunteering in their local communities, existing volunteering opportunities and legislations.
• To develop and further improve knowledge of participants about Erasmus+ program and ESC, as well as about the Youthpass and recognition of learning through models of key competences. 
• To develop knowledge and skills of participants in fields of: volunteering and principles of volunteering, motivation of volunteers, rights and responsibilities of volunteers and organisations.
• To raise level of knowledge and skills of participants on developing local level volunteering activities within their organisations and their local communities, based on: the needs analysis, strategies for recruiting, educating and supporting volunteers, supporting and providing supervision to volunteers, and evaluating volunteering programs.
• To improve knowledge and skills of participants on organising volunteering activities focused on raising employability skills.
• To provide opportunity and support for participants to develop new local and international projects and initiatives for volunteering of youngsters and other youth workers from their organisations.