Leading and supporting youth clubs, summer youth camps and trainings

Elizabet volunteered in 2021 in Sumy, Ukraine with CanYouAssociation. The volunteering was a deep immersion in non formal learning, gained by mentoring volunteers, managing administration, leading some youth clubs, supporting summer youth camps, and both participating and helping preparations for trainings.

🎤 How has volunteering contributed to your personal growth, professional development, or overall outlook on life?

Volunteering was the masterclass in practical reality that my formal education wasn't—and I say that even with a Bachelor’s degree in Nonformal Education. It shaped my professional path in a concrete way: after finishing my project, I became one of the first officially recognized youth workers in my country under new legislation. I doubt that would have been possible without the guidance and example I received during my volunteering experience. On a personal level, it pushed me to question the thought patterns I used to fall into. More broadly, it taught me to examine life without immediately trying to fix it—to accept reality as it is, and work with it, not against it.

🎤 Why do you believe volunteering is important?

Volunteering is important because it's one of the few truly reciprocal forms of work. It gives what you give into it. It addresses tangible needs in a community while forcing the volunteer to move beyond abstract ideas and engage with complex realities. it connects bitovism with idealism somehow. You learn practical skills, see systems from the inside, and develop a clearer, less romanticized understanding of both problems and solutions.

🎤 What is your birthday wish for the 30th anniversary of EU supported volunteering — and for the next 30 years to come?

Happy 30th! My wish is that this programme keeps giving more people the same raw, life-changing experience it gave me—that chance to live in the messy, beautiful reality of another community, learn by doing, and discover that the biggest shifts often happen within yourself. Here's to 30 more years of building real connections, not just projects.

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