Recently, the Charitable Foundation "Children's Future" has started collaborating with a young initiative – the "Optima" Alumni Club. Thanks to shared values, alumni want to help as many children as possible access quality, innovative, and engaging education.
Collaboration with the Alumni Club occurs in several areas, expanding opportunities for OPTIMists.
Certified Internship for "Optima" Alumni by the Charitable Foundation "Children's Future"
OPTIMists can undergo a certified internship as volunteers in the following areas:
● marketing,
● fundraising,
● crowdfunding,
● copywriting,
● project management and team management.
Internship benefits:
● gaining practical skills in charity activities;
● familiarizing students with the fund's activities and projects;
● developing professional and personal traits of interns;
● supporting the fund's activities through volunteer participation in projects and events.
The internship program includes:
- orientation sessions, training workshops, and practical activities;
- a mentor from among the staff for support, information, and activity management;
- a productive symbiosis of the fund's goals and tasks and students' needs and desires.
Volunteering
Volunteering involves engaging alumni and students in short-term cooperation for a specific area or task.
Volunteering includes:
- Support and Mentorship. Volunteers are entitled to receive support and consultations from staff, including mentorship and assistance in task execution.
- Access to Learning Resources. Providing access to learning materials, training, and other resources to develop necessary skills.
- Safe Working Conditions. Ensuring safe and healthy working conditions through appropriate safety and occupational health measures.
- Development Opportunities. Providing opportunities for professional development and skill enhancement based on feedback.
Training includes:
● Basic Training. Conducting basic training in skills needed for tasks, such as communication, event organization, working with children, etc.
● Specialized Training. Conducting specialized training for volunteers who will perform specific tasks or work with certain categories of children.
● Mentorship. Appointing experienced staff or volunteers as mentors for newcomers to provide ongoing support and assistance.
The key aspect of the interaction between staff and volunteers is the proper delegation of responsibilities, so each volunteer can expect:
- individualized approach;
- Assessing volunteers' skills and experience to assign the most appropriate tasks;
- clarity and precision in instructions;
- ensuring a comfortable working atmosphere with clear task assignments, including expected results, deadlines, and resources;
- flexibility and adaptability;
- adapting tasks according to the fund's changing needs and volunteers' capabilities and preferences.
Crowdfunding
These two branches – internships and volunteering – are especially relevant due to the crowdfunding campaign's deployment.
This campaign goal is to accumulate resources for financing scholarships covering 100% of the annual cost of distance learning for the 2024/2025 school year for 20 vulnerable children, specifically:
1) children whose parents died in the war;
2) children with health issues.
The scholarship covers the annual cost of education at the "Optima" Education Center on various learning packages.
Interns and volunteers are crucial helpers in achieving this goal, as each child under the fund's care has a unique story and challenges. Each child's story must be highlighted and heard! Therefore, each child is assigned a personal volunteer who oversees their fate and education. Every child must be heard!
This financial support for their education will promote personal development, increase their chances of a successful career, facilitate easy and comfortable socialization, and provide the skills necessary to build a better future for themselves and their families.
Join us in this mission to provide children with quality and innovative education in comfortable conditions: Help financially or choose a ward and join the internship or volunteer mission! Internship applications can be sent to info@childrensfuture.org.ua.
Strategies for Effective Self-Study in Challenging Conditions
True success is achieved by those who always seek knowledge and continue to learn even in the most unfavorable conditions. Studying during wartime is about believing in the future, striving to restore stability, and focusing on what is important.
