Volunteering as a mission

Contents · 5 sections

1. Volunteering as a mission
2. The worries of a final-year student in Plovdiv
3. How I started volunteering
4. What happened next?
5. The mission

Volunteering as a mission

I want to tell you how I discovered my love for helping people and taking an active part in non-profit organisations, and for that I have to take you 7 years back in time.

The worries of a final-year student in Plovdiv

It all started in the autumn of 2008. What made that year special for me was not the Beijing Olympics or the European Football Championship in Austria and Switzerland, but the fact that I was in my last year of school and preparing to apply to some of the top universities in England. Unlike in Bulgaria, you apply to English universities in the winter of the year before, and you have to meet quite a few criteria to get in. One of the main things my studies depended on was my level of English, which, to my great regret, was not high enough. So I had private lessons during the week and two courses at the weekend to prepare for the TOEFL. In short, I had almost no free time. I tried to balance everything and give my best, but things clearly were not working. My teachers were not happy with me because I could not keep up with their assignments. I did not get support from my parents. My friends did not understand why I had no time to go out with them, and girls were just a mirage. I had no one to turn to for advice. In three words: NOTHING WAS WORKING!

How I started volunteering

I knew I had to change something in the way I lived to find some meaning and a higher purpose. Inspired by Yordan Yovkov's short story "The Song of the Wheels", I decided I wanted to do a "sevap" (from Turkish, "a good deed"), hoping it would make me feel better. So, during yet another sleepless night full of thoughts, I realised I could join a volunteer organisation and do something good for someone other than myself. Despite my very busy schedule, I was ready to give up the little free time I had to do at least one good deed. Because I was good with children (and on the advice of friends), I decided to join Big Brothers Big Sisters Bulgaria. I built strong ties with the people there very quickly and naturally. Soon I became a big friend (mentor) to a 10-year-old boy called Ivan, who found it hard to communicate because he was shyer than the other children at school. My goal became to help my new younger friend change his life for the better, without even realising that it would change mine.

What happened next?

A month after I joined the organisation, on a sunny day, the Big Brothers Big Sisters supervisor called me to say I had been chosen to go to Maastricht in the Netherlands and represent Bulgaria, together with several other young people, at a forum on the problems of European education. That is how fate brought me together with Veselin Iliev from the Bulgarian Youth Mentoring Network, who, without even knowing me, gave me the chance to travel, broaden my horizons and learn. Without realising it, he inspired me enormously and motivated me to be an active citizen and to help people grow and improve. He was my reward for the selfless kindness I showed in trying to change a child's life.

The mission

Since then I have been active in several youth non-profit organisations. I have started and helped deliver many causes and events that have reached a lot of people. I have the pleasure and honour of knowing and working with exceptional people who help our society grow every day. Even if you change the fate of just one person for the better, all your effort has been worth it. Doing something meaningful for others gives my life meaning. By helping someone else grow, I grow myself and feel more fulfilled. The moment a person stands in front of you, looks you in the eye with a smile, shakes your hand and says "thank you" is more than enough to justify the sleepless nights and the hours of work you put into an initiative. That is why my motto is that you should help whenever you can, without thinking about what is in it for you. Sooner or later, fate will find a way to reward your efforts!