VOLUNTEERING IN THE WORKPLACE
My name is Ivelina Gayreva, 52 years old from Ruse, Bulgaria. I am the secretary of the Community Center “St. Cyril and Methodius-1924”. There are several volunteer groups at our community center: a group for original folklore, Women’s Singing Group, Christmas Group, “Sing Heart”, Club of Pensioners. We are proud of our amateurs and we don’t fail promoting their success wherever we go. The main activity of our community center is to stimulate volunteering in the field of culture, involving the population in preserving customs and traditions. I am also an active member of the local community.
The program for rewarding older retired volunteers stimulated me to look for new volunteering opportunities in my workplace. I took a course in new media for lifelong learning. Most of our volunteers are older. I started training some of them in the field of informatics and the Internet applied to help in libraries. For the holidays of St. Nicholas and Christmas I organized a music program to rejoice older people in our community. We joined the fundraising campaign for the Shelter of Father Ivan in Novi Khan.
Volunteering unites and connects. It helps me make new friends and establish contacts. It improves my social skills, it makes me meet new people with similar interests. This is a great way to gain experience in a new field. I will be happy to continue participating in the Senior Award Program.
