At AAS, we believe that educating the heart is as important as educating the mind. In celebration of International Volunteer Day (Dec 5), we share some perspectives of our students who are involved in the various volunteering opportunities that the school offers.

What volunteering activity did you take part in? 

Nojus , Gr. 10: I volunteered with 'Hope for the Little Ones'.

Cosme , Gr. 10: I took part in the 'Council of Refugee Women' initiative.

Sofia , Gr 9: I had never volunteered and that's why I decided to give it a try and took part in the 'Hope for the Little Ones' visit.

Kyrylo , Gr 12: I had volunteered before for the Bulgarian Food Bank and I liked it,so I decided to do it again.

What is the most unexpected or valuable skill you've learned or improved by doing this volunteer work that you couldn't learn in a classroom?

Nojus , Gr. 10:I learned how to feed kids which I feel will be really useful in my future.

Cosme , Gr. 10:I learned how kind and thoughtful people working at the 'Council of Refugee Women' are and how they dedicate their life to helping others . 

Sofia , Gr 9:I learned how to take care of little kids.

Kyrylo , Gr 12:I developed some management skills by creating a strategy of sorting the food. This was done through collaboration with other AAS students. 

What challenges did you face when you took part in the activity?

Nojus , Gr. 10:I faced the challenge of little kids throwing stuff around the room.

Cosme , Gr. 10:We had to sort out clothes and we faced some challenges with the space - there were a lot of clothes and little space to display them.

Sofia , Gr 9:We found that the area in which the activity was situated was very small. Despite this we made it work and made sure the kids had a good time!

Kyrylo , Gr 12:It was challenging to complete the quota of 200 packages, but through working together and allocating the tasks to certain team members we came very close to completing the quota.

Can you share a moment when you felt like your contribution made a real difference to an individual or the community?

Nojus , Gr. 10:When the social workers in the house thanked me for my work and I saw the smiles of the little kids when helping. 

Cosme , Gr. 10:When a baby came in and we gave him a toy that he liked , he seemed so happy !

Sofia , Gr 9:In the beginning when we first went I met a little girl. She was very shy and didn’t want to interact with me at all. By the end we were hugging and playing games together!

Kyrylo , Gr 12:I felt like I was making a difference when they told us that the packages are going to blind people, so it felt nice contributing to this great cause. 

How has this volunteering experience influenced you?

Nojus , Gr. 10:It made me reflect upon the experience of child care and made me grateful to be blessed with the opportunity to help.

Cosme , Gr. 10:It has given me an experience that I won't forget and skills to help other people in the future

Sofia , Gr 9:It has showed me another perspective on life and made me think about what the lives are like for these little kids.

Kyrylo , Gr 12:It helped me see that there are organisations helping people with disabilities, which make their lives easier.