My experience volunteering at the National Youth Foundation started quite randomly, hearing about this opportunity from a friend of a friend. As a person who was familiar with the field of communication, copywriting, and social media management, the personal challenge I had was doing it with a new team in a new environment. I was skeptical at first, but from the first meeting I attended to the last, I understood that it was an experience that would change my life and would shape me into a better person.
Through this volunteering stage, I learned that every experience is very valuable and that all skills are not just meant to be learned, they are also meant to be shared. I learned many valuable new things about working as a team, communication, copywriting and social media management from people with diverse approaches who were studying or working in different fields than mine. I turned theory into action by managing content creation for The Youth Center's platforms. By actively participating in our events, I was able to film and photograph the most meaningful moments, bringing the genuine energy of the center to light. During this process, I significantly developed my editing skills in CapCut and Canva. I also improved the way I perform and deliver content during video shoots and it has really made me consider pursuing a career in the field of communication.
Besides the work we did, the most important part of this journey was the team. We started as strangers who managed to work together at first, but we quickly became friends who worked really well together, but who also had a lot of fun every single day and shared the latest drama in our lives. The team was the secret to all our successful events, posts, and videos. I will always be grateful for meeting such wonderful people. It was fun to see how our ideas came to life while also directly increasing the visibility of the projects we were meant to promote.
Another very interesting part was understanding how the youth ecosystem operates and realizing just how much power young people actually have to drive real change in their communities when given the right space and resources. In this space, the real game-changer for any young person is the freedom to leverage these resources to bring whatever they dream of to life.
Looking back, this experience was much more than just a regular volunteer project; it was a defining chapter of my personal and professional growth. It gave me direction, a reliable set of skills, and, most importantly, a community I can truly call home.I am incredibly proud of what we achieved together and I feel inspired to take the next steps in my journey within the communication field.
“Pathways to Belonging” (EU-UKR-PB), project number 101239630, is funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps, under the Key Action “Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas” (ESC-SOLID-2025-VTHPA). The 24-month project is coordinated by the National Foundation for Youth (Romania), in partnership with Collectif pour un Service Civique Européen (France) and Stowarzyszenie Projektów Międzynarodowych LOGOS Polska (Poland). It aims to support the social inclusion, civic participation and personal and professional development of young Ukrainian refugees, drawing on a safe-spaces methodology delivered through the network of youth centres coordinated by the National Foundation for Youth.