A large-scale volunteer camp

A large-scale volunteer camp gathering was held in Nizhny Novgorod from September 30 to October 2. Students of our department studying applied linguistics and text analytics took part in the seminar and shared their experience of volunteering.

"In fact, it was not difficult to get to this gathering," says one of the participants, "A person had to fill out a application form and note that he/she had experience of volunteering, as well as describe his/her motivation to engage in gratuitous assistance." Based on this data, the instructors decided whether guys were suitable for volunteer work, and which direction of training would be best for them.”

The educational program of the seminar "More than a Volunteer" included two levels of training: NEW-volunteer - for beginners, and PRO-volunteer for experienced current volunteers. For two days, students have pumped soft skills, teamwork, effective communication and learned the basics of motivation. “It was an incredible luck for me to be at this gathering We’ve learned how to defend personal boundaries and stay in a resourceful state. This camp gathering gave me a lot: new skills, new friends, new experiences. The main idea I’ve brought with me was that volunteers are extraordinary people who should be respected, all of us might learn from them unselfish goodness that shouldn’t be confused with free labor. I’ve been doing volunteer work since school years, but only now I finally realized the difference between really useful volunteer activities and social consumerism and saving on employees" - Maya Tadzhieva.