There is a general misunderstanding on the part of the state about what volunteering is. This was stated by Darina Ivanova, chairman of the Sea Club “Friends of the Sea” and a member of the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development during a discussion on the topic in Varna. According to her, people incorrectly equate a good person with a volunteer. Being a volunteer is a mission, and a good person helps a neighbor or a stranger on the street once, commented Ivanova.
Bulgaria still lacks a law on volunteering. The Ministry of Youth and Sports has removed the draft law on volunteering from the archive, but the texts in it are so outdated that they must be rewritten, believes Lena Karnalova from the “Big Brother, Big Sister – Bulgaria” association. Even if there is a law in this area, if the regulations in it are not up to par, it will not be operational, Karnalova also refers to foreign experience. According to her, the historical legacy and the lack of regulations in this area are the reason why citizens do not want to do voluntary work. The other factor is the glossy campaigns, packaged as volunteering, such as “Let’s clean up Bulgaria in one day”, which create a different perception of volunteering.
Everyone wants to get involved once a year to clean, are the observations of Iliyan Iliev from the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development. For 20 years, he has been volunteering for the Leaf by Leaf campaign, donating the proceeds from the recycled paper to the organization. The volunteers’ first encounter with the campaign leaves them with the impression that it is “dirty”, “heavy” and “unprestigious” and they quickly give up, commented Iliev. His observations are that most volunteers want to come in for a bit, say they participated and leave.
After the Covid pandemic in our country, one-time unorganized volunteering is starting to come to the fore more and more, according to the observations of the experts from the “Big Brother, Big Sister – Bulgaria” association. The association is currently conducting a nationally representative sociological survey on attitudes towards volunteering and its diversity. The survey is conducted through an extensive online survey and focus groups in various localities with stakeholders. Varna was one of the stops of the research, as volunteers, participants in youth schools of the Municipal Children’s Complex and representatives of non-governmental organizations working with volunteers took part in it.
Association “Big Brother, Big Sister – Bulgaria” is the official representative of “Big Brothers Big Sisters International” in Bulgaria and meets its standards for providing mentoring services for disadvantaged children and youth.
