Ashley Schepers i Christina Schneider studentice su Sveučilišta Indiana "School of Social Work" koje su u Osijek stigle u sklop programa razmjene studenata PRONI Centra za socijalno podučavanje Osijek.
Evo što nam je napisala Ashley o svom boravku u Osijeku.

"Puno toga sam naučila za vrijeme boravka u Volonterskom centru Osijek. Naučila sam koliko je volontiranje važno i kako se velike stvari mogu ostvariti zajedničkim radom. Za mene je bilo divno iskustvo vidjeti kako organizacije mogu raditi zajedno na ostvarivanju višeg cilja. Imala sam priliku razgovarati sa raznim organizacijama i upoznati se sa različitim projektima koji su pomogli u aktiviranju mladih u zajednici.

Kroz ovo iskustvo imala sam priliku raditi na umrežavanju, suradnji i vještinama donošenja odluka kao i na metodama utjecaja na zajednicu. To su sve vještine važne za uspješno vođenje koje ću ponijeti sa sobom i koristiti u poslovnom i privatnom životu.
Kada se vratim kući planiram koristiti vještine lobiranja i umrežavanja koje sam ovdje naučila. Planiram si i malo osloboditi raspored, pristupiti stvarima ležernije, tako da nisam uvijek u žurbi. Želja mi je više cijeniti male stvari u životu  i imati više vremena za preispitivanje osobnih stavova o moralu i vrijednostima.

Volonterski centar Osijek vrijedno radi na povezivanju volontera sa organizacijama koje imaju potrebu za volonterima kao i na promociji važnosti volonterstva, posebno na aktiviranju mladih.  Posebno sam uživala u akciji bojanja ograde Dječjeg Vrtića „Vedri dani“ u sklopu manifestacije Hrvatska volontira!. Bilo je prekrasno vidjeti ljude koji su nam prilazili i hvalili naš trud. To iskustvo  je ispunjavajuće i potaklo me je na veći angažman u svojoj zajednici. Bilo je divno pomoći zajednici, povezati se sa ostalim studentima i saznati kako oni gledaju na volontiranje.
Oduševilo me je što je toliko ljudi došlo bojati ogradu iako mi se činilo da neki volontiranje ne shvaćaju previše ozbiljno. Voljela bih da se više građana uključi u aktivnosti u zajednici zato što iskreno žele pomoći. Vjerujem da nam je zajednička dužnost brinuti se za zajednicu i možda ćemo jednom u budućnosti uspjeti  učiniti sve ljude aktivnima u zajednici."




I have learned a lot working with the volunteer center. I have learned the importance of volunteering, and the great things that can be accomplished by working together. For me it was great getting to see how organizations can work together to reach a common goal. I loved having a chance to interview different organizations and see different projects that are being done in the community to help get the youth involved.

Through this experience I was able to work on networking, collaboration, decision making skills, as well as, methods of community outreach. These are all important skills and aspects of a leader. I will take these skills back with me to use in my professional and personal life.
 When I go back, I plan on using lobbying and networking skills I have learned. I also plan on creating a more leisurely schedule, so that I am not constantly rushing. This will allow me some time to appreciate the little things in life, as well as reflect on my own morals and values.

As an organization, the volunteer center has been doing very well, and making a lot of progress. They have been working very hard to connect people to organizations that need volunteers as well as promoting the importance of volunteering especially involving the youth.  One particular project that I really enjoyed was painting the kindergarten fence. It was so amazing having people come by and complementing on what we were doing. This experience is very rewarding and makes me want to do more work in my own community. It was great being able to help the community and network with other students, and to see their views on volunteering.
I was very excited to see so many people come to paint the fence. However, I was a little disappointed when some of the boys were only volunteering to get out of class and was not taking the project as seriously. I would like to get more people involved in community projects because they want to help. I believe that it is everyone's responsibility to take care of the community, and maybe some time in the future we will get everyone involved.
Ashley Schepers