ESC: Volunteer in Valdeku Youth Center, Tallinn, Estonia

The Participant profile: We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to join our team at Valdeku Youth Center in the capital city of Tallinn in Estonia. If you have a passion for working with young people aged 7–26 and are eager to make a positive impact in our community, this opportunity is for you! What We’re Looking For: - You must meet the legal requirements to work with young people, including any necessary background checks. You will be working with and for youngsters aged 7–26. - Youth work in Estonia is for all youth within the age group and a youth worker or a volunteer must welcome them all equally. That requires being open-minded about topics like genders, climate, LGBTQI+, politics, etc and taking an extra step towards including youngsters with fewer opportunities. We work towards that and you must share those values too. - Team Player: Ready to actively contribute as a team member of Valdeku Youth Center. Every work day is different and that means adapting and relying on each other for support quite a lot. That includes sharing responsibilities and taking up tasks on your own. - Youth Engagement: Passionate about youth work and enjoys engaging with young people and supporting their own ideas and initiative. - Community Work: Experience in community-focused activities is highly valued as we would like to include the community of Nõmme in our activities. - Creative Skills: Creativity in areas such as sports, music, arts, or digital tools is a big plus! - Communication: Strong communication skills, with English proficiency as a must. Also digital literacy (we use Teams, Outlook and MS Office + Discord for youngsters). - Self-Initiative: Motivated to develop and lead your own activities alongside open youth center tasks. No Prior Experience Needed: While prior experience in youth work is not required, we value enthusiasm and a strong desire to learn. This is a great opportunity for individuals who want to grow personally and professionally in a dynamic, youth-oriented setting. We have recieved ESC volunteers every year ever since 2018 and they have been between the ages of 18-26 during their voluntary service. What you must do? - You'll be working Mon-Fri in shifts either 11.00-17.00 or 13.00-19.00 (6 hours a day) - Your main workspace will be Valdeku Youth Center in Nõmme, Tallinn. During your shifts you have time for preparations and when the center opens, you should greet and welcome youngsters, find out what has brought them to the youth center on that day, make sure that the rooms are welcoming and safe and most importantly build trusting relationships with young people. - Besides working in the youth center this position includes some digital work like communicating with youngsters, collegues and community members. We share youth information online and in person and create visuals for that. - You should figure out what the youngsters want what you like and merge it into a regular hobby class. Ex. our current volunteer leads a board game club. - Communicate with young people on a daily bases. What do you get? - A tutor to support you throughout the voluntary service and guide you in your work-related tasks. Your tutor will be Roula Abdelhay who has started off as a volunteer in Estonia herself back in the day and is now a really good youth worker and tutor (she has posted an article about her service in another youth center: https://eankvabatahtlik.wordpress.com/2023/05/25/roula-abdelhay-12-months-esc/ ) - There is a small gym right next door to our youth center and you can use it for free during your preparation times or whenever on your free time - For every 3 months you work, you'll get a long weekend (a short Thursday and a day off on Friday or a day off on Monday and a short Tuesday) - A day off for your birthday - You'll be included in team activities such as recognition events and trainings that help you forward in open youth work - You can spread knowledge about your own culture and organize events for yourself and other volunteers in Tallinn youth centers - A team that is really enthusiastic about youth work and does it professionally. Valdeku's youth workers and their activities have been awarded in Tallinn and in the whole country. - If you are on the fence about working with kids and youngsters in the future, this is a great opportunity for your resume and experience What to expect? - Estonia is famous for its four seasons. That has its ups and downs. Example, summers have long nights and can be really warm, we don't have poisonous animals, our storms aren't really storms but we have a long winter. Thant means cold temperatures and shorter days (sun rises late and sets early). Bring your warm clothes and vitamin D! - A great time and life-changing experience :)
Deadline: 31/03/2025 23:59