Volunteering: a new way to learn and make a difference
How students and educators are coming together in School Volunteering Clubs to make a difference
- Українська
- English
After classes, eighth-grader Daria from Kryvyi Rih is in no rush to go home. She gets together with other students to bring food to animals at a shelter, bake treats for lonely elderly people, or participate in an eco-cleanup.
Daria is a member of a School Volunteering Club — an extracurricular educational program for 8th–11th-grade students created by the Ukrainian Volunteer Service with the support of UNICEF Ukraine.
In the clubs, children and adolescents learn to work in a team and try on different roles, propose ideas and turn them into projects, as well as acquire useful skills for life and their future careers through volunteering.
The "Dobryky-Bobryky" Club for Daria is an opportunity to do good deeds and see how even small actions can change the lives of people and her school for the better.
"I strive to help people, the school, and the hromada because I want to live in a world where kindness, mutual respect, and support prevail. In the “New Life for Old Things” initiative, we renovated the school space and convinced ourselves that even used things can be given a new life. And eco-cleanups showed that caring for the environment starts with each of us."
Educator and club leader Svitlana Ilchenko is convinced that it is precisely such initiatives that help children believe in their own strengths, as they develop various skills and socialize in practice and in a safe space.
"The club helps develop empathy, responsibility, leadership skills, and teamwork abilities. Here, I teach children not to wait for someone else to make the first step, but to independently initiate good deeds, support those who need it, and inspire others to join volunteering by personal example."
How School Volunteering Clubs came to be
School Volunteering Clubs became a continuation of School Volunteering Lessons — a program launched by the Ukrainian Volunteer Service with the support of UNICEF Ukraine in 2023. The classes covered various topics — from environmental protection to countering disinformation. Free lesson materials are available on our Spilnoteka.
During the academic year, lessons were conducted by more than 3,700 educators and activists for 112,000 male and female students across Ukraine. Teachers began to share that they would like to give teenagers more knowledge about volunteering, and students asked how to get involved.
Thus, in December 2025, a pilot project of School Volunteering Clubs started in 26 institutions, in which 111 schoolchildren participated.
School Volunteering Clubs — about unity and teamwork
Students of the Ovlashi Gymnasium in Sumy Oblast also gather after classes for good deeds — to write letters of support to children with cancer, collect clothes for those in need, or organize a plastic-free day at school.
Usually, club meetings take place in a school classroom. But sometimes they can connect online, like clubs from communities where the security situation does not allow attending school in person.
Offline or online — for club leader Nadiia Kozyrenko, the most important thing is to help children feel that they can support one another and their community even in difficult times.
"When I look into the eyes of my students, I see a huge strength there that needs help believing in itself. I believe that among our schoolchildren, that unique person is growing who will not wait for changes from others, but with confidence and a warm heart will take and change this world for the better."
Her student, eighth-grader Lina, says that the club became a place where she found a team of like-minded people.
"In our club, the children are sincere; we work together because we are a team. Volunteering for me is about the opportunity to help people and animals. It brings me joy and makes the world a kinder place."
School Volunteering Lessons — about a dream that scales through action
Currently, the network consists of 39 School Volunteering Clubs in 8 regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Zakarpattia regions. Over 600 schoolchildren have joined them. They implement charitable projects, participate in volunteer challenges, establish connections among themselves, and try on roles in various fields: from fundraising and partnership building to design and communications.
School Volunteering Clubs — about believing in yourself and others
Students of the O. Ivchenko Zaporizhzhia Aviation Technical College also have their own Volunteering Club. After their main classes, they organize digital literacy trainings, hold painting masterclasses, and bring food to an animal shelter.
They dedicate a lot of time to environmental volunteering: planting flowers and trees, cleaning up trash on the institution's grounds, creating eco-bags, and talking about responsible climate attitudes.
The club is led by teacher Lina Bilozub. She is proud that she can help students develop empathy and become more confident in this way.
"For me, the Volunteering Club is primarily a space where students learn to be caring. When young people see that their ideas find support and are implemented in real life, they start believing in their own strengths"
Her third-year student, Daria, shares this thought.
"I realized that helping others does not always require large resources — sometimes time, attention, or a sincere desire to support is enough. In the Club, I found like-minded people, gained new experience, and felt that I could be useful to my community. Such initiatives inspire youth to become more active and believe that each of us can make the world kinder."
The work of the School Volunteering Clubs does not stop during holidays either — some of them continued working, and students eagerly organize community cleanups, help animals, and support elderly people outside the academic year.
UNICEF systematically supports the development of volunteering among adolescents and youth.
"We are convinced that volunteer activity gives young people valuable experience and skills useful for their future career path. School clubs make volunteering for teenagers more accessible, safe, and systematic thanks to the support of interested and motivated teachers. The clubs have become a safe space for adolesccents for socialization and face-to-face communication — something that schoolchildren lack so much during the war, especially in frontline hromadas where studying is predominantly remote. We hope that in the future, it will be possible to scale this network and integrate it into the system of extracurricular activities in other schools as well."
For hundreds of children and teenagers, School Volunteering Clubs have become a place where the desire to help accumulates into a habit of acting. Changes in the school, the community, and ultimately the entire country begin with such initiatives, to which just a few hours a week outside of classes can be dedicated.
