Municipalities today

Sofia Municipality creates a youth volunteer team for rapid response in Sofia "SOfia HELPers".

The initiative to create youth teams, ready to help in various areas and in crisis situations, is of the Directorate "Sports and Youth Activities" of Sofia Municipality and is implemented in partnership with Obekti.bg.

A survey organized by the Directorate "Sports and Youth Activities" and the Cluster "Mechatronics and Automation" within the framework of the SKYLA project, identified the interests and attitudes of young people in Sofia towards volunteer activities and their willingness to get involved. The anonymous survey was completed online by 803 young people, aged 15 to 29.

After analyzing the data, the priority areas of work of SOfia HELPers were identified. They are related to support for the elderly, children, youth and people with disabilities, care for animals in shelters, homeless choirs, people in need, organizing information campaigns and adoption events, as well as training pet owners and others.

Among the priority areas of SOfia HELPers are also organizing actions for cleaning and waste management, planting trees and plants, promoting the use of environmentally friendly means of transport, monitoring flora and fauna, etc.

Young people have expressed their willingness to volunteer at cultural events and festivals, sports events and tournaments, as well as in providing first aid, assisting in the evacuation of people, distributing aid (water, food, etc.) and participating in search and rescue operations.

Any young person between 15 and 29 years of age who wants to get involved in changing the urban environment, helping people and animals in need or in organizing large-scale sports and cultural events can get involved.

It is necessary to send a questionnaire and a declaration for the processing of personal data to e-mail: mladi@sofia.bg. For persons under 18 years of age, a declaration of consent from a parent is also required.

Participants in SOfia HELPers will periodically receive a newsletter from the Sofia Municipality with initiatives and missions in which they can participate.