engleski

Student volunteering: a new path to personal growth and sustainable community development Case of Volunteering Program of the Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship at the J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek, Croatia

Socially conscious students possess the potential to change the environment they live in, manage positive change with their energy, knowledge and skills. This potential needs to be developed, responsibility for which lies on universities and students themselves. Croatian students do not recognize the importance of developing social responsibility during studying, are not sufficiently familiar with the demand and opportunities for volunteering, nor do they understand the contribution of volunteering to personal growth and development of society as a whole. In order for that to change, Croatian universities must take the initiative through education, and show that a value system, which enables mutual understanding, compassion and promotion of society's common interests, cannot be achieved without a responsible attitude towards the community. This paper describes the case of the Volunteering Program of the Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship from Osijek, city in which consequences of the war of the 1990ies are still present, and in which unemployment rate was 30% at the end of 2010 (5% with higher education). Through its activities, Volunteering Program of the Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship encourages students to stop being passive observers of social phenomena, but instead, through active participation in the community, to have direct impact on solving current social issues and develop skills with which they will ensure successful employment. This paper describes the process of promotion of volunteering work, development of the volunteering program, and the experiences of students and professors after two years of volunteering activities.

Volunteering trends ; Student volunteering ; Volunteer programs ; Entrepreneurial education ; Personal growth ; Community development

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