What I learned volunteering at Fundo Social

The Fundo Social Vale do Jequitinhonha is a Brazilian institution that promotes and supports initiatives with a social impact, developing educational actions and encouraging professional training and entrepreneurship in the Vale do Jequitinhonha region. That’s where I’ve been volunteering since 2021.

Between 2021 and 2022 I worked in 4 initiatives: Basic English, Robotics in Practice, English and Robotics in Practice, and Young Ambassadors, in different functions that communicate with each other with the skills that I mention in this article.

In those two years, between classes, events, and meetings, I worked with more than 700 people - with different needs, different backgrounds, and different ways of understanding and receiving information. Thus, adapting what I had to say and the message I had to deliver was a daily exercise that allowed me to work more on my creativity and empathy.

Besides that, communication has definitely been the most worked-on skill during these two years of volunteering at Fundo Social Vale do Jequitinhonha. I’ve worked as a teacher, a coordinator, a speaker, and an event organizer and basically mastered the art of communicating - with the public, students, colleagues, and apprentices.

In addition, because I worked most of this period online, I became skilled at teaching, working with, and managing remotely, making good use of technology and applying organizational skills that allowed me to be flexible and capable of working, studying, and volunteering at the same time.

For that reason, I believe it’s truly rewarding to help others grow, it’s a multidisciplinary experience where it’s possible to learn a lot and that’s why I advise everybody to volunteer at least once in a lifetime and I am more than happy to keep volunteering in 2023.