Pledge to make a difference, together.
The TimeHeroes Foundation was founded in 2011 with the goal to build and develop the volunteering culture in Bulgaria. Today the organisation runs the largest volunteering platform in Bulgaria - TimeHeroes.org.
By the end of January 2018, TimeHeroes.org has matched 638 organisations which need support for their causes with over 40 000 individuals who wish to donate their time and skills. So far the volunteers have taken part 65 379 times in 1400 volunteering initiatives (called missions) in 175 towns across Bulgaria.
The platform is the main, and often sole, source for Bulgarian nonprofit organizations and active citizens to recruit volunteers.
To achieve our mission to develop Bulgaria's volunteering culture, we run several further projects.
ANNUAL AWARDS We established the annual volunteering awards THE HEROES, which reward outstanding volunteers, organisers, responsible companies and media (after open nominations), and promote and stimulate volunteering as a whole. In 2017 a jury selected 23 of the 226 nominees and these were announced at an official ceremony that was widely covered in media, was attended by 250+ guests and was streamed 26 000 times.
YOUTH VOLUNTEERING We are growing a network of school and university volunteer clubs across the country. Over 30 clubs are currently active with 500+ student members organising their own community-based initiatives or supporting existing volunteer missions held by local nonprofits.
SENIORS' VOLUNTEER PHONE LINE We operate a National Volunteers' Phone Line volunteering telephone line as an alternative to the website for people without access to the internet or a computer, mainly targeting seniors and retirees. This project aims to tackle the pervasive societal isolation in this age group in Bulgaria.
CAPACITY BUILDING Through workshops and systematised good practices we are actively building the capacity of Bulgarian nongovernmental organisations for working with volunteers. In 2015-2016 we collected and systematised the experience of 250 Bulgarian NGOs working with volunteers. We are sharing this know-how in a wiki platform, a 100-page handbook and a series of workshops. Over 1000 NGOs have received the handbook, about 100 have so far participated in our highly-rated workshops. We also fundraise and distribute monthly small grants enabling volunteer involvement in causes.
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