My name is Frieder, I am 20 years old and from Germany. I have been volunteering at VitaTiim since September 1st, 2024. In this article, I want to share what my daily life looks like as a volunteer at VitaTiim.
When I arrive at VitaTiim in the morning, usually around 10 or 11, the first thing I do is drink tea in the small kitchen with the others who are already there. We either discuss what is happening during the week, what needs to be done, or simply talk about life.
After drinking tea, I start working, which can involve many different tasks, but most of the time, it’s about organizing events. For some events, I have to prepare presentations, organize games and activities, buy things like snacks for the participants, and set up the rooms and materials I need. For example, every week, I lead the English Conversation Club at VitaTiim. To prepare for this, I think of topics we can discuss and plan games or activities related to these topics.
Sometimes, we also have the opportunity to visit schools in the region. During these visits, we talk about the European Solidarity Corps, Erasmus+ opportunities, and our personal volunteering experiences at VitaTiim. Preparing for these visits is also part of our work—we create presentations about these topics and plan how to structure the visit to manage our time effectively.
Coming back to my daily routine, around two o’clock, I prepare my lunch in VitaTiim’s big kitchen, or I go home to cook since I live only two minutes away. Most of the time, I eat pasta—probably due to the Italian influence from one of the other volunteers, with whom I eat almost every day. After lunch, we usually have tea or coffee again before finishing our work.
In the evening, there are sometimes events like the English Club, cultural nights hosted by students, or youth exchanges. For some of these, I don’t have any specific responsibilities—I just need to stay to close VitaTiim after the event.
After work, I go to MyFitness, the gym that everyone here goes to and probably the best one in Narva. After working out, I sometimes meet with the other volunteers—there are ten of us in total in Narva—to eat together or just hang out.
Some days are completely different, especially when we have big events. For example, once we had an event at a local school where we talked about media literacy and AI. Preparing for this and hosting the event took up almost the entire day. On another occasion, VitaTiim held a Sustainability Day, where we, the volunteers, organized a sustainable cooking workshop for the participants. Later, a guest speaker talked about community gardening, and there were other presentations. At the beginning of my volunteering experience in September, there was the Station Narva Festival. For this festival, we prepared breakfast at VitaTiim.
A big part of volunteering at VitaTiim also involves managing the social media accounts—mainly Facebook and Instagram, but sometimes also TikTok. We have to promote our events, post about them afterward, and share updates about our volunteering experience on the volunteer Facebook page.
All in all, my volunteering experience at VitaTiim is very diverse. Every day is a little different, and I am always learning something new. Whether I’m organizing events, leading discussions, visiting schools, or managing social media, I get to try many different things and improve my skills. Volunteering here has also allowed me to meet great people and be part of an international environment. I’m excited to see what the rest of my time at VitaTiim will bring!
When I arrive at VitaTiim in the morning, usually around 10 or 11, the first thing I do is drink tea in the small kitchen with the others who are already there. We either discuss what is happening during the week, what needs to be done, or simply talk about life.
After drinking tea, I start working, which can involve many different tasks, but most of the time, it’s about organizing events. For some events, I have to prepare presentations, organize games and activities, buy things like snacks for the participants, and set up the rooms and materials I need. For example, every week, I lead the English Conversation Club at VitaTiim. To prepare for this, I think of topics we can discuss and plan games or activities related to these topics.
Sometimes, we also have the opportunity to visit schools in the region. During these visits, we talk about the European Solidarity Corps, Erasmus+ opportunities, and our personal volunteering experiences at VitaTiim. Preparing for these visits is also part of our work—we create presentations about these topics and plan how to structure the visit to manage our time effectively.
Coming back to my daily routine, around two o’clock, I prepare my lunch in VitaTiim’s big kitchen, or I go home to cook since I live only two minutes away. Most of the time, I eat pasta—probably due to the Italian influence from one of the other volunteers, with whom I eat almost every day. After lunch, we usually have tea or coffee again before finishing our work.
In the evening, there are sometimes events like the English Club, cultural nights hosted by students, or youth exchanges. For some of these, I don’t have any specific responsibilities—I just need to stay to close VitaTiim after the event.
After work, I go to MyFitness, the gym that everyone here goes to and probably the best one in Narva. After working out, I sometimes meet with the other volunteers—there are ten of us in total in Narva—to eat together or just hang out.
Some days are completely different, especially when we have big events. For example, once we had an event at a local school where we talked about media literacy and AI. Preparing for this and hosting the event took up almost the entire day. On another occasion, VitaTiim held a Sustainability Day, where we, the volunteers, organized a sustainable cooking workshop for the participants. Later, a guest speaker talked about community gardening, and there were other presentations. At the beginning of my volunteering experience in September, there was the Station Narva Festival. For this festival, we prepared breakfast at VitaTiim.
A big part of volunteering at VitaTiim also involves managing the social media accounts—mainly Facebook and Instagram, but sometimes also TikTok. We have to promote our events, post about them afterward, and share updates about our volunteering experience on the volunteer Facebook page.
All in all, my volunteering experience at VitaTiim is very diverse. Every day is a little different, and I am always learning something new. Whether I’m organizing events, leading discussions, visiting schools, or managing social media, I get to try many different things and improve my skills. Volunteering here has also allowed me to meet great people and be part of an international environment. I’m excited to see what the rest of my time at VitaTiim will bring!
Project number: 2023-1-EE01-ESC51-VTJ-000134063
Project title: „Community Spirit”
Project title: „Community Spirit”