Provide Career Counseling for At-Risk Teenagers

Dear friend,

While our partnering schools were on vacation during the summer, the Step for Bulgaria team was preparing for the upcoming school year.

We’ve been busy recruiting professionals and volunteers who will deliver the next series of career orientation workshops for high-school students from underprivileged communities. We have the support of many of the volunteers involved in last school year's careers workshops and have started building a list of people in different career paths who are willing to join our cause and speak about their job and professional path to the students.

Of course, at the same time we are approaching different schools where there’s a need for the type of support we offer and going through the logistical details with headmasters and teachers.

The team has also been contacting different businesses inviting them to join our effort. Our partnership with two large companies operating in Sofia for the previous series of workshops turned out to be mutually beneficial and very inspiring for students, volunteers and the employees of these companies alike. In this way, we are looking to expand our network of volunteers, and with it, our ability to serve more schools.

All of us are very excited to be able to continue supporting high school students in the new academic year through offering them a richer vision for their future where there are many good opportunities. This is all thanks to you!

With gratitude,

The Step for Bulgaria Foundation Team

Dear friend,

Thanks to your support, the 2018-2019 school year Career Orientation Workshops for high-school students from underprivileged communities have finished successfully and with a positive outlook for the future. Our volunteers from two partnering companies delivered 11 workshops for the students attending a public high school just outside of Sofia.

Over 20 volunteers from various professional backgrounds (from human resources management and development to finances and accounting, logistics and IT services) were meeting with over 60 students in grades 9-11 (sophomore and junior year in high school) during the school year to give them access to information and skills related to planning their path beyond completing high school.

Most of the students come from low income families and have a rather limited perspective about their future education and career options. The workshops were focused on unveiling a variety of unfamiliar opportunities the students could take advantage of, working towards expanding their worldview and gaining a different, positive perception of their own capabilities. The topics ranged from how to pick a careers and find the right organization to work for, to how to prepare successfully for a job interview, though the volunteers were flexible to discuss topics brought up by the students in the process. The key role of the volunteers was to inspire the students with their personal stories.

As a consequence of these workshops, two girls from the students we met with joined our mentorship program and have started having regular one-to-one sessions with two of our mentors.

As an organization, we are also pleased to have received valuable feedback from our partners at the school about ways to make the initiative even more valuable to their students We take it as a sign that there is will to continue our partnership in the upcoming school year as well and build on what we’ve achieved so far. 

We are all excited to see the young people we’ve met gain more confidence and acquire information about their future choices and ways to define and meet their goals. We hope we will be able to continue working with them in the next academic year as well.

With gratitude,

The Step for Bulgaria Foundation Team

Links:

• Support Our Mentorship Program for Disadvantaged Youth