How to Maintain a Balance Between Work and Volunteering? Insights from a Particles Global Expert

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During difficult times, people often feel a strong desire to help those in need. According to the Ukrainian Volunteer Service, 74% of Ukrainians became volunteers after February 24, 2022. Finding a balance between work and volunteering is a true superpower possessed by modern supporters. Svitlana Bozhko, a marketing manager at Particles Global and a volunteer with UniBonn.UA at the University of Bonn, shares her inspiring experience.

What is UniBonn.UA?

UniBonn.UA is a youth volunteer organization of Ukrainian students studying at the University of Bonn. Their main activities include organizing events to support Ukrainians in Germany and fundraising for various needs in Ukraine.

“To date, we have purchased a generator for an orphanage in the Kharkiv region, supported the Safe Education project by KSE, and given gifts to children in shelters in Kharkiv affected by the war,” says Svitlana Bozhko.

The organization conducts conversation and book clubs, exhibitions, charity fairs, Ukrainian culinary and pysanka (Easter egg painting) workshops, educational lectures about studying in Germany, and maintains regular sections about Ukrainian culture and Russian war crimes. All participants work solely on a volunteer basis.

Beginning of Volunteering

“I joined the organization at the very beginning of its founding. At that time, I was in Germany and knew I couldn’t just sit idly by,” comments Svitlana.

As a result, the idea of organizing the first charity fair emerged, which is usually very difficult to arrange in Germany due to the need for many permits and documents (for example, even to play music on the street, you need a permit). This grew into the idea of creating an organization that would hold events for Ukrainians in Germany and raise funds for Ukraine’s needs.

At UniBonn.UA, Svitlana helps with marketing, managing social media (Instagram, Facebook, Telegram), organizing events, and running specific projects. The key feature of this activity is that communication with the audience must be as transparent as possible, which requires a lot of community management and authenticity. The main goal is for more people to learn about and attend UniBonn.UA events.

Balancing Work and Volunteering

“If a stranger asks what my hobbies are, the first thing that comes to mind is volunteering. Sometimes it’s hard to explain that after work I work at another ‘job,’ but I like that volunteering allows me to develop professionally and benefit society,” notes Svitlana.

Of course, it is challenging, and to avoid burnout, the expert shares her keys to balance:

  1. Clear priorities. It’s important to separate work and non-work time. If something urgent arises, of course, you can respond, but a clear division of work and personal matters helps better focus on one thing and plan time. Modern tools, such as scheduling posts on Meta or LinkedIn, can also be used.
  2. Ability to delegate. It’s worth spending more time teaching others, and then you can safely delegate the creation of a Google form or Instagram stories using a template.
  3. Understanding the goal. It’s important to know that volunteer work truly helps. UniBonn.UA manages to buy gifts for children in a shelter in Kharkiv. Someone improves their German skills through our conversation clubs, which helps them find a decent job. And someone learns from our lectures about education and how to enter a German university. When you clearly understand why you’re doing it, energy appears even after a hard day’s work.
  4. Minimizing meetings. Everything that can be written, voiced in an audio message, or shown in a screen-recorded video, should be done that way. UniBonn.UA only uses calls when necessary, holding one meeting per month. This allows you to focus on the main work without being distracted by calls.
  5. Remote work format. There’s no need to spend time on the commute, saving valuable 2 hours of life (those living in big cities understand that commuting + getting ready takes 2-3 hours a day). So, I can easily “switch” to volunteer activities before or after the workday.

Conclusion

You can devote all your activities to helping others, or you can combine it with your official profession — there are many options, and everyone can choose what suits them best. The example of Ukrainian volunteers inspires finding a balance between work and helping others, showing that support can become an integral part of your life without hindering personal and professional growth. However, do not forget to find your own balance rules. Create your points for a comfortable combination, which will be your support, help you, and allow you to help others.

Join the Kharkiv IT Cluster community — become part of a community that supports and inspires!

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