At Geneva Business School, we recognize the importance of being part of a community. That’s why we have launched a new initiative where students can earn academic credits through volunteering work. Organized by Brett Sutaris, students have the opportunity to take up volunteering and internship hours in a range of organizations. In Brett’s words:
This is an opportunity for students to do good for the community while tying the volunteer work into their studies and getting credits.
The organizations involved include Homeless Entrepreneurs, BarcelonActua, UN Talent and many others. To present how the volunteering opportunities can work, we had speakers on campus from two of the organizations.
From BarcelonActua, Gemma Sunyer spoke to students about how the organization conducts various outreach activities to support immigrants in Barcelona. As Gemma said:
We mobilize the community to get active on social issues and bring realities that are very different closer together.
There are multiple ways students can help out, from teaching English to serving food to being a ‘first friend’. So for students in Barcelona the organization presents a way of helping others while gaining essential communication skills.
From Homeless Entrepreneurs, there was a presentation from the founder Andrew Funk, who spoke about the organization’s ethos of empowering the homeless and those who volunteer. Students can either help out in one of the organizations’ programs (for example, call lines) or projects (such as ‘The Great Walk’). As Andrew sees it, volunteering with Homeless Entrepreneurs gives students the chance to get a different view of life:
Responsible leaders really need to understand society so that they can do real business.
Whichever organization students would like to volunteer for, it’s a unique opportunity to not only do good, but gain credits and build networks for their future as responsible business leaders.
