Main aim of the charity

The main aim of the association "Freiwilligen-Agentur Halle-Saale" is to engage and support volunteers in several projects. In this program local volunteers help Syrian refugees to find their way in the complex German Job market, build a network with German citizens and thus manage to settle down in a new country.

How the employee got involved and why

My friend Marina is leading a project that helps Syrian refugees with getting a job in Germany. She was looking for supporters who would team up with a refugee and explain the application process in Germany, help with writing a CV or finding an opportunity for a traineeship. I presented the project to my colleagues. Their reaction was great! They had so many ideas on how to give support, and managed to make them all happen!

What work does the employee do for charity?

During our support project, my HR colleagues and me took part in a kick-off event with Syrian refugees to find out what they need to start their career in Germany. It seemed like the application process in Syria was very different to the one in Germany. So we decided to offer a workshop on how to apply and how to do a job interview in Germany. We put our full HR knowledge into it and worked with a group of 10 refugees on their skills, and also on their concerns. Listening to them, we felt really compassionate about their stories, the lives they had in Syria and what they had to leave behind. All the more it was an amazing opportunity for us to give support and hope for the future.

What impact would winning have on the charity?

Winning would make an impact mostly in two ways: it would give us an even bigger audience and by that a chance to gain more supporters. And, secondly, it would send out a signal that supporting refugees in Germany is an entirely natural, good thing and something everyone can do. That's not an obvious thing in Germany and there's a lot of disagreement about it in society.

What impact would winning have on the employee?

Winning would give our project a bigger meaning and audience. That means more networking and more impact. Whether we're winning or not, it's a good way to show that we're doing something together, that we're giving something back to society. In any case we would keep on helping refugees to build a life here by exploring opportunities together.

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