„Best volunteer program of the Year” award 2009

We’d like to credit this acknowledgement to the 1900 volunteers, without whom this award could not have been possible. Their help over the past 9 years has allowed us to accept over 2500 chronically ill children into our therapeutic camps.

This is the first year that the Önkéntes Központ Alapítvány invited applications for their Önkéntességért (Volunteering) programme. Over 100 tenders were received. As well as the „Best Volunteer Program of the Year” award there were two other categories; „Best Volunteer of the Year” and „Best Business Volunteer Program of the Year”.

Our volunteers have been a key part of our camps and programs since the start. 420 volunteers help the organisation’s work yearly. We have volunteers of all ages, from all walks of life; students, doctors, teachers, engineers, young people and elderly people. Each year they sacrifice 10 days of their free time to help us give back to our campers a little bit of their carefree childhood.

At the award ceremony, held on the 2nd December, András Tóth, the Managing Director of Önkéntes Központ Alapítvány, made the following statement about Bátor Tábor:„As a result of 9 years of hard work, we are able to offer a program of exceptionally high standards to volunteers. The volunteers will have positive experiences that will encourage the growth of the volunteering culture in our community and also the volunteers’ commitment to social responsibility as well.”

Ildikó Bokrétas, the organisation’s Volunteer Co-ordinator, summed up what is most important to Bátor Tábor when dealing with volunteers:If volunteers are able to experience the joys of helping within the community in a safe and friendly environment, where the responsibility is not on them, where the activities are well defined and they are able to experience succes, then their commitment will become strong and long term. At Bátor Tábor we pay particular attention to providing our volunteers with the right training, so that they are able to perform their tasks with confidence. During the camps they get feedback, which helps them in their work. The structure of the program and the memorable experiences is what makes the Bátor Tábor’s volunteering program unique.”

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers for their ongoing commitment and support!

Beyond our own program, Bátor Tábor is dedicated to helping raise awareness of the importance of social responsibility and to further developing the culture of volunteering within our community. We organised the 2008 Flash Mob Action in Budapest and the 2009 Open Air Photo Exhibition with these goals in mind.