Polish Red Cross Youth Day

The youth of the Polish Red Cross works daily and helps in School and Academic PCK Circles, promoting the ideals of humanitarianism among students; in Squirrel Clubs, where preschoolers and children from the first grades are welcome; in Social Groups of Youth Instructors, a unique initiative established in 1963, on the centenary of the founding of the International Red Cross Movement. The goal of the Youth Instructor Groups, active for 60 years, is to prepare instructors, leaders, and animators of youth activities.

"Young volunteers shape their social sensitivity and a variety of skills useful in life. Volunteering is therefore not only a way to help others, but also a way for personal development. People who were volunteers in their youth often continue charitable activities in adulthood, which has a lasting positive impact on society," explains Patrycja Smolińska, a volunteer specialist at the Headquarters of the Polish Red Cross. She adds: "Helping others brings satisfaction and joy, which positively affects the well-being of volunteers."

Volunteer stories confirm that it's worth engaging in helping those in need. "While volunteering at the Polish Red Cross, you can meet friends. You enter a circle of open, tolerant, empathetic people. This is a great environment for a young person who wants to develop," says Ewa Markiewicz, a volunteer and leader of the Youth Instructor Group PCK in Warsaw. She started two years ago with a food collection: she stood handing out leaflets and collecting donations. The distribution of food packages gave her satisfaction. She already knows that she wants to continue helping and doing good every day.

Many Red Cross employees began their journey with this organization precisely from youth volunteering. Dr. Magdalena Stefańska, head of the Department of International Cooperation of the Polish Red Cross, recalls her Red Cross beginnings: "My parents sent me to a summer camp organized by the Polish Red Cross, during which I took a first aid course and learned the basics of humanitarian law. The atmosphere of the trip and the knowledge I gained interested me so much that I thought it would be good to continue it, working together with other young people."

In the "Strategy 2030" adopted by the Main Board of the Polish Red Cross – the Youth Movement of the Polish Red Cross is one of 9 clusters (a new model for managing pillars). "Young people are the driving force of the Polish Red Cross: the target group of many actions of the Association, implementers of programs and initiatives, and a forge of cadres – knowledge and values are passed down from generation to generation," we read in the "Strategy 2030". The development of youth structures is needed and possible. Before World War II, the Youth Movement of the Polish Red Cross brought together 220,000 students of primary and secondary schools.