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Cooperation for Voluntary Service – Bulgaria

Written by TechSoup Staff | Oct 10, 2017 12:28:12 AM

Voluntary Service Organization Harnesses Technology

CVS-Bulgaria (Cooperation for Voluntary Service — Bulgaria) was legally registered as an NGO on June 6, 2002. The organization has been active on the national and international level since 1998 and is a part of the international voluntary service and peace organization SCI (Service Civil International).

The goals of CVS-Bulgaria are to promote the idea of voluntary work through organizing voluntary initiatives; to motivate young people to participate in voluntary actions; and to promote and support international understanding and solidarity, social justice, and respect for the environment.

To achieve its mission, CVS-Bulgaria works in cooperation with organizations and institutions in Bulgaria and abroad. CVS-Bulgaria's main activities include organizing short-term international volunteer exchanges, training courses, seminars, study visits, workshops, and discussions. CVS-Bulgaria gives young people the opportunity to participate in a wide range of voluntary projects — culture, ecology, art, and work with children and the disadvantaged — both in Bulgaria and all over the world.

As a small organization, CVS needs to work efficiently since only two full-time staff members handle its broad range of activities. Before they received their tech donation through their TechSoup Global Network partner, they were using free software but had trouble working with materials sent from other organizations (created through Windows). Microsoft's Windows operating system donation removed this issue and made the team's everyday work much more efficient.