With a little help, youth throughout Russia are becoming key players in community development. The US-Russia Volunteer Initiative (USRVI) [9] has been instrumental in making this happen through its multifaceted approach to exchange programming. USRVI, funded by the US Agency for International Development and administered by IREX, was not designed solely to target youth groups but they have organically become an integral part of the project. A recent evaluation of the program has revealed not only successful educational campaigns, but also an impressively growing number of activities led by young Russian volunteers.
First implemented in 2004, USRVI provided an opportunity for Russian and American professionals between the ages of 20 and 30 to visit each other’s countries and volunteer for two months at community organizations. Focus themes of the project included HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, information and communication technology, historic and cultural preservation, healthy lifestyles, and community development. To ensure maximum impact, volunteers were chosen partially based on their previous experience in these areas and their proven commitment to volunteering.
USRVI worked hard to ensure sustainable impact would continue beyond the program’s exchange period. Many Russian participants develop projects with the skills they learned in the United States. Following her volunteer experience at the Points of Light Foundation in Washington, DC, USRVI alumna Natalia Pyantina led the creation of three volunteer centers in Karelia and the planning for two more regional centers as well as a center in Petrozavodsk dedicated to the entire republic of Karelia.
Additionally, the success of instilling long-term impact was seen by the number of follow-on projects the organizations developed with the skills they’d learned from their experience with the volunteers. The NGOs initiated creative, comprehensive volunteer-oriented activities and secured support funding through USRVI. Examples include a collaborative volunteer fair in Togliatti that educated people about the benefits of volunteering and networked potential volunteers with organizations providing such opportunities. Over 40 organizations and more than a thousand people participated. In Ulan-Ude, the organization Club Firn initiated and carried out the Spring Week of Kindness in April 2007 with dozens of NGOs, governmental agencies, and educational institutions. The initiative’s over 170 events promoted volunteering in the Republic of Buryatia and resulted in benefits to 11,654 people, the participation of 7,000 volunteers, and an increase of volunteer involvement by 15%.
The findings of the USRVI program evaluation are very promising for Russia, where the practice of volunteering is still relatively nascent, while the potential for its development and its impact—particularly with respect to youth—is tremendous. By educating young people about the benefits of volunteering and by increasing the capacity of organizations to attract and engage volunteers, programs like USRVI contribute to the development of volunteering and positive youth development in Russia.
