Culture Breathes Volunteering (and the other way round)
Ι couldn’t be more thrilled for the current members who consist the Core Team of ethelon. The fact that these human beings and the BoD of ethelon, have trusted me to lead them, they way I do, is probably, my favorite part of the job.
Most people know ethelon from all the different and somewhat unusual volunteering acts that we usually organize. Truth is, this is only a reflection of what it feels like to be in the office every single day and our daily routine. The trust and the balance we have developed between us. Thanks to an amazing group of people who show up, dotheir best and not only make things happen, but also become the best versions of themselves. Every single day.
The key to our success is the fact that we have chosen not to work in order to cross out our to-do lists; we add things that are needed and remove things that are unnecessary like real artists do.Eventually, we — as a group — consider that each and everyone of us is better than anyone else in the field that we cover.
More or less we can all play around with bits of design here and bobs of event hosting there. Or maintain a professional relation. Or run a successful online campaign. Not quite because we have to; because we want to be involved in each other’s activities. We stand next to each other, making sure we are not stepping in each other’s shoes. I like to think of it as throwing a jazz gig. You want the musical piece to sound ‘right’ to your audience, but you must constantly watch each other’s back for it to, well, work.
You can read more about What Leaders Can Learn from Jazz : https://hbr.org/2012/08/what-leaders-can-learn-from-ja
The team members aren’theresimply to execute and follow instructions, but also to redefine the ‘ordinary’ and make the difference for the others, the organization and, of course, volunteerism.
For ethelon, volunteering is not merely what happens in the very act of it. In ethelon we talk volunteering, we think volunteering, we draw volunteering, as a way of expressing ourselves. We are fully aware that we cannot solve every problem that may arise; this is the reason why our vision is to promote volunteering and reinforce its message, so that the next generation, will grow into volunteeringper seand so be in a better position to face and hopefully solve whatever comes up.
Culture unites people and volunteering is one of its most essential elements.
