Today's superheroes we will tell you about are not Batman or Catwoman. They do not have supernatural powers and do not pursue the bad guys but they have big hearts and love to create good things. In most cases they are young, aged between 16 and 34 years and live in big cities. Curiously, three quarters of them are women. The reason to put them in the spotlight is the International Day of Volunteering /December 5/ because it is precisely those who do not spare their time and talents and harness them for the benefit of various causes and people in need. And because they are young, the most natural place in which they organize their efforts is, of course, the Internet, and in particular the platform timeheroes.org.

The site itself is the result of voluntary efforts of three enthusiasts - Yana Buhrer Tavanier, Alec Andreev and Pavel Kunchev. The reason for its appearance is a survey of Eurobarometer survey of 5 years ago, according to which Bulgaria ranks last among the 27 then Member States of the EU's voluntary participation. The situation is different today, Paul is convinced. Numbers speak volumes. Via TimeHeroes alone for three years only since the initiative was kicked off, 20,000 volunteers were involved in 615 missions in 67 towns across the country. About are the most popular causes for volunteers – more from Pavel Kunchev:

"Those causes in which we can help children with a problem. For example, we have a very popular mission - reading a book to children with kidney problems who are in hospital. We call our initiatives missions, because heroes usually have missions they perform. Also sometimes we collect non-financial donations for various causes. Now it’s the Christmas season and a lot of things are happening. We organize Christmas bazaars, where we sell decorations, ornaments, gifts, made by different people, as the money raised goes to a mission. Through our website we managed to gather aid for refugees, such as clothes, household items, etc.”

A national survey of last year shows that ecology, working with children and youth, culture, sports, the support for the elderly and other social campaigns are areas in which most volunteers participate. We should not overlook the organizers who initiate the causes. Who are they?

"We have more than ten people who are active volunteers and are involved in various missions. At one point they themselves become organizers. There is one boy Georgi, who is an active volunteer and organized a mission in the Sofia district Lyulin. In spaces between the blocks of flats he created a bio-garden to grow vegetable. He found allies through our website. Also, a girl participated in various campaigns, then made a series of actions to clean several parks in Sofia. But for the most part, the organizers of voluntary initiatives are non-governmental organizations”, Pavel says.

For the moment, most of the missions are concentrated in big cities. That’s why Pavel and his friends have set themselves the goal to reach the small towns, where people also organize on their own. Although still exceptions, there are examples of similar small villages that attract volunteers:

"In the Rhodope village of Vlahi there is a nonprofit organization that does something called "School of Nature", Pavel says. “They need people willing to come to this place and help with repairs, organic cultivation in the garden, creating water beds and stuff like that. There are many people from Sofia who go for the weekend in this village to help with the work."

English Rossitsa Petcova