This week, May 8 through 12, will see the return of Pro Bono Week to Istanbul. In its third iteration, Pro Bono Week is an occasion marked across the world to promote professional skills-based volunteering. This year, C@rma is organizing a pair of events to bring corporate professionals together with a curated selection of NGOs.
The first event, a Pro Bono Drink, is an informal social event hosted at Joint IDEA in Kanyon AVM. A group of NGOs present themselves and their missions, followed by networking over food and wine. This year will feature a mix of social projects focused on women, children, and refugees. Starting at 18:00 on Thursday, May 11:
- Gelecekdaha.net, providing a platform for vocational guidance to youths
- Karakutu, preserving local community histories through innovation projects
- New Beginning, supporting children and youths affected by trauma with short-term psychological support
- Anne Meclisi, working to improve quality of life for mothers
- Bizbizze, providing support services and promoting entrepreneurship in women
- United Work, supporting Syrian refugees with finding work placements in multinational companies
The second is a new round of their NGO-Speed Dating Sessions, wherein interested professionals have the opportunity to meet with several NGOs for quick introductions and brain-storming sessions. At these sessions, each NGO comes with specific questions and hoping to meet professionals with certain sets of skills. This round is no different. Participating NGOs will be:
- Dreams Kitchen, aiming to create a revenue-generating model for cooking to support disabled youth
Their current project is the diversification of their line of cookies into healthier products. At this session, they are looking for dietitians, cooks, and those with experience of catering industry for help with diversifying their line of cookies.
- Karakutu, working to increase the critical thinking capacity of youth by revealing the ignored past and sharing them through creative methods such as Memory Walk
Their current project is the creation of a digital treasure hunting game. At this session, they are looking for professionals experienced in mobile app development, game development, Virtual Reality, and serious gamers.
- Small Projects Istanbul, a grassroots NGO running a community center supporting Syrian refugees in Çapa
Their current project is a product branding initiative. They are looking to meet up with brand development and marketing strategy professionals, as well as those with e-commerce experience.
- Best Buddies Turkey, focusing on opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
They are currently looking to grow their services throughout Turkey and are looking for those with experience in NGO development, NGO-corporate partnerships, and human resource management.
These sessions are valuable opportunities not only for NGOs to gain brief, concentrated access to skills they would otherwise not be able to afford, but they’re most valuable as opportunities to test out ideas and concepts before investing their finite resources toward them. For the pro bono volunteer, these are also great ways to get involved with an interesting and worthy cause without the burden of a lengthy commitment to an organization you’re unfamiliar with. At the end of each session, volunteers are given the opportunity to indicate to C@rma whether or not they would be open to further work and contact with the NGO.
Myself a veteran of several of the Pro Bono Drinks and NGO Speed-Dating Sessions, I can say the experience is usually a rewarding experience even if you do not continue to work with that NGO afterward. It’s probably first and foremost a great chance to learn about worthwhile social projects going on in Istanbul, but its brainstorming sessions are also great ways to engage in lively discussion in a mixed, professional environment, often challenging preconceptions people have about different types of business strategies by juxtaposing them with the realities that NGOs face.
For venue information and program itinerary, reach out to C@rma directly through their web platform here. There will be morning and afternoon shuttles for participants traveling between Mecidiyeköy and Bilgi University’s Santral Campus.
Image sourced via official event.
