Dear Friends,

Now that the summer is over, we are getting ready to begin the new academic year with a new set of exciting projects that will empower our young participants with the knowledge and self-esteem. But more on this later.

This past summer, we held our Summer Academy in a different way. After careful analysis of our students' needs we decided it would be most useful for them to gain work experience in a field of their interest. We connected two of our students with successful and socially engaged businesses which provided invaluable professional opportunities and a lot of care and character training to these youth over the summer.

For example, Georgi interned in a large, high-end hotel on the Black Sea coast where he was taught valuable skills and gained professional experience at the hotel's restaurant and lobby bar. We're happy to report that his supervisors were very happy with the progress he made and even extended his stay for an extra two weeks. We saw this young man develop not only his professional knowledge but also his interpersonal skills and awareness of what it takes to be independent, to earn the trust and friendship of new colleagues. Georgi came back with increased sense of responsibility and confidence. He is now determined to finish his last year of high school and apply to university where he wants to study biology. We're right now looking for a mentor who could help him prepare for that.

Apart from seeing the incredible effect this summer experience has had on building the character and skill of our students without parents, we have also learned what it takes to identify an appropriate placement. We faced multiple challenges to provide our students with the right options. The first challenge is identifying the right kind of employer - whose staff would be willing to accept and engage with this "different" employee - young, inexperienced, never lived in a normal family, possibly lacking some expected social and working habits. The second challenge is helping the student obtain all documents and certificates needed to be legally employed. The third one is preparing the student with the right attitude and habits - insisting that they show up on time every day, that they plan carefully their time and the use of their personal resources and budget, that they be mindful of their colleagues' expectations and routine.

These learnings will help us place 10-15 youth in similar summer internships next summer and help them gain the experiences that will help them become more confident and set a direction for their independent life. Over the next months, as we work with about 50 youth in our full-year program, we'll identify those participants who are ready to embark on such a challenge next summer.

We thank you all for your support and interest in our activities and look forward to share more successes over the coming months!

Best Regards,

Step for Bulgaria Team