I DO Foundation X Younity: Student Volunteering & Creating Real Impact for NGOs

Sometimes, the best way to learn is simply to show up and do the work.

That's the idea behind I DO Volunteering, a new offering from I DO Foundation that places students directly inside NGOs for short-term, hands-on volunteering experiences. This pilot launch, done in May 2026, was made possible through a collaboration with Younity!

Younity is a student volunteering platform based at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Through their partnership with I DO Foundation, students were matched with NGOs and given a focused brief, with implementation of solutions at the core.

Impactful Volunteering

I DO Volunteering is built around implementation; students are placed in NGO teams, taking ownership of real deliverables and working shoulder-to-shoulder with the organisations they support. This pilot with Younity brought that vision to life across two NGOs and three project streams.

The NGOs, the Students, and the Work

• Kamboo Project: Social Media & Marketing

Student Saron Markos Teklezgi rolled up her sleeves and got to work building out the Kamboo Project's digital presence. She developed a clear social media strategy, produced engaging posts and reels, and collaborated closely with the team to ensure every piece of content aligned with their mission.

What she gained: Practical knowledge of how to structure an effective Instagram presence, navigate the algorithm, and create content that genuinely moves audiences.

• Chocolate Has A Name: Social Media & Marketing

Garance Maupas and Athena Bouas-Laurent stepped into the day-to-day of Chocolate Has A Name's content operations. They managed daily output, developed creative concepts grounded in the NGO's values, raised awareness around cocoa production, and helped promote the Chocolate Has A Name Festival.

What they gained: A real-world understanding of ethical supply chains alongside sharpened skills in creativity, digital storytelling, and purposeful content creation.

• Chocolate Has A Name: Fundraising & Grant Strategy

Félix Vanoye, Mado Beele, and Gabriel Maugeais took on the fundraising side of the same organisation. They pitched projects, identified and contacted potential sponsors, drafted outreach emails, and built out a strategic analysis of the NGO's funding landscape.

What they gained: The confidence to communicate impact to stakeholders, and the experience of functioning as a responsible, results-driven team under real conditions.

Why Volunteering Matters for NGOs

Nonprofit organisations are often rich in mission but stretched thin on capacity. Securing funding, building visibility, and executing campaigns can fall by the wayside when core teams are focused on delivery. I DO Volunteering directly addresses that gap by bringing in motivated students for focused bursts of support, creating tangible outcomes for the organisations they serve.

For NGOs like Kamboo Project and Chocolate Has A Name, the energy, fresh perspective, and genuine commitment each student brought proved as valuable as the deliverables themselves.

A Pilot Worth Repeating

The Younity x I DO Foundation collaboration has shown what becomes possible when student volunteering is taken seriously. Students showed up with real dedication, developed meaningful skills, and built genuine relationships over weeks of focused effort.

For students ready to contribute, grow, and make a genuine difference, I DO Volunteering is the place to start. And this is just the beginning!