Empower Students through Leadership Training

Dear Friends,

The 2024–2025 academic year came to a meaningful close for our amazing Student Leaders with a special wrap-up weekend in Bankya on May 10–11. This final seminar brought together the students who’ve worked hard all year in our Student Leaders program. We started the year with 52 nominated students, and we’re proud to say that 42 of them successfully completed the program! While a few faced challenges with their community projects or consistent participation, we’re proud of every single one for taking this journey.

This year’s group stood out for being thoughtful, kind, and deeply dedicated to their teams and communities. Watching them grow has been an absolute joy. We’re confident we created a space where they felt motivated, supported, and inspired—and they gave their all in return.

Out of 30 Community Projects, 26 were completed and showcased at the Wrap-Up Seminar. To fit everything into the schedule, each team created a 7-minute video summarizing their journey—how their project began, the challenges they overcame, the long-term impact they’re aiming for, and how many people they reached. A wonderful panel of BEST alumni, judges, and MT members evaluated the presentations.

The projects covered a wide range of important topics: helping hospitals, children in need, and at-risk youth; environmental efforts; promoting reading; supporting adolescent health; preserving cultural heritage; preparing high schoolers for adult life—and so much more. In total, their efforts reached over 213,000 people across 23 cities and more than 26 schools! These numbers speak volumes about the positive change they brought to their communities.

Here are just a few standout projects:

• Project of the Year: A charity concert was organized in support of the children's ward at the hospital in Vidin, raising 4,400 BGN through donations. (High School for Foreign Languages "Y. Radichkov", Vidin)
• A video was created to help prepare students for adult life by teaching them financial literacy and practical life skills. (Language High School, Pernik).
• A project to promote reading among various age groups was carried out through interactive events and the creation of reading clubs in Lovech and Teteven. (Language High School, Lovech)
• An interactive digital map was developed to help preserve the linguistic and folklore heritage of the Pirin region. (Mathematics High School, Blagoevgrad).
• A beach cleanup initiative was organized in Varna with the active involvement of the local community. (Mathematics High School, Varna)
• 10 bike racks were installed in the school yard as a part of a project which promotes cycling as a sustainable and healthy mode of transportation by giving students a secure place to park their bikes (Maths High school Yane Sandanski, Gotse Delchev)
• Informative posters were placed around Kyustendil to raise awareness about the importance of bees. The posters  educate the public on why bees are vital to human survival and offer tips on how to protect them (Kyustendil Language School)
• An  annual charity bake sale was organized in Gabrovo  at the school to support meaningful causes, starting with helping students in Tryavna after a school fire disrupted their learning environment (National Aprilov High school, Gabrovo)
  
  

The atmosphere at the seminar was full of warmth, celebration, and pride. Personalized gifts and our fun new printed “Fun Awards” made the closing ceremony even more special!

We’re incredibly proud of how this year’s program went, but we’re always looking to improve. Since Student Leaders play a key role in supporting their school’s BEST team, we’re planning an online workshop with our Speech and Debate departments to help them better prepare for tournaments. We're also introducing a new award for the Most Innovative Community Project Idea, to inspire even more creativity and fresh thinking.

None of this would be possible without YOU, our angels! 

If you believe in the power of young people to create real change, please consider supporting us with a monthly donation. Every bit helps our Student Leader program grow stronger and reach more students.

Share our GlobalGiving link with your network and help us continue making a difference together!

Your support helps shape the future of every student in our program—and we couldn’t be more grateful to have you on our side.

Thank you for being part of our journey!