Sfe. is more of a Movement to inspire the Youth to take action and volunteer in their society at the level of school, colleges and locality rather than an organization working at the centre.
To Make Sfe. and Volunteering Accessible to All, We Launched the "Sfe. Chapters" initiative in September 2017.
Sfe. Chapters are Youth groups working at the level of a School or a College or a locality which consists of group of interested students motivated to make a difference in their society.
Sfe. Chapters are Youth groups working at the level of a School or a College or a locality which consists of group of interested students motivated to make a difference in their society.
What is the aim of an Sfe. Chapter?
Each Sfe. Chapter aims to fulfill the vision of Sfe. "We vision a future where youth spend a part of their free time in community service. We aim to increase the emotional quotient of students, make them prepared to face life's challenges and start the ripple of change and spread, inspiring a generation and changing our world. " LOL, Confused? Basically in simple words, each Sfe. Chapter works to organize different events/projects in 3 main spheres;
Community (Charity works, Health awareness, Hygiene, Humanitarian works, etc),
Environment (Planting trees, Clean Up Drives, Awareness, Recycling drives, etc), and
Sfe. Chapters create a platform and provide opportunities for youth to involve in community service and also to protect the environment. They also launch initiatives and programmes to discover and develop talents, skills, sports and also learn about culture, heritage, etc of the society. Remember, everything is done on a zero budget.
What makes an Sfe. Chapter different from any other youth voluntary organizations?
There is no sort of membership fees/money taken from any of members on registration or annually. Sfe. Strictly prohibits any such undertaking.
The organization runs on a zero budget and focusses on low cost or zero cost events also. Incase a chapter cannot get funds to organize an event which requires big budget, instead we encourage chapters to also try for simple events which are zero or low cost. For example, volunteering at a place doesn't involve money. Spending some time at an old age home, or volunteering to teach at a school, or going for clean up or an awareness drive, etc. The creativity of the chapter decides the effectiveness and inspiration it gives to others.
On successful completion of each event, the organizers (team leaders) and all participants will receive e-certificates signed by the presidents/vice presidents of the respective chapter. This is something unique and will be compulsory and it will motivate the students more and also will serve as a record for community service in the future, if a need arises.
Sfe. Chapters will have Facebook pages and if needed, websites (on a free platform or on already existing school/college websites) which will be able to inspire and spread awareness to a larger audience too. We use social media to the best.
We are a totally Youth run initiative and being a part of the Sfe. family helps you to network with students around you in different schools/colleges and also around the world.
Sfe. Headquarters (Sfe. HQ) issues certificates to each Sfe. Chapter on successful completion of an event as an encouragement signed by the president/vice president of Sfe. Global.
At the end of every year, Sfe. Chapters can compete to win any of the awards in the annual Sfe. Awards which will celebrate best chapters, members, organizers, events, etc.
Sfe. HQ will also organize various international competitions and initiatives regularly where members and chapters can take part.
Is Sfe. a recognized organization?
Yes. Sfe. was launched in 2013 in the UAE. We are an official member of the Earth Charter International Youth Groups and have also endorsed the Earth Charter. We have been featured, worked with and appreciated by various organizations including Samsung-UNEP-Tunza Ecogeneration, Big Heart Foundation UAE, Sharjah Children's International Film Festival, Dubai Municipality, etc. Many initiatives and projects done by our members in Sfe. have been awarded by Energy Globe Award (endorsed by UNESCO), International Eco Hero Award, Diana Award, Sharjah Environmental Awareness Award, Sharjah Award For Excellence in Education, Sheikh Hamdan Award For Distinguished Academic Performance, etc. We also officially support the SDGs, Earth Hour Campaigns, World Environment Day, Ocean Project, etc. We have a global presence with members and well wishers from different countries around the world. Our official bases include in India, Nigeria, etc. We will be registering soon as an NGO in India after establishment of few chapters.
How will Sfe. help each Sfe. Chapter?
Becoming a part of an International Recognized Youth Run Organization
No sort of money or financial help will be given to any chapter by Sfe. Headquarters (Sfe. HQ)
Templates for certificates and letterhead will be provided to the leadership team.
Promotion and awareness of different events organized or planned to be organized will be shared on Sfe. Global Facebook pages, etc
Ability to partner with other Sfe. Chapters and other Sfe. partnering organizations
What are the regulations that each Chapter needs to follow?
Even though chapter will be an official branch of Sfe. , the chapter will be independent with certain clauses.
All events which will be organized MUST have all necessary permissions. Events should not be illegal or prohibited. Sfe. HQ will not be responsible for any problem that occurs due to an event. Its solely the responsibility of the chapter/leadership team/organizer.
Reports of events organized, etc should be sent to the person incharge at Sfe. HQ
A minimum of 2 events should be organized every year. (Incase of inability to organize, if due to genuine reason, it will be considered. If there is no genuine reason, recognition of chapter will be lost temporarily.)
All participants and organizers MUST be provided with e-certificates / printed certificates (as convenient to the chapter) after completion of an event/competition.
No money can be collected from any member in name of Membership fees, Registration Fees, Participation fees, etc. Participation, Registration, etc are completely free in an Sfe. Chapter. If any report of money being taken, the people incharge will be punished.
All events should be designed on zero budget/low budget. You can refer the Budget section to know more details on this.
In case of charity event, where members would like to contribute in buying stuff for the poor, etc, then the leadership team/organizers can collect money from members, pool it and buy things. We prefer members to donate the items in kind instead of cash because we strictly condemn any sort of money making or wasteful spending of money which is strictly against Sfe. rules and ideals. We do not want Sfe. chapters to be a source of money making. If any such case is reported, the person who is accused will be punished.
Please listen to the advice of your mentors too. Do ask their opinions and take it into consideration. They know the world more better than us.
There should be a person in the leadership team incharge of taking complaints. If no action is taken, complaints can be directly reported to Sfe. HQ.
Sfe. Chapters need to be politically and religiously neutral.
How many events need to be organized by an Sfe. Chapter?
Each Sfe. Chapter should organize a minimum of 2 events every year. The minimum number should be fulfilled for being able to compete in Sfe. Awards, etc. Any maximum number of events can be organized.