Monitoring in practice: The First Aid Service of the Hungarian Red Cross in the Lake Balaton

Dóra Ipolyi – Molnár András

Abstract

This paper examines how mentoring is embedded in the everyday practice of a large-scale youth volunteer programme of the Hungarian Red Cross, the First Aid Duty Service at Lake Balaton. After outlining key theoretical perspectives on youth mentoring, informal learning, and organisational socialisation, the study presents a case study of the programme's structure, operations, and mentoring practices. The research is based on a qualitative design combining the analysis of organisational documents with semi-structured interviews conducted with volunteers and staff members who perform mentoring roles within the service. Findings indicate that the Balaton First Aid Duty Service operates simultaneously as an educational, and a health- and community-building intervention: it increases safety during the summer tourist season, supports the professional and personal development of young volunteers, and contributes to the transmission of Red Cross values. Mentoring does not appear as a separate, formalised add-on, but it is woven into multiple layers of daily practice – from pairing novice and experienced volunteers to structured evening group sessions – and it plays a central role in the transfer of tacit knowledge, the creation of psychological safety, and the integration of newcomers into the organisational culture. Data from the 2023 season also highlight the considerable social and economic value generated by the programme. The paper argues that intensive, multi-level mentoring can create a powerful learning environment in which young volunteers not only strengthen their first aid competencies but also build resilience and long-term commitment to humanitarian engagement, offering transferable lessons for other youth volunteer initiatives.

Keywords: youth volunteering, mentoring, first aid, Hungarian Red Cross, psychosocial support