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Keep on volunteering, keep on with Europe!

European identity and values

Skills development

Territorial cooperation and cohesion

With this project, through the connection, the mobilization and empowerment of volunteers we have given our contribution to tell about a more supportive, close and united Europe.
The project is a cross- border long-term one and activates every year 6 young volunteers in activities organised on three levels of participation: the level of experience and direct engagement, the level of experience analysis and activation of the group and a third level concerning the learning support during the project and the evaluation of the skills acquired.
1) Level of volunteering experience: all 6 volunteers participates in peer to peer promotional initiatives of European mobility organized by CSV Insubria and by organizations and institutions of the territory.
The 6 volunteers are also involved in two types of volunteering activities at various accredited local associations: cultural activities and social activities.
Cultural activities: volunteers take care of the management of the fb and social pages of the hosting organizations, organize events with youth target and take part to workshops of a cultural nature and / or educational activities aim at different age groups (children, adolescents and young people).
Social activities: vounteers are involved in activities focused on social inclusion with our local parteners (SMS - self-sufficient elderly but at risk of marginalization; BancoAlimentare Nonsolopane - families at risk of poverty food; Polha - physical disabled; La Finestra - daytime center for the mentally disabled).
2) Level of experience analysis and group activation: through CSV Insubria monitoring activity, the 6 volunteers are accompanyed in elaborating their experience, their desires and skills.
3) Level of learning support: it consists in intercultural meetings, training activities on arrival and mid-project (managed by ANG), training linguistics, mentorship.
The focus of the project is especially on the emergence and enhancement of skills acquired by young people in non-formal contexts, which ends with the drafting of the youthpass and a curriculum which improve candidates profile also in the ESC portal.
Moreover the project aims at the dissemination, knowledge and sharing of European values and identity, developing innovative actions to get in touch with local young people resident in our area and with the communities.

Centro Servizio per il Volontariato dell'Insubria

Centro di Servizio per il Volontariato dell’Insubria is a second level association composed by 168 associations of the districts of Varese and Como. We were born on th 1st Juanuary 2018 as a fusion of two organizations: CESVOV and Associazione del Volontariato Comasco. We manage two centres for services to associations as stated by the Italian law on Voluntary work n. 266/1991. We promote voluntarism and support in their needs local voluntary organisations. Our activities are: Information ( front desk office or on-line support to associations in their daily life activities for request regarding administration, fund raising, promotion of events) Promotion of Voluntarism ( allocation of volunteers both locally and on international level, meetings with associations on different topics, meeting with local municipalities and schools, organization of volunteers’ Festival, awareness voluntary workshops in the schools and among young people ) Media ( articles on local magazines, newsletter, website, editing productions ) Consultancy ( free support of our expert on administrative, legal, financial problems of associations ) Training ( training paths, seminar and conference ) Project management and social development, Fund- raising activities.
Our employed staff is made up of 19 workers, in a very young and dynamic context. Our headquarters are in Varese and in Como city, but we are also active in all the districts of the two provinces thanks to local networks of associations.
Our target group are local voluntary organisations and associations; besides we promote and supporte also young people activities through the Programme Erasmus+ and ESC, especially through volunteering projects ( either hosted volunteers and sent ones) and through the organization of international youth exchanges, trainings and seminars. Both the old organizations (CESVOV and Associazione del Volontariato Comasco) were accredited ad HO, RO and SO.

Italy

Via Brambilla 15, 21100 Varese

Partner 1

L'Ancora Società Cooperativa Sociale

Ancora is a Social Educational Daily Center addressed to disabled adults who live in the provinces of Como and Varese.
The CSE has a daily structure and is aimed to people with medium degree disabilities who have finished school; promotes individually designed educational interventions on an annual basis, with short-medium-term objectives, and three-year ones with long-term objectives. The CSE promotes numerous activities aimed to develop personal and social autonomy of the disable people and their integration into the community. Our work is about supporting cognitive skills, communication skills, emotional-relational skills, personal and work skills.
The day in the center starts at 9: small groups of disabled people accompany by one or more educators, assisted by volunteers, dedicate themselves to activities that vary from day to day. All the rooms of the cooperative are animated by workshops which last until 12. Lunch time is pleasant and is an opportunity to get to know and strengthen relationships.
The afternoon activities resume at 2 pm, after a coffee break and relaxation, to end at 3.30 pm with greetings and accompaniment at the end of the day.
The activities we offer are numerous, many of which are carried out outside the headquarters in collaboration with schools, specialized centers, ateliers.
The week is very articulated: with this great diversification we try, within the limits of the parameters required by the Lombardy region, to get as close as possible to the specificities of each one, to the needs and personal resources to each one that have to be supported. As example, here are the workshops scheduled on Monday: pancafit, ergotherapy, boilers, music therapy, wedding favors workshop, collection of minor fruits, preparation of the hall for ceremonies, theater games workshop, recycled paper workshop.
During the year there are also moments and activities of entertainment and leisure. The CSE employs 13 people with different professional roles, including educational, administrative and auxiliary
supporter. In detail, 8 people have the role of educators, one person is administrative secretary, one person is in charge of cleaning, two are cooks. There is a psychologist on staff who coordinates the activity of the ESC volunteer.

Italy

Via Monterotondo 14, 22075 Lurate Caccivio COMO

Partner 2

Associazione La Finestra onlus

Since 2005 our association has hosted 2 volunteers a year within the European Voluntary Service, and so far we hosted more than 15 young volunteers from different European Countries. We usually cooperated in an Evs project, involving 4/5 EVS volunteers, adding an European and intercultural value to the Evs young volunteers group hosted each year. Our EVS (now ESC) projects are coordinated by CSV Insubria and we pay a great attention to the learning process and achievements of each selected volunteer. Youthpass is used both as training method ad as final evaluation and recognition of the learning experience. Our association main aim is the social integration of all citizens, with particular attention to people in situation of social exclusion, like disabled people, through service of training towards autonomy. We work on increasing the capacities, reinforcing the awareness, improving potentialities, rehabilitating and developing abilities towards autonomy. The objectives are:
- "use what you are": personal growth and autonomy of each individual to encourage his social integration;
- from "I'm here to help you" to "I'm here to work with you": cultural change of the relational style and of the concept of disability towards a collaboration that promotes and valorises the person.
In our daily centre we host people with different types of disabilities that can be linked to different pathologies (oligofreny, genetic syndromes, post-traumatic syndromes, etc.) Our users have fragilities at physical and psychic level, and cognitive and personologic level. For the moment, La Finestra works with 62 users, aged 25 years old on average, that present a medium or mediumsevere deficit. The staff is composed of one psychologist, one educational team (10 educators of various backgrounds and training), one art teacher, one psychomotricist, one administrative employee, various support persons, one civile service volunteer, 2 trainees and 50 volunteers. Regular activities are based on a rehabilitation action and on the evaluation of the abilities of each users. Our activities are organised in various workshops that aim to develop specific skills: assembly workshop, artistic and creative workshop, illustration workshop, swimming pool and gym, psychomotricity, expressive group activities, writing workshop, canteen, music activities, wood workshop, sense workshop, etc. The periodical activities of the association are: creation of Christmas decoration, sale of products made by the users, summer holidays, recreational activities, etc. Moreover the association organises cultural outings (for examples the users got to see a performance at the Theatre La Scala in Milano) and sport outings (for example basketball game with mixed teams, outing in sailboat on the lake of Varese).
We experienced that the presence of Evs volunteers has contributed to give a European, intercultural approach to our activities, reinforces the European citizenship of all the people of our association, enlarges the European feeling of solidarity and brings new ideas, methods and suggestions to our activities.
The volunteers have the opportunity to live a very strong experience at human level, and deepen their understanding about the importance of solidarity and voluntarism, develop key competences and skills related to the social work in the education and assistance sector. We look for volunteers interested in social engagement and solidarity, with a proactive and positive approach. No particular language skills are required.

Italy

Via Di Vittorio 7, 21046 Malnate VARESE

Partner 3

Polha Varese- associazione polisportiva dilettantistica per disabili

Polha Varese is a multi sport un-professional volunteering organization, founded in Varese in 1982 by some disable people willing to practice sports as their friends of the same age The association aim is to strengthen the ability of people, instead of their impairment, and to foster the sport attitude and the value of sport in life. It is a nonpolitical and no-profit organisation, and it has been funded to promote, to develop and to coordinate sports, recreational, cultural and socialhealth initiatives for disabled people. These actions aim to improve the psycho-physical, social and cultural education as alternative of traditional rehabilitation forms. The sports practiced are boccia, kayak, swimming, hand bike, sledge hockey, table tennis, sitting volley. Athletes train either to compete (someone even in major Paralympics competitions) or just for fun and to stay healthy. The association provides the full equipment for sports free of charge for its members, in order to guarantee the accessibility to sport activity to everyone. Our activities are entirely funded by fundraising and contributions. In 2019 the association has 240 members ( disable people practicing one sport discipline): 30 competitors, 120 amateur athletes , 50 coaches, 52 volunteers supporting athletes, 2 doctors, 2 sport masseurs. Through physical activity Polha wants to reach general objectives: equal opportunity and inclusion, socialization and fun, increase health and conditioning-coordinating abilities of athletes, increased self esteem, involvement of young volunteers with disability as self-educational process. Polha headquarter is a two floor space in the city of Varese and is the core center of organization's activities. The well equipped gym (dedicated to disabled athletes) and other spaces given for free usage by local government - permit to train inside but even more some sports are performed in dedicated sports facilities in Varese: hand bike in the cycling/soccer stadium, swimming in many swimming pools, sledge-hockey in the ice rink. Activities of the association are scheduled all week long, usually from 13.30 untill 22.30. Activity in schools take place during the morning. Competitions are on Sundays. Polha has a competition team for each sport and its users compete almost every week during season in national and international events; sometimes teams sustain long distance transfers in Italy and in Europe. The project environment is challenging but also safe and giving great satisfaction: volunteers will have the chance to participate to a concrete solidarity experience in the field of disability and play an important role in facilitating the inclusion of people that need to be supported to copy with their sports challenge. Volunteers will learn how important it is to work in groups and support to the achievements of a sport competition and how sport can really contribute to the well-being and self esteem of a person. Furthermore the volunteer will have the possibility to develop personal, social, civic and cultural competences. Volunteers are engaged in supporting disable athletes to do their training in different sports activities such as hand-bike, sledge hockey, table tennis, sitting volley, boccia, swimming activity or kayak in sport gym, stadium, swimming pool or on the lake during summer. Volunteers are requested to help in the organisation of these activities in order to support disable people with their equipment and sport devices, this required also a physical and manual work. Volunteers are also requested in supporting disable in what they cannot autonomously do when are alone, such as helping them in eating, in moving to a place to another, to drive them to a place for example.

Italy

Via Valverde 17-19, 21100 Varese VA

Partner 4

SOS Malnate associazione volontaria

SOS Malnate is a non-profit association, founded in 1982 and active in the territory of Malnate, in the province of Varese and in the neighboring municipalities. SOS Malnate offers socio-health services, first aid services, ambulance transport services, cars or special vehicles for elderly, sick and disabled patients. In addition, the association periodically offers first aid courses or free training for young people. Our mission is to transport the sick and injured with ambulances and special vehicles, combining high professionalism with a strong attention to the human person, providing health care for the safety of public events, helping populations affected by disasters, spreading the culture of first aid by carrying out training courses, offering collaboration to public bodies for the management of blood sampling centers and, more generally, of social assistance services in the area and promoting the dissemination of volunteering, especially youth and in Europe, and civil service . Through these activities, the association aspires to contribute to the affirmation of the principles of solidarity, equality and promote social cohesion. The SOS Malnate staff is made up of 254 volunteers, 14 employees, 20 volunteers from the Junior group and 5 collaborators (doctors and nurses). Moreover every year our association welcomes on average 10 boys in civil service involved in the main SOS activities of ambulance services and special vehicles. SOS Malnate has been very attentive to young people for years and carries out various projects with the aim of stimulating their curiosity and offering them concrete experiences to be able to train and improve. From 2005 to 2009, our association activated a hospitality project for young European volunteers with the aim of supporting them in our most typical transport activities for the sick, disabled and injured. Unfortunately, we observed that these types of services were not in line with the project, since it was necessary to have knowledge of the Italian language since arrival and it was necessary to arrive in Italy in the exact period in which the specific training course was active (we would not have resources to be able to make one ad hoc only for European volunteers at other times of the year). This made us decide to suspend the direct hospitality project in our Association, but we continued to work on the set-up, growth and care of the home, Casa Grizzetti, used by the partner associations of CSV Insubria who need accommodation for young Europeans. In these last years we have improved the equipment and the quality of life of the house and we invest economically more than 100.000,00 € in the house with a new open space, a new kitchen, new bolier and fornitures, new domestic appliances, a new class-room for meeting, new bedroom with the possibility to guest one more volunteer, a new fast internet connection, a new garden with the possibility to spend free time outside or to work outside, new murales of famous italian artist to improve the sense of beauty, more isolation from cold of the house and a photovoltaic plant to produce the electricity. We have also worked on the recognition on the territory and on the potential for young volunteers (Italian and European). This home is becoming a real headquarters for volunteering under 30 and for the european volunteers , not only a reference point for young people already active in the area thanks to the SOS Malnate Junior group and the civil service, but also for those who want to leave from Italy to go to volunteering in another country and for those who want to arrive from Europe to Italy. Understanding the importance of this place and its potential, we are working with the employees, volunteers and the youth group to improve it and make it more alive. For this reason we have decided to make a new hospitality project for a young European volunteer, with the intention of integrating it into the context already started at Casa Grizzetti and, over time, can help us generate connections both in the virtual and in the real world on the territory. This house was born from the idea of enhancing the experiences of youth volunteering with the aim of bringing together Italian and European young people, helping them develop relationships and skills that can also help them get in touch with the world of work. Welcoming European volunteers will certainly be an enrichment for SOS Malnate: it will allow an exchange of experiences and will help to give a European and intercultural approach to our activities, strengthening the European citizenship of the volunteers of our association, especially the younger ones, expanding the European sentiment of solidarity. To this end, we are looking for volunteers interested in social commitment and solidarity, with a positive, communicative and proactive approach.

Italy

Via Montesanto 1, 21100 Varese VA

Partner 5

Associazione Banco di Solidarietà Alimentare Nonsolopane

Il Banco di Solidarietà Alimentare Nonsolopane onlus (Nonsolopane) is a Food Bank founded in 1999 as no profit and charity organisation collecting food and redistributing it to people and families in need.
Mission of the association is charity as basic value of human being life experience: sharing needs to share humankind sense of life. More than 100 volunteers collect, store and re-distribute food at home to people in need, visiting each person or family and creating a relation based on solidarity and wish to share a new zest for life. Each family received at home fortnightly or once a month by one of our volunteers a package fit the number and age of the members of the family. The visit at home is a very important part of our activity, Nonsolopane means "not only bread" as our visit is not only bringing food, but also solidarity, friendship and human support.
Nonsolopane helped in 2014 more than 2000 people, most of them are foreigners ( especially from Marocco and Albania) being in state of need due mainly to unsufficient income, lost of work, and in a minor quantity health problems or divorce.
We help more than 3000 people a year: 58% of them are immigrants, 36% between 31 and 54 years old, 57% in Varese. Each month we give about 1000 food packages. The volunteers are 300, they are involved in: the storehouse activities, the periodic visit to the families we help, the fundraising and foodraising campaigns of the association, the taking care of a field where we grow fruit and vegetables, the activity of transformation of raw materials to marmelade, the office and administrative activities. Nonsolopane promotes sharing fairly and without any discrimination, helping people in need for various reasons (job loss, serious illness and chronic poverty), unable to provide for their own needs and for their families, to recover a human and social condition satisfactory. The food collection is at the headquarter of the association: we have a storehouse where the volunteers receive food, store and package it in packs for people in need. What's the origin of the food we benefit? Foods come from companies in the agribusiness sector, the department stores, the food collection in collaboration with schools, churches, shops and, above all, by the direct involvement of individuals and families donors. Daily, we check and divide the food by kind, due date, weight or size, finally encode and store it. Our help is proportionate to need, and it should motivate them to "make it by their own efforts". What are the activities and experience of your organisation in the areas relevant to the European Solidarity Corps Banco di Solidarietà Alimentare Nonosolopane realizes activities for a inclusive society and we defite against poverty and marginalisation of people and families and is active European Volunteering since 2016. We daily work in the storehouse to receive and redistribuite food. We have an administrative office to organize the activities and the contact with our donors, as well the acitivies of the volunteers both at the soterhouse and care off the families we help when possible. We have also a center for families, where we meet the people in need and we agree with them upon the help we give them. All over the year we organize campaigns for food collection that means contacts with public institutions, schools, department stores, ngos, etc..., we have a press office for the communication with local media, for promoting the activities and make aware of people for donate food, as well for became our volunteer, we organize meeting in the schools to sensibilize youngsters for not wasting food and to become our volunteer. Please give information on the human resources of your organisation (i.e. staff and volunteers), and describe the skills and expertise of the persons that will be involved in the future European Solidarity Corps activities, with specific regard to organising processes and quality learning activities for young people. The association can count on more than 300 volunteers with different competences. We have president and, as paid staff, we have also a secretary and a director who is also the project coordinator of ESC volunteers we host, with experience in human resourse and management. For some specific activities for ESC, we collaborate with the coordinating organisation CSV Insubria that with more than 10 years experience can ensure a quality of our project. CSV Insubria has a project manager for ESC project and a project coordinator dedicated to manage ESC activities such as coordinating acitivities of the project, youthpass trainer for ESC volunteers, partecipation in sharing activities with other ESC in Varese.

Italy

Via Montesanto 1, 21100 Varese VA

CSV Insubria is an actor of territorial development and aims to enhance the sense and the culture of networking among the world of volunteering, other subjects and institutions, intensifying partnerships at different levels. ESC fully allows us to each our goals by opening them to an European dimension. Our project aims to promote active citizenship, to offer young people and involved communities the opportunity to network with other experiences, both local and national and international. The objective of our project is to increase the ability of young people, through their participation in high-value voluntary activities, , to increase solidarity as a founding value of inclusive and cohesive communities, key values of the European Union. Our focus is to connect individual voluntary experiences, individual needs ( in terms of personal development, increased employability, leadership and civic participation) to the community and social dimension ( the quality of social ties affects the well-being of its inhabitants). We would like to encourage young people, even those with fewer opportunities, to bring out more their visions on solidarity as a value, thus contributing to the construction of a new narrative for Europe. We aim to valorise their visions as an object of knowledge and comparison, so that the value of solidarity is expressed in the real experience of people and doesn’t remain an empty rhetorical element. In the project we identify a specific space of active protagonism of young people where they can put into practice their way of understanding and acting solidarity. We will promote strategies that can encourage new life experiences to broaden the personal and organizational horizons of the involved actors, their ideas and future goals, as well as to offer opportunities that stimulate personal development, independence, soft skills, a greater critical sense and the knowledge of new languages and new cultures. In parallel we will carry out activities to increase the European perspective and awareness in our partner associations, allowing them to experience the enrichment that the program can bring to the organization itself and to the whole community. Our target group are the youngsters called active nihilists who try to transform the crisis into opportunities, to redesign human and social relationships, those young people who seek to get out of resignation and believe in social commitment and believe that it’s still possible to act responsibly into the society and local communities.

The project has a multilevel impact on: participants, organizations, staff members, volunteers and target group of associations, local, national and international community. The youngsters will benefit a direct impact on themselves and on their future choices: they improve integration into society, increase employability, develop a critical sense, a sense of initiative and linguistic ability, open their eyes towards new cultures, develop respect for human rights and acceptance of diversity, improve their understanding of society, be more aware of unity into the diversity of European culture, be more aware of the difficulties in facing the challenges connected with Europe and its citizens (populism, xenophobia, nationalism, discrimination, disinformation ...). The results we expect to gather will be visible in terms of more resilient attitudes, stronger resources, a more mature sense of responsibility and independence. The staff members will receive an impact on their activities: the comparison with young people is stimulating and the meeting with them gives new ideas for improving work also for future projects. They will learn a lot about themselves as professionals who work with young people, about the community in which they operate, and they will report the benefits within their contexts. The impact on organizations will also be at a high level: the project will create awareness about the work with young people, transporting what has been learned to all levels of organizations and also in further projects. The actions of the partners in their decision-making contexts, where they discuss social and youth policies, will allow them to have real repercussions also in the elaboration of local policies.
In addition, the final target group of the activities will also be able to concretely experience the enthusiasm of young people and their ability to understand and reply, creating intergenerational, intercultural and social exchanges. At local level we will act in a synergic way so that the political and institutional decision makers get to know the project, the activities and the quality of the results analysis; we aim they became aware of the commitment of young people and of the opportunity of learning. The Youth Table of the Planning Office will be the place where the community will benefit the results achieved by our project. In particular, we expect that the results of the project will be taken into consideration to improve and develop youth policies at the local level and perhaps allow the development of new and interesting projects with also international interaction. At national level, the young participants will be encouraged to take part in the annual events organized by the National Agency and or Salto and the Eurodesk network so that the impact of the projects carried out at local level can reach decision-makers national levels so that they can improve youth policies. At international level it will be our responsibility to bring the results of the projects to Csvnet which has a representation and lobby center at the CEV in Brussels as well in order to increase the information that reaches European and international decision-makers and thus contribute to better planning of youth policies.

Roles of the volunteers

70%

Have been involved in the implementation

Eu program

Little by little you realize that meeting people and talking with them change your whole way of seeing life. Your personality does not have to change, but your way of thinking, of acting, of seeing the world, your perception of the unknown, the stereotypes all change. When we say that the journey changes a person I think it is real. You go out of your comfort zone, out of your landmarks so you are more fragile, you live more intensely the encounters, the present moment, you learn differently, you find something new all the time ... Depending on the progress of your trip, the destination, the reason for leaving does not bring the same attributes but we never come home the same as when we left. Travel is a great school of life for me.
You are about to start the best experience of your life. You are about to enter the magical world of independence. You are about to meet people that you will carry inside your heart for the rest of your existence. You will gradually grow and build the person you want to be in your future.
Build new friendships every day that you will carry on throughout the life. Build your future every day. Fall in love with what everyone you meet can give you. Fall in love with knowledge. Fall in love with your city but above all with all the other places you will have the chance to see. Fall in love with that plane, train, bus that took you to that magical place. Fall in love with all the cultures that will come before you. But above all, fall in love with the new you, because there is no other person you can love so much in your life.

active citizenship

Quality Standards of project with volunteers

I declare that my project meets all the quality requirements here listed

  • There are clear, planned outcomes for the local community based on identified needs.
  • Volunteers bring added value to the project and don’t replace paid staff.
  • Volunteers are recruited, trained and managed according to the quality volunteer management cycle.
  • The conditions of the opportunity are inline with the relevant legal framework in the country/ region concerned. Eg regarding insurance, expenses payments, agreements/contracts etc.
  • The volunteers are celebrated and thanked for their time and commitment.

Yes

  • The organization providing the volunteer opportunity demonstrates an inclusive approach. Volunteers from all backgrounds and situations are welcome.

Yes

  • There is the opportunity for the learning acquired through volunteering to be validated, if the volunteer desires it.

Yes

Rate the good practice
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Comments
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Great project!