KOFJA LOKA
Volunteer
Day Care Center
work
PROJECT
Social
KOFJA LOKA
Volunteer
Day Care Center
work
PROJECT
Social
Call for volunteers ŠKOFJA LOKA, SLOVENIA August 2020-August 2021 KIDS IN ACTION 7 - UNITED IN SOLIDARITY LONG-TERM VOLUNTEERING PROJECT in We are looking for 1 male volunteers from ESC program country to join our long-term volunteering project that will connect different organizations from Škofja Loka area, Slovenia, by incorporating the team of international volunteers into their everyday work for the period between the end of August 2020 and the begining of August 2021. Would you like to dedicate your energy, knowledge and time to improve the life of children, youngsters and/or mentally challenged? Would you like to spend 12 months in a lovely medieval town in one of the smallest and the greenest European countries? Would you like to become active in the local community? Then apply now or at least before May 25th by sending your CV and motivation letter to matjaz@familija.eu or by applying through European solidarity corps database. The first suitable candidates will be chosen. Interested? But you need more information? Then keep scrolling down. The long-term ESC volunteering project “Kids in Action 7 - United in Solidar- ity” will connect 10 organizations or their units in the area of Škofja Loka: Familija (Youth Day Care Center Blok and Project Learning of Young Adults PUM-O), Center for Social Work Škofja Loka (Day Care Center DCΩ and Day Care Center DCM Podlubnik), CSD Kranj (Day Care Center DC Škrlovec), Kranj Educational Institution (Residential Home for Children at Risk Črnava), Šent Škofja Loka and three local elementary schools (Jelo Janežič Primary School, Cvetko Golar Primary School, Škofja Loka – Mesto Primary School) . The project continues the well-established tradition of connecting related local organizations that carry out educational, social and preventive programs for children, youth and for other vulnerable social groups. The main target group of the project are children, youth and people deprived of normal functional life. Project partners offer to their users space where they can feel comfortable and safe, where they can develop their social skills and where they can get quality support with their behavioral, emotional, learning and other problems. The aim of the programs is to provide support to the widest circle of users, as well as to those with special needs and other problems. Support is provided at the individual level (work with each individual), as well as in cooperation with their families. The program includes group work and activities with adolescents, cooperation between various institutions, training, counseling, holiday camps, day trips, workshops, etc. Project Overview Kids in Action Web page All the partner organizations of the project are similar to each other, that is why we came to the conclusion that the cooperation between organizations should be strengthened by hosting a common volunteering project with eight volunteers from different countries. Each of them will be included in the everyday work in above mentioned organizations for the period of 1 year, from August 2020 until August 2021. They will get to know the theory and practice of preventive work with children and people with fewer opportunities within the education and social system in Slovenia. All the included organizations have a supportive and nurturing environment for international volunteers to help them show and improve their own skills and abilities, to increase their knowledge; to work successfully in a team, and to improve and develop their self-initiative. The volunteers will be well and fairly included in the working team. Any issues considering the work, development, ideas, progress or problems will be discussed individually or at the weekly meetings. The goal of all organizations involved in the project is to gain new skills and experience in order to increase the degree of tolerance, mutual acceptance, understanding and respect. Volunteers will improve academic success, as well as their employability and career prospects, they will develop their self-confidence, independence and gain sense of entrepreneurship, they will strengthen intercultural awareness, internalize the values of the EU. The project is not limited to the basic partner organizations only. Volunteers will also have an opportunity to realize their own projects within other local organizations in order to strengthen their involvement in local society and to give a small place like Škofja Loka much the needed European dimension of viewing the world. At the same time, we will present and promote the European Solidarity Corps among local residents. Opportunities for Volunteers 7 volunteers from Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, italy and Hungary are alredy chosen, but 1 placements is still available. To ensure gender balance, we prefer male candidates. Available vacancy 1: ŠENT (Day Care Center for People with Minor Mental Disabilities) Šent - day care center (working hours: 9.00 – 15.00) for people with minor mental disabilities offers their users the opportunity to improve their daily social skills, a place where they can talk freely, express their concerns, re- ceive support, learn new things, and at the same time learn to live a full life. Its activities are designed with the assistance of professional staff according to the needs of users and they consist of: • psychosocial rehabilitation workshops (social skills training, interaction and communication exercises, etc.); • self-help groups of relatives and users; • educational workshops (foreign languages, computer science, etc.); • creative workshops (music workshop, painting workshop, etc.); • leisure activities (social and sports games, etc.); • excursions, camps, holidays, hikes; • lectures and round tables; • visits to exhibitions, events and shows, and more. Besides that, one-to-one treatment is available to professionals, which in- cludes: counseling, individual planning, debriefing and informational inter- views. Available vacancy 2: DC Ω (Day Care Center for Children and Youth in Škofja Loka) DC Ω (working hours 13.00–19.00) is run by the Center for Social Work Škofja Loka. Their program is primarily intended for the local children and adolescents between the 6 and 18 of age, deprived of normal family life experience, and for their parents. Aims of the program: reducing and preventing social exclusion and its negative consequences; building a positive self-image; gaining a sense of self-acceptance and security; school record improvement; acquisition of learning habits; eliminating resistance to school work and school in general; active problem solving in the domestic environment and the involvement of entire families in the program; meeting socializing needs; improving the communication skills; learning to accept differences; social networking according to the users’ needs; improvement of working habits; and assuming responsibility. We strive to improve the conditions for children’s development within their families, to assist with their integration in the social environment and to avoid behavioral deviations. Web page Promo Video Volunteer profile Guidance Candidates should be self-initiative, motivated, flexible, patient, creative, open-minded, communicative, interested in working with children or peo- ple with mental health issues and they should be able to speak English. Past experiences in psychology, pedagogy, youth work, leisure and work with mentally challenged and other vulnerable groups. Abilities in music, sports, manual activities, handcrafts, dance, art and/or multimedia would also be convenient. The future volunteer should bring in their own ideas into the project and be prepared to create, plan and execute their own projects. We do not appreciate 24/7 smartphone-centered people. Each volunteer will have a work coordinator who will follow the volunteers’ achievements, involve them in the work processes and inform them about the organizations and people involved. Volunteers will be also responsible for the preparation of YouthPass, which will be created by each of them. The work coordinators will ensure that the tasks of the volunteers are clearly defined and well-executed. Mentors will provide personal support to volunteers and include them in the local environment, social life, local customs and lifestyle. Language support will include the Slovene language course, where volunteers will get acquainted with the Slovene language organically. Supervision and work coordinating will be implemented by the project coordinator, who will be in direct contact with everyone involved in the project. He is responsible for the quality preparation and the project implementation. Accommodation, food and transport arrangements Free time The volunteers will be accommodated in two fully furnished apartments with WiFi on the main square of Škofja Loka, an old historical town with about 13.000 inhabitants, located 25 km NW from Ljubljana. Each volunteer will stay in a single bedroom with shared cooking, washing, laundry and social facilities. Volunteers will cook by themselves, and a monthly food allowance of 180 € will be provided. They will be also entitled to a monthly allowance of 120 €. A bike will be provided to each of the volunteers and the tickets for public transportation, if required for the purpose of the project. Škofja Loka lies at the confluence of Selška and Poljanska Sora rivers near Škofjeloško hribovje. It is 25 km from Ljubljana, 40 km from Bled and 120 km from the Slovenian coast. Due to its central European location, it is also easy to visit nearby European cities. Budapest is 500 km from Škofja Loka, Venice 250 km, Vienna 350 km, Zagreb 170 km, Salzburg 250 km, Munich 400 km. Škofja Loka is a regional center with all the necessary infrastructure. We have a library, a post office, banks, numerous restaurants and pubs, four sports halls and other recreational facilities, a cinema, a theatre, a paintball, archery, beekeeping, climbing, mountaineering club, an animal shelter, yoga and dance classes, an orchestra and a folklore club. Volunteers can join all these activities and many more. Language should not be an obstacle because everyone speaks English well. The volunteers also have a stimulating effect on the Škofja Loka living environment. The city is just small enough and enables young people to be familiar with each other, but it is also an environment that enables individuals to engage in the society. The areas surrounding Škofja Loka have many possibilities for activities in nature, which also include various forms of recreation such as hiking, running, and cycling. This gives individuals genuine contact with nature and additional opportunities How to apply? If you are from EU country, you are interested in the project and want to became a volunteer, send us your CV and motivational letter to matjaz@familija.eu or apply through Europaen solidarity corps portal before 25th May 2020. But we suggest to apply as soon as possible, because the first candidates considered suitable will be selected. Application should be also marked which of the proposed vacancies seems the most interesting for you. During the selection period, we might contact you for further information through email and Skype/WhatsApp/Viber/Messenger! We are almost sure you haven’t heard much about Slovenia or/and Škofja Loka, so here are some videos and links to ease your decision: Škofja Loka: Slovenia: Links & Info Video 1 Škofja Loka promo video Škofja Loka Tourism Video 2 Video 3 Thank you for your time and see you soon!