The Polish Robert Schuman Foundation is searching for 17 volunteers who would like to join their European Solidarity Corps project “Schuman Solidarity Crew” from October 2020 to June/August 2021 in Poland.
Volunteers will be hosted in 8 different hosting organizations:
- 2 special kindergartens for children with disabilities (Warsaw),
- special kindergarten for visually impaired children (Warsaw),
- regular kindergarten for children with special nutritional needs (Warsaw),
- primary school with integrative classes (Warsaw),
- Association of Developing Children’s Activity “Chance” – ngo focusing on providing best possible development, increasing the educational conditions for children and raising the quality of work in early childhood education (Warsaw),
- European Integration Club at the School Complex in Wojkowice – non-formal European education for members of European Integration Club and school students (Wojkowice in the Silesian region),
- The Polish Robert Schuman Foundation in Warsaw.
WHO ARE WE SEARCHING FOR?
Volunteers aged between 18 and 30 years, legally residing in one of the participating and partner countries. We seek a balance of varied ages, genders and nationalities amongst our volunteers. All candidates must be registered in European Solidarity Corps database.
No specific knowledge, skills or experience is required as the necessary ones can be acquired during the project. We are not looking for experienced volunteers but those who would learn a lot during the service in a particular hosting organization and are strongly motivated.
Apart from personal motivation of volunteers our requirement is volunteers’ strong will of learning Polish language after selection procedure successfully ends. We need selected volunteers to know a few crucial phrases. Why is this important? Because they will work with children with disabilities and youth, which often do not speak English well or any other language.
COMMON ACTIVITIES
To integrate all volunteers, apart from activities in particular hosting organization, common activities for all Schuman Volunteers will be organized. All Schuman volunteers:
- will write blogs dedicated to their experience in the form of articles, photographs, audio/video materials. If you secretly dream of becoming a published author – you are in luck! Each month the volunteers write (at least) one article about their volunteering experiences in Poland. These posts are published on the Foundation’s website and/or Facebook. Blogs of previous and current volunteers you can find on the website www.schumanvolunteers.pl,
- will organize local activities – workshops/activities in cultural centers, libraries and ngos to share intercultural experience among people from small societies. They will present their countries, cultures, share volunteering experience and promote European Solidarity Corps during workshops/activities addressed to youth, people with fewer opportunities, seniors,
- will take part in the preparations of the Schuman Parade & Schumanville, events organized by the Schuman Foundation to celebrate Europe Day in the center of Warsaw. Volunteers together with their hosting organizations and the Schuman Foundation will plan & organize one tent in Schumanville devoted to European volunteering & raising awareness about the needs of people with disabilities,
- will take part in “internal on-arrival training” organized by the Schuman Foundation. The first days followed by volunteers’ arrival to Warsaw will be spent altogether, not in particular hosting organization. Schuman Foundation will prepare integration activities, trainings and will deal with some organizational things,
- will participate in monthly meetings. Once a month all Schuman Volunteers living Warsaw (and sometimes also those in Wojkowice) will have a meeting in the Foundation and occasionally outside the Foundation to evaluate last month, prepare common activities and just integrate.
ACCOMMODATION
The volunteers will be provided a shared flat, get fool allowance money for each month as well as pocket money.
HOW TO APPLY
Please fill in the Application Form send to: fiohapplications@gmail.com
In the title please write: ESC in Poland. The hosting organization will contact the candidates with best applications and arrange skype/phone interviews until end of March 2020.
Deadline to send the applications: 7.03.2020