Open call for ESC volunteers - "FROM EVERYWHERE TO EVERYONE" - Portugal
- Name of the project: “FROM EVERYWHERE TO EVERYONE”
- Date of Project: 01.10.2022. – 02.05.2023. (7 months)
- Sending Organization: ”BRAVO”
- Place: Vila de Cucujães, Portugal
- Participants age: 18 – 30
- The number of participants: 1
- Working language: English
- Deadline for applying: 15.04.2022.
From everywhere To everyone is an individual volunteering project, funded by European Comission’s “European Solidarity Corps” (ESC) programme. It gives young people with fewer opportunities, between 18-30 years old, the chance to volunteer in Vila de Cucujães, for a period of 7 months.
HOSTING ORGANIZATION
The hosting organisation is part of the Portuguese Red Cross and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. This worldwide humanitarian aid organization reaches 160 million people each year through its 192- member National Societies. With the same aim to operate in armed conflict or natural disaster scenarios, the organisation operates according to the needs of the local community, doing everything in it’s power to prevent and alleviate human suffering.
LOCATION
Vila de Cucujães is a small village located between Porto and Aveiro cities, in the North Region of Portugal.
Vila de Cucujães is part of Oliveira de Azeméis municipality and belongs to the district of Aveiro. It is also part of Porto metropolitan area. As a small village, public transportation is very sparse and unreliable. Nearest cities are: Oliveira de Azeméis, S. João da Madeira, Santa Maria da Feira, Vale de Cambra.
VOLUNTEER'S TASK
An openminded and adaptable attitude is required as plans/ priorities often change and we will expect you to help with everything that is necessary. You can expect hands-on and physical work by taking part in the following tasks:
- Food Bank: This includes picking up and transporting food donations, storing, and organising food supplies, and then distributing them to families and individuals in need, either at the headquarters or by delivering it to people’s houses.
- Social Store: Tasks include doing the triage, organising clothing, shoes, and toys donations to be distributed to people in need or to be sold at our Social Store. In the Social Store, volunteers help with the sales, decorating the space etc.
- Transportation: If you are a driver, we might ask you to drive our beneficiaries to doctor appointments, social security institute or other places that might be necessary.
- Elderly Nursing Home: Volunteers help out at a local Elderly Nursing Home. They can support with leisure activities or in kitchen, laundry, and garden.
- Activities with addicts in recovery: Volunteers can organize outdoor sports activities/ physical exercise outdoors with addicts in recovery.
- Support to Refugees: Volunteers can support refugee families relocated to Portugal by helping them search for jobs, with portuguese/ english language, by doing activities with children or others.
- Dia V: Volunteers take part in environmental cleaning actions when we organise them.
- Active Mix: organising activities for a group of people with disabilities that come together once a week to dance, make arts and crafts and other leisure time activities.
- Social media content creation: taking photos, videos and create digital content to feed the organisation’s social media accounts and the “new” website.
- Personal micro-project: We welcome you to use your ideas, creativity, and previous knowledge/skills in favor of the local community by coming up with your own realistic micro-project that answers to needs identified.
Support in:
- Fundraising
- Awareness raising campaigns
- First Aid (if you are trained)
- Other requests
PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS
Money and Food
Volunteers receive 5€/ day of pocket money for personal expenses. They also receive 150€/ month of food allowance. This makes approximately 300€/ month, depending on the number of days in the month. The amount will be paid monthly, preferably by bank transfer, to the volunteer.
Accommodation
All volunteers share a fully equipped apartment located near a supermarket, a pastry shop, a pharmacy, the local post office, and the main church. The house is equipped with appliances, furniture, towels & bed linen, water, gas, electricity, and Wi-Fi. You will share the bedroom with another volunteer of the same gender.
Transportation
The volunteer’s house is within walking distance to the organization’s office (approximately 1.1 Km = 15 Min walk) so you are expected to walk to and from work. We do not cover volunteer’s own personal expenses of public transportation on their free time.
Working times
The Portuguese Red Cross – Local Branch of Cucujães headquarters are opened to the public from 9 am to 6 pm with a rest period during lunch time. Volunteers usually work from 9:30 am to 12 pm and then from 2:30 pm to 5 pm. We might adjust your work time if we need your help in some tasks outside these regular hours. Work time doesn’t exceed 38 hours/ week.
During work time at the headquarters, when you are not so busy, you can:
- access OLS (Online Linguistic Support) and take portuguese lessons through the App on the phone or your personal computer.
- work on your Personal Micro-Project with the materials and resources from the organisation.
- take Online Courses (on e-learning) through the Red Cross/ Red Crescent Movement’s learning platform which you will have free access to.
USEFUL INFORMATIONS
Travel
Volunteers will be reimbursed (upon presentation of original receipts, invoices, and tickets) the REAL VALUE of their travel from their original country (to start the project) and back to their original country (at the end of the project). The reimbursement is only made for travels using public transportation (e.g. airplane, train, bus)! The maximum amount that we reimburse is determinated by the EU distance calculator between cities/ countries, as follows:
10-99 km – 20€
100-499 km – 180€
500 – 1999 km – 275€
2000 – 2999 km – 360€
3000 – 3999 km – 530€
4000 – 7999 km – 820€
Insurance & Visa
EU countries: Health Insurance will be provided through European Health Insurance Card therefore it is mandatory to have a valid card for the entire duration of the volunteering project. No Visa is required.
Non-EU countries: Free health Insurance will be provided through Cigna private insurance company for the entire duration of the volunteering project. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to take care of the Visa process and establish contact with the Portuguese Embassy in their respective country. We will provide all documents needed to obtain the Visa. The volunteer’s Passport expiry date should be 6 months longer than the date of the end of the project.
PARTCIPANTS PROFILE
We are looking for…
- Young people between 18-30 years old;
- Who can communicate in English;
- That never participated in a long-term (more than 2 months) European Voluntary Service or European Solidarity Corps before;
- Are Unemployed, just finished School or University, or decided to take a Gap Year from work or studies.
- People who feel comfortable about living in a small rural village without public transportation or places to go out to for more than half a year;
- People that are practical, like to get their “hands dirty” and be “hands-on”, helping in what is needed.
VOLUNTEERS WILL BE OFFERED...
- On Arrival and Mid Term Training provided by the Portuguese National Agency;
- Online Linguistic Support to learn Portuguese Language online;
- Free access to Red Cross/ Red Crescent Movement Online Learning platform;
- Youthpass Certificate (after completing the project).