"Voluneteering for Social Cohesion" Project

DESCRIPTION

General objective of the project:

Increase contribution of volunteering to social development of local communities in Romanian-Bulgarian cross-border region.

Specific objectives of the project:

- Strengthening organizational capacity of project partners and other institutions from counties Dolj and Mehidinti (Romania) and Vidin and Montana (Bulgaria) to contribute to the development of volunteering in the social field;
- Developing of a supportive social environment to promote and develop volunteering in four border counties.

Target groups: representatives from social service providers and educational institutions and youngsters (16-25 years old) from counties of Dolj and Mehedinti (Romania) and Vidin and Montana (Bulgaria).

The implementation period: November 2012 - November 2013

Envisaged activities

Project promotion

The activity intends to attract the interest of the target groups about participation in the project, through organizing four meetings (one in every county) for the social service providers and for the educational institutions. We are expecting 70 representatives of above mentioned institutions to participate, 30 from Bulgaria and 40 from Romania.

Developing a comparative research about the situation of volunteering in social sphere in the two regions of the project

The activity will focus on public and private social and educational providers and young people aged between 16-25 years, from four counties in border area.

The research will focus on identifying the following information: need of volunteers or consultancy/training in the field, experience in working with volunteers and learned lessons, conditions required by volunteers/institutions, institutional programs for promoting voluntary practices, partnerships with providers of social services, personal motivation in working as volunteer, expectations from education institutions and providers social services. We are expecting 70 institutions (30 in Bulgaria and 40 in Romania) and 600 young people (200 in Bulgaria and 400 in Romania) to participate in the research.

Different questionnaires will be conceived for each target groups, based on which a research report will be produced with comparative statistics and conclusions about the characteristics of interviewed target groups. The questionnaires and the research report will be translated in English and be posted on the website of the project.

Developing a common methodology to attract, motivate and involve volunteers to work in social sphere

Two cross-border workshops will be organized outside town, with 20 representatives of social and educational providers from four counties, in order to analyze the research report and conceive a Romanian - Bulgarian methodology of working with volunteers in social sphere, with the following information: volunteers recruiting/selection, methods for encourage and motivate them, legislation for volunteering, case studies of the partners, European practices, partnerships between educational and social institutions, volunteer profile (skills, abilities, competencies) and different operating instruments.

The first meeting will be for developing the content of the methodology and the second for accepted it. The Methodical Guide will be printed in relevant languages and distributed amongst all institutions involved in the research activity. The English version will be put on the website.

Establishment of two Methodical Centres for Volunteering in social sphere

Each partner will establish A Methodical Centre for Volunteering in order to provide different services for different target groups:
- Informational resources access: databases with social service providers and youth who want to act as volunteers; the Methodical Guide previously conceived; legislation on volunteering;
- Assistance and consultancy in developing institutional programmes for promote the volunteering: plans for selection, involvement and motivation of volunteers, and in acting as volunteers;
- Promoting and support through collaborating with mass-media and in network ;
- Informing and capacity building through organizing trainers for volunteers, identifying their needs of training, evaluating institutional capacity of involving volunteers.

Application of the methodology previously conceived/selecting and training the volunteers

This activity includes recruitment, selection and training of a group of volunteers to be involved in various social activities in the benefit of four county communities. Each partner will launch in the two target counties a call for recruitment and selection of volunteers, through the educational institutions in the database previously developed. 56 volunteers will be selected (14 from each county) based on the information mentioned in the application forms and personal motivation of each volunteer, and will participate to a training program about volunteering legislation and methods in social services, based on the Methodical Guide previously conceived.

Each partner will organize one training for encourage teambuilding, increasing motivation of volunteers and creating the network.

Application of the methodology previously conceived/practice in the social institutions

The activity consists in selection of 40 volunteers, from the 56 previously trained, and 12 social services institutions (three/county), in order to involve them in a volunteering practice program in social field. Every volunteer will provide 50 hours of work, according to his skills, affinity and competences into a social institution, selected based on an institutional plan of involving volunteers in social services.

In advance, providers of social services will sign partnership agreements with educational institutions of volunteers involved. During the voluntary participation period, educational institutions will be assisted by the specialists of the two Methodical Centre for Volunteering in elaborating institutional plans of developing volunteering in social field. Finally, evaluation questionnaires and activity reports will be completed by all target groups.

Organizing two cross-border exchange visits of volunteers and representatives of social services

The activity consists in organizing two cross-border exchange visits of three days each with the previously involved volunteers and four representatives of the social and educational institutions, for analysis and discussion on the theoretical and practical training of the volunteers.

On this occasion, all 54 participants will be involved in organizing together a public event in social field (visit orphanage, sport competitions in benefit of people with disabilities, etc), to motivate the volunteers working in common and to promote in public the idea of social volunteering. The mass-media will be invited in order to popularize the events and the result of the workshops. After returning home, each participant will prepare a visit report which will be used for conceiving and printing a cross-border journal about their experiences in the border region.

Organizing a cross-border conference for disseminating the project results

The Romanian partner will organize a two day cross-border conference with 50 representatives from different institutions in the border area (educational and social services providers, universities, employers, etc) based on a letter of participation, in order to disseminate the project results and to identify new ways of developing them, considering the two methodical Centres previously established. Each project partner will present its contribution to the project and the plans for assuring the sustainability of its results. Mass media will be invited at the event in order to popularize the project results and to promote the idea of volunteering in social field.

Publicity and informing activities

The popularization and dissemination of the project results will be done through a set of activities covering the whole spectrum of information:
- Creating and monthly updating a web site of the project, in Romanian, Bulgarian and English. It will contain all the materials which resulted from the project;
- Organizing six press conferences to launch the project, to present the results of the research study and to present the final results of the project;
- Printing promoting materials;
- Creating an advertising film to promote volunteering in the social field in Romania, etc.

Results and products expected:

- Study on situation on volunteering in border region;
- Databases with social institutions and volunteers (on-line access);
- Developed Methodical Guide for work with volunteers;
- Two established Methodical Centres;
- 56 trained volunteers;
- 40 volunteers have practiced in 12 social institutions;
- Developed 12 institutional projects for the promotion of volunteering ;
- Improved image of volunteering in the society.

HOW TO BE INVOLVED?

Involvment of institutions (social service providers and schools), professionals and volunteers will happen on a competitive basis, as considered:
- Motivation of participation;
- Previous experience in developing the volunteering (only for the institutions and professionals);
- Potential for sustainability;
- "On package" - means it will be preferred "package" with partner institutions inside, their professionals and potential volunteers.

For more detailed information about the project and participation in it, please contact us (section Contact on the website).