nyh esc solidarity corps portugal red cross

Noored Ühiskonna Heaks (NYH) is promoting 5 calls for participants for European Solidarity Corps projects (ESC) which will take place from July 2022 until July 2023 in Portugal.

Vacancy 1 – BRAGA

The Youth Department of PRC – Braga

The Youth Department of PRC – Braga was created in 2005 our goal is to involve and empower young people, promote self-confidence, cooperation and proactivity in our beneficiaries. Our target audiences are children, adolescents and young adults, who participate in the organisation as volunteers, beneficiaries or leaders/agents of positive change. We develop our work in a perspective of peer-to-peer education, using non-formal education methodologies. Our action always has in mind the promotion of Human Rights, we develop activities considering 6 main areas of intervention: Health Promotion and Education; Intervention for Social Inclusion; Education for Development and International Cooperation; Employability, Entrepreneurship and Active Citizenship; Environmental Education and, lastly, Humanitarian Action.

VOLUNTEER TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support in our charity shop

Ponto Vermelho (2/3 shifts a week)

Support in our Youth Centre for the Roma Community,

Geração Tecla (2 shifts a week)

OPTIONAL TASKS

Assisting in the International Mobility Project, JCV in Action:

Assisting writing/implementing Erasmus
Promoting Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps in high schools and universities

Supporting the Youth Department Communication team
Providing support in our Foster Care for Unaccompanied Children (1/2 weekends a month)
Support our Social Kindergarten
Other activities related to volunteers’ individual skills and interests, as far as these are possible within the scope of the project

Example: Planning and implementing workshops (languages/music/arts)

Assisting with the SAD project (Serviço ao Domicílio) – working to support vulnerable elderly people with personal and home care
Assisting with Equipa de Rua – supporting homeless/addicted people in Braga

Vacancy 2 – CUCUJÃES

The Portuguese Red Cross – Local Branch of Cucujães

The Portuguese Red Cross – Local Branch of Cucujães is part of the worldwide International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement through the National Society, Portuguese Red Cross. On local level, the Local Branch offers support to the community focusing on 3 main areas of intervention: Social, Emergency & First Aid and Youth & Volunteering. The work/ tasks at the Local Branch are mostly “hands-on” and practical and the volunteer will be involved in diverse tasks/ activities (not working merely with a specific target group or project but with many); which gives him/ her the chance to try new things and learn new competences. An open mind and adaptable attitude is required as plans/ priorities often change.

VOLUNTEER TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

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.
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.
Active Mix: organising or supporting activities for a group of people with intellectual disabilities.
Dia V: Volunteers take part in environmental cleaning actions when we organise them.
Permaculture Farm: Volunteers help out at a local permaculture farm (harvesting and planting
vegetables and fruits, cleaning and feeding animals, dealing with compost, etc).
Social media content creation: Taking photos, videos, and create digital content to feed the
organization’s social media accounts and the “new” website.

PERSONAL PROJECT

The volunteer will also be encouraged to develop his/ her own personal micro-project. Something realistic, that can answer to the needs of the local community and that was fully created and implemented by the volunteer.

Vacancy 3 – FAFE

The Fafe Branch of the Portuguese Red Cross

It was established in 1979, and works primarily in the fields of social support, health and emergency services; it seeks to promote the autonomy, quality of life and wellbeing of the population. The volunteers can expect to be involved in the daily life of the organization, along with the 28 full time employees and the local volunteers.

Activities:

PERSONAL PROJECT

The volunteers are encouraged to create their own projects, according to their interests and competences and related to the work of our local branch.

VOLUNTEER TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Developing activities with the Red Cross’s Youth projects – activities designed to promote healthy eating habit, responsible attitudes towards alcohol, etc;
Creating and developing a project to be carried out in local schools, and helping to promote Youth
Volunteer projects in local school;
Participating in the “Colorir o Sábado” program, a ludo-pedagogic program with children from disadvantaged backgrounds;
Helping in the creation of digital content about our projects and results;
Helping in the food program for disadvantaged persons (storing and distributing food);
Participating in the Família+Feliz project (sorting clothes, toys and shoes donations and distributing to disadvantaged families);
Supporting UNIR, a program providing leisure activities and education to senior citizens;
Participating in our events and celebrations;
Supporting fund-raising activities.

Vacancy 4 – GUIMARÃES

The Guimarães Branch of the Portuguese Red Cross

It is a familiar branch that works mostly on volunteering projects within the community, non-urgent transports, social innovation, health and social services. Volunteers will have a supervisor but will also interact with coordinators and professionals of the areas they choose to integrate.

PERSONAL PROJECT

ESC volunteers will be welcome to share their visions and initiate their own project and develop their ideas to provide new kinds of support to the communities.

MAIN TASKS

Working on their own projects, supporting in social media and event planning.

OPTIONAL TASKS:

These are some of the already existing areas that the volunteers can collaborate as well, if they feel motivated:

Sick and elderly Hospital Volunteering1, Continuous Care Unit2)
Children and Youth in Need (Fun Hospital2, intervention with children and youth in shelter homes2, free time activities during holidays for children from endangered neighborhoods2)
Inmates1
Education and school intervention (Healthy Habits Eating Game1, Alcohol consumption prevention1, Sun Exposure Prevention1, Youth First Aid, Violence and Gender Equality1, Sexuality1, Environmental Education1, Non-formal Education1)
Homeless (collaboration in our homeless shelter1)
Developing activities for the Youth Group1;
Social support (support to the social workers, organizing food and baby bank, organizing monthly baskets for those in need, managing donations1)

1.Currently active

2.Depending on COVID situation

Vacancy 5- VALE DE CAMBRA

Vale de Cambra

Portuguese Red Cross has a local representation in Vale de Cambra. There are 2 social responses which the volunteers may take part in, the Shelter’s Centre receiving young people aged between 12 and 18 years and the Community Support Office whose mission is to identify community vulnerabilities and attend to their most pressing demands. The processes of orientation and supervision of those families are an absolutely primordial role of the Office.

VOLUNTEER TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Take part and give some support for the activities with the boys in the Shelter’s Centre: the young people living in the Centre is a population distinguished by learning disabilities, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, among others. The specificity of the referred population makes all the help came from the volunteers welcome and precious.
Programs for development of personal and social skills: the volunteers may also take part in the implementation of the programs whose pretend to stimulate the development of personal and social skills usually underdeveloped in this kind of population.
Food collection initiatives: every year our Portuguese Red Cross local branch takes part in food collection initiatives in order to help the sustainability of the institution. It will also be one of the tasks of the volunteers in their mission.
“O Meu Sol”: It is a national project aiming to prevent malign effects of the sun and heat exposure. It also pretends to promote healthy behaviors in general population.
Youth First Aid: We are developing also our skills (having some formation) in what concerns Psychological First Aid. One of our aims for this year is to start making this program f psychological First aid with children in schools. So, it could be also one of the activities of the volunteers.
Psychosocial help: In collaboration with the City Council, we are now developing a response for the refugees that are arriving from Ukraine. We would be very happy to count on the volunteers to help in this new project.
Espaço de Promoção Pessoal e Social: The Community Support Office provides twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays afternoon) a moment in which some members of the community can develop ludic activities encouraging them to work up emotions, motricity, team work, among other skills.

Who are we looking for?

Between 18- 30 years
Genuine interest in youth work, social and educational issues
Flexible and reliable
Motivated to live in Portugal for the full year
Ability to work in multi -lingual /multi -cultural environment
Should be interested and predisposed in working with vulnerable and disadvantaged young people and children
Able to work in a team environment but also able to take his / her own initiatives
Genuine interest in being useful to others rather than just the will of “adventure”
Should be responsible, creative, curious, open-minded
Should have good communication and empathy skills with children and young people
Able to support and stimulate different types of leisure activity, from indoor to outdoor activities
Competences in artistic expression and/or experience on sports or music field is very welcomed
True will to overcome the language barrier and learn Portuguese.

How to apply for the project

CV
Motivation Letter (It needs to be prepared specifically for vacancy/ vacancies.

There are 5 vacancies available and participants should be between 18-30 years old.

After you prepare documents above, you should send them via email to our contact person- Marco Santos- with subject of ‘‘ESC-Portugal’’: marco@nyh.ee

Application deadline: ASAP

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