Description
The project responds to a problem of limited community involvement of young pupils in primary schools. It seeks to reach out to 600 pupils in 30 schools in the Wielkopolska Province to encourage volunteering. Great Soul Clubs will be established and dedicated teachers will be trained as facilitators. Facilitators will be supported by Volunteering Animators seconded by the Applicant. As a result, the teacher, pupils and the animator will jointly develop a project for the benefit of the local community. This will also create w framework for future teacher/pupils interactions in the Great Souls Club. The partner, a voluntary work centre, will help formally establish the clubs, support recruitment, promotion and training. The project will add value by setting up sustainable volunteering mechanisms in schools.
Summary of project results
"The youngest pupils tend to exhibit very little public participation and are not responsible young citizens. According to the Klon/Jawor Association's research findings, only 10 per cent of Poles volunteered their time in 2013. The project was designed to improve the sense of citizenship among 600 pupils in 30 primary schools in the Wielkopolska region. Furthermore, the goal of the project was encourage volunteering and create a framework for partnerships with teachers and pupils in Great Heart Clubs launched in schools. The project helped establish lasting volunteering frameworks in schools. Great Hearts Clubs were established in 31 primary schools in the region; 693 young volunteers supported 50 initiatives or institutions throughout more than 6,000 hours. Children engaged in helping the elderly, people with disabilities or illnesses, animals or in environmental projects. Great Hearts took part in two food collection schemes (for Christmas and Easter), made holiday cards for ill children in local hospitals. The project initially trained 30 teachers to support volunteers. Teachers were supported by animators who delivered some of the education sessions and assisted in planning or monitoring voluntary work. Pupils participated in sessions on volunteering, first aid and avoiding food wastage. While the measures targeted people in need they also affected the environment:peers, tutors and local people. Teachers have become heavily involved and they still support the Great Hearts Clubs today. There was a positive media coverage of the child volunteering activities and more and more schools have expressed commitment to join. New schools and youth were recruited with the support of the partner, the 'Pass it On' Foundation in Konin."
Summary of bilateral results