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Description
The ‘School Volunteer Club’ report results indicate that in the Śląskie province there are ca. 124 000 pupils and that 62% of them are not involved in voluntary work. Our observations show that schools and day support facilities focus mostly on educational activities, and even if they put emphasis on volunteering, these are chiefly environmental initiatives. Nevertheless, we observe the need for initiatives related to such topics as hate speech, human rights or communication despite differences. At the same time, in recent years several dozen teachers came to us for advice on how to run school volunteer clubs.To address these needs we will recruit 15 groups of pupils, along with adult tutors. We will run off-site training for tutors on formal and legal aspects of volunteering, cooperation with social organisations, introduction to anti-discriminatory activities or promotion of voluntary work. Then we will organise a ‘volunteering game’ for all 15 groups – they will be asked to conduct a cycle of voluntary initiatives for the local community offline or online to collect points in the game. Tasks will refer to the prevention of hate speech, support for local development, cooperation with local authorities, human rights. The game will allow youths to discover different aspects and type of voluntary activities. Finally, we will organise a ceremonial conference to present awards and discuss the effects of the project, including the game-based learning method. Initiatives carried out will be shared online as examples of scenarios for youth-engaging activities.
Summary of project results
Our main aim was to increase involvement in volunteering, especially among school-aged people. This is in response to the need to build social ties and activate young people by giving them the opportunity to participate in community activities. The tasks, actions and events organised as part of the project were not only aimed at mobilising action, but also at education, developing social skills and building a sense of responsibility for others and the environment.
The project responded to specific social challenges, such as helping day care centres. By involving the volunteer teams in activities for these places and organising training, webinars and other educational events, we created a space to build relationships and support for these institutions and the people associated with them. In addition, by promoting anti-discrimination and environmental activities, we sought to raise public awareness on topics such as equality, tolerance and caring for the environment.
As part of the project, we carried out a number of initiatives to increase the involvement of school-age people in volunteering, especially wards of day-care centres. The main one was a game entitled. "Polychrome", in which 28 registered teams participated, consisting of a total of 485 young people and 43 volunteer club mentors. The game consisted of a variety of tasks, missions and challenges, and included educational elements such as webinars on anti-discrimination and ecology.
We also carried out a number of training and promotional activities as part of the project, such as:
● 3-day residential training,
● 20-hour online training,
● Promotional event and information meeting,
● Webinars on countering hate speech and the zero litter philosophy,
● Project summary conferences,
● Regular promotion of the project on social media and through newsletters and a closed group on FB.
The project involved 43 volunteer club supervisors and as many as 485 young people who became members of these clubs.
The project''s audience was diverse, encompassing volunteer club supervisors, young volunteers and community support institutions, including day care and probation centres. However, the main impact of the project can be seen on the young people involved in volunteering, who had the opportunity not only to develop their skills but also to learn the value of acting for the benefit of others and the environment.
Project activities have resulted in concrete ouputs such as:
● The implementation of 480 volunteer actions by 28 teams, 114 of which involved community or environmental action,
● Improving participants'' competences in anti-discrimination and environmental action,
● Inspire establishments to be active in the community,
● Develop 100 ideas for volunteer actions and create an idea bank,
● 15 films promoting volunteering.
The project had a significant impact on engagement in volunteering, both among those looking after volunteer clubs and young volunteers.
In addition, the project has contributed to the creation of sustainable products, such as the zagrajwwolontariat.co.uk website, which will continue to promote volunteering and provide educational material for another five years after the end of the project.