A. Project environment: profile of the organisation and local community
" Outline the project environment for the suggested voluntary activities, including the local community where the project will take place (e.g. geographical, social and economical environment).
" If the host placement is located in a live-in community, please include the rules and conditions that apply also for the volunteer.

Giovannina Rizzieri Foundation is in Piancogno, a village of about four thousand inhabitants, in Lombardy. It is 60 kilometres away from Brescia, 60 kilometres from Bergamo, 100 kilometres from Verona and 100 kilometres from Milano (these towns can be reached by car or by bus; the train arrives at the near village which can be reached on foot). The nearest airports are in Montichiari (Brescia) and in Orio al Serio (Milano/Bergamo). Piancogno is an active community which offers places for the free time as the library, the sporting centre, the stadium, the horse centre, the cycle path from which Iseo lake can be reached.
Volunteers do not live in the building of the Foundation but in indipendent rooms and they are not required to respect the timetable of the Foundation.
The only prohibition is entering the Foundation after 8 p.m. except for urgent necessities (ex. talking to the nurse for personal health problems), in order not to disturb the guests and the operators' work. Meals are had in the centre at a fixed time: breakfast from 7.30 to 9 a.m., lunch at 12.30 a.m and dinner at 7.30 p.m..
Volunteers are required to respect this timetable for the main meals.

B. Proposed activities for EVS volunteers
" Describe what you can offer to volunteers in terms of service and learning opportunities.
" Please, explain what will be the role of EVS volunteers in the host organisation.
" Describe the activities in which the volunteers could be involved and the activities the volunteers could create in your organisation. Give examples of typical activities for the volunteers.

Activities

Entertainment activities inside and outside the centre:
" Cognitive training in group: riddles, crosswords, puzzles, memory etc.;
" Vision and comment on a movie;
" Group of reminiscence managed: in these groups, elderly people live their life again stimulated and helped by the information contained in their personal dossier, by personal objects or through the reading of books concerning the life of past times;
" Discussion groups: on this occasion, the local newspaper is used as a support to be read by the volunteer, as well. After reading each article the elderly people are encouraged to reflect and to discuss on what has been read, with a special attention to the improvement of the emotional resources of the old guests, as their self-esteem;
" Work therapy consists in creating objects related to an event or a particular project with elderly people (ex. decoupage, knitting, works with salty dough, or creating greeting cards to be sent at Christmas);
" Socialization activities: parties, dances, songs and excursions;
" Pet therapy carried out with the support of the operators of the Civil Protection;
" Bingo;
" Helping educators during Easter, Carnival and Christmas to decorate the building and in bricolage activities. The volunteers will be stimulated to bring ideas and customs of their own culture during these important festivities, involving elderly people in the preparation of decorations and let them know traditions of other cultures. At the same time they will get to know Italian habits;
" Keep company to elderly people having conversations with them.

Volunteers will devote most of their time to the recreational activities that they can enrich and develop with new proposals, ideas and suggestions depending on their abilities, motivation and background.
On the basis of their interests and competences, the volunteers can present their own project (in collaboration with other volunteers, as well) to be included in the educational programme, organizing for example choruses, groups to listen to music (if he/she can play the guitar or another instrument), games or parties (for example related to his/her own culture) to which the citizenry can participate.
We are convinced that the volunteers, being able to test their strength in such an experience as the European Voluntary Service, are young people full of resources, gifted with personal initiative and creativity.
Their presence and their help will represent for us an important support in the development of our activities and, for them, the European Voluntary Service represents an intense experience of life that will enrich them culturally and emotionally.

In the Rizzieri Foundation four volunteers are normally hosted at the same time.

TYPICAL DAY

8.30-9.00: welcoming the guests of CDI

9.00-11.30: entertainment activities according to the weekly programme

11.30-14.00: lunch break and spare time

14.00-17.00: entertainment activities


LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers will have the possibility to get in contact with the world of elderly people, getting to know its problems and resources.
We think that the EVS experience in our centre can be particulalry enriching both for the volunteers and for the elderly people.
Under the supervision of the educators the volunteer will learn how to relate properly in difficult situations (such as in the relation with Alzheimer patients), acquiring new relational skills.
Furthermore, there are lots of activities which imply the use of the Italian language, representing a good opportunity for the volunteers to learn or improve the knowledge of the language.
These activities are also a good instrument of cultural exchange as volunteers and elderly people have the possibility to exchange information about the situations, the customs and the usages of their own countries.
Through the organization of activities of socialization the volunteers will get experience in the organisation and management of events, learning to plan the schedule and the materials necessary for the realization of a particular intiative.
The volunteer will develop empathy, learning to understand the expactations and the desires of the elderly people. They will also learn how to stimulate and motivate old people to participate to events and activities.

C. Volunteer profiles and recruitment process
Please describe the profiles of volunteers you would like to receive in your organisation. Include information on how you ensure an open and transparent recruitment process as well as the overall accessibility of EVS to all young people. Consider further information about the type of sending organisation you want to cooperate with. This information can help the match-making between volunteer candidates, sending organisations and your organisation.

Volunteers must be aware of the difficulties to work with totally or partially not self-sufficient elderly people, who suffer from psychophysical disabilities. Most of them present a dementia diagnosis.
They are supposed to be willing to accept instructions from the staff in order to enable them to interact with elderly people. In addition to this, they have to be aware of the fact that living in a complex residential day reality requires flexibility and adaptation.

During the evaluation of applications, we will take into consideration the profiles that better cling on the criteria indicated above.
In the process of selection of the volunteers, the greatest transparency will be guaranteed with no discrimination concerning origin, social status or linguistic competences.

D. Special needs (if applicable)
If your placements are open to hosting volunteers with fewer opportunities, please provide information about the competence, experience and infrastructure and (human or other) resources available in your organisation to accommodate and support them.

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E. Risk prevention, safety and protection
Please describe how you will guarantee a safe living and working environment for the EVS volunteers, how you will prevent risks and crises and how - in the case of EVS volunteers aged 16 or 17 - you ensure appropriate supervision, child safety and protection.

In the Rizzieri Foundation we have executed the evaluation of the risks provided for by the law 626/94 for all the building and the staff, paying special attention to fire risk.
At the end of works for the renovation of the structure, the documentation related to risk-prevention will be updated.
All the documents are at volunteers' disposal for consultation and the risk prevention service of the structure is willing to give each kind of elucidation.
In situations of crisis we count on the support of the c oordinating organization (Tempo Libero Soc. Coop. Sociale ONLUS) which provides support both to volunteers and tutors.
During the on-arrival training for volunteers organized by Tempo Libero a session is specifically dedicated to the methodologies of management of situations of crisis.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=42000427283