Profile of the host organisation:
The organisation take care of young people with social and psychological as well as emotional and cognitive disorders.
Conception-conditioned benefits besides the Social Security Code are concentrated after school care, experiential education, intensive social pedagogic case work, parental participation as well as special education and rehabilitation.
Since 2001 the Kinderhaus am Buchberg cooperates with a special school for education aid in the neighbouring town of Tuttlingen. Furthermore there is a satellite station in the nearby located village of Blumberg where about 15 children and young people are attended by 4 teachers. A closed cooperation allows all involved people to establish an intact system that copes with the daily challenges of disordered children and young people.
The team of teachers is supported by qualified pedagogical staff in musical, sportive and creative working groups.
European Volunteers are expected to keep the rules of our work with young people:
? acceptance of young people in their particular personality
? ability to cope with strain by challenging behaviour
? full cooperation with staff members
? loyal and responsible acting according to the particular objective of our work
? to be motivated to develop future prospects for children and young people
? to be courageous to act creative and flexible
Description of local environment:
The town of Hüfingen is situated at an altitude between 574 to 917 meter above sea level on the elevated plain called "Baar", at the eastern periphery of the Black Forest about 4 km southward of the town of Donaueschingen.
Today the town of Hüfingen has about 8.000 inhabitants and can look back on a long history. More than 2000 years ago a celtic settlement was existent on the so called gallows hill.
The town offers a lot of leisure facilities and cultural activities. Places of interest are the Museum of Art and History and the museum of the ancient romanan thermal spa. Music school and Arts school as well as an adult education center are offering courses and seminars.
The railway station of Hüfingen is on the Hell Valley Railway from Freiburg to Donaueschingen. At regular intervals there are Regional Express trains from Freiburg via Donaueschingen to Ulm. The circle train of the special purpose association Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg connects Hüfingen hourly with its neighbour cities. Furthermore there is a well developed bus traffic system via Villingen-Schwenningen and Donaueschingen to touristic centres of the higher Black Forest
To ensure regional mobility volunteers get a monthly ticket which is valid for all public transport associations of the administrative district of Schwarzwald-Baar, on weekdays from 14:00 h, during weekend and school holidays the ticket is also valid in the neighbouring administrative districts of Lörrach, Offenburg, Freiburg and Waldshut-Tiengen.

B.
Learning opportunities:
During their activities volunteers will learn about social and emotional necessities of disadvantaged young people.with challenging behaviour.
Volunteers will gain competences in social care for disadvantaged children and young people.
Having sole responsibility for design and realisation of leisure facilities will enhance self-assurance and self-confidence of volunteers.
Integration in a foreign culture and the self-determined life of the local community will afford volunteers a personal orientation and increase the development of future perspectives.
Participation in internal professional development activities will provide volunteers with specialised knowledge of the health care and nursery system.
Volunteers can take part in a language training for European Volunteers arranged by the coordinating organisation. The aim of the language training is the command of oral every day speech with a special focus on the terminology of social care. Through language training the volunteer should be enabled to manage typical situations of daily life they will be confronted with during their voluntary service.
Tasks:
Volunteers will work alongside qualified staff members as a supernumerary assistant and will be actively involved in the development of the day program of occupational therapy. The assignment of the volunteers will be fixed by prior consultation with staff members.
In the beginning the volunteer will only assist the groupleaders, later she/he will take on responsibility - as far as admitted by legal liabilities.
Volunteers get the opportunity to contribute - under guidance of staff members - to the support and leisure time program of the school and residential home. Volunteers can introduce their own ideas and abilities like computer literacy, graphic design, mechanical skills, music playing etc.
Emphatically volunteers are invited to bring in their own ideas. Staff members will appreciate all initiatives to develop additional proposals for leisure time activities and will support planning and realization. Volunteers could develop their ideas for new games, activities or stories into a personal project if they so wished - creative ideas are always welcome.
Like all staff members volunteers are expected to carry out some work of routine like:
? in assisted living groups: going shopping, housekeeping and support of homeworks
? preparing of group rooms for work, clearance and cursory cleaning at the end of work
? in the field of leisure time activities: support in organisation and realisation of all kinds of activities
? service and maintenance of materials and equipments
? active participation in lasting several days leisure time activities
Volunteers are expected to accomplish a fulltime voluntary service of 35 hours per week. Overtime doing will be balanced by additional freetime.

C.
The volunteer should have an interest in social work and should be open to interact with disadvantaged people who are threatended with social exclusion. Previous knowledge of work with disadvantaged children and young people could be helpful.
It's necessary for the volunteers to be sociable and outgoing, to have enthusiasm, and to be tolerant to foreign cultures. Volunteers should be able to act on their own initiative, but also cooperate in a team.
Volunteers should have a basic knowledge of German and the willingness to learn german language.
A driving license class B would be helpful.
Candidates should describe their motivation for a voluntary service in this project in a detailed motivation letter. Important are neither national or social background, gender, language skills nor level of education, but a convincingly motivation.

D.
Volunteers with special needs could be accepted after consultation with the hosting organisation to find and to agree appropriate opportunities of voluntary activities

E.
The organization provides continuous monitoring, including easy access to the contact person (Tutor), regular dialog with the volunteers, in which the options for personal development and the interests of the volunteer are being discussed.
To prevent crises from occurring in the first place, volunteers will be given any training necessary for them to carry out their tasks.
Volunteers will be informed about their rights, regulations in the host organization, consequences of unacceptable behaviour.
In terms of risk and crisis prevention it is very important to keep all persons involved in the project informed to be able to act immediately in the case of a crisis.
However if problems occur, volunteers have different people to contact and discuss problems with. The different people are pro-active in seeking area of concern and actively finding solutions to the issues arising.
The line manager in the respective working group is on hand daily for problems, the director of the hosting organisation is accessible for volunteers every day and the co-ordinator is available by e-mail and phone at every time but meets the volunteers weekly or biweekly during language training.
Weekly during language training volunteers can meet participants from other EVS-projects from the region to exchange experiences.
Volunteers wil have the opportunity to stay in contact with their family and sending organization via e-mail or telephone at least on a weekly basis.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=6001459401