A. Project environment: profile of the organisation and local community
The "Windmill" Foundation is a non-governmental institution. It is located in Fordon district, aprox. 15 kilometers from the centre of Bydgoszcz town. Fordon is occupied by over 80 thousands people. There is no cinema, theatres, or any other cultural entertainment in Fordon. Our Foundation prepares concerts, performances, competitions, festive garden-parties, conferences, meetings with famous people as well as summer and winter camps. These events are addressed to citizens of Bydgoszcz, however some of them are of regional or countrywide range. We are a catholic organization and closely connected to the parish "God's mother the queen of Martyrs" . We also have regional volunteers. Because of the huge enquiry and many children, youth and disabled, ill, unemployed people who come to us regularly we would like to invite international volunteers to join us and to work together with us for needed people.
In January 2007 the foundation adopted the Workshop Therapy Place for young disabled people. The aim of these workshops is to prepare the participants for a possible independent life; to support and develop new skills, to create attitudes which enable to them to live actively in our society. WTP offers 6 activities like wood-working, artistic activities, household, tailoring, gardening, handicraft etc. for disabled people.
There are 30 participants in the WTP "Windmill". In every workshop they are staying half a year. Then they change a workshop. They are over 16 years old. Some of them have physical disabilities, others have some mental problems. Workshop employs 6 therapists (1 for every room), 1 person who provides rehabilitation, nurse and administration staff.
Participants visit salt cave, museum, bowling centre, theatre or cinema. They learn how to manage in daily life. They visit offices and restaurants. They are going for a walk. They also use hipotherapy.
In the "Windmill" Foundation from 1996 the Advice Centre exists. Psychologist, psychiatrist, lawyer and theologian serve their help. You can find there meetings of support-groups, individual and group consultations and workshops.
Social Integration club was founded in 2004. The main aim is counteraction of negative results of unemployment, helping people looking for a job and helping to get job experience.
Our activities include also occasional events (concerts, performances, street fairs, competitions, festive garden-party, conferences, competitions, meetings with famous people, summer and winter camps for children and disabled people) - these were attended by a few thousands of children and teenagers during the last year. These events are addressed to the citizens of Bydgoszcz, however some of them were of regional or countrywide range. The purpose of our work is to offer children and teenagers the opportunity to discover and develop their talents and - at the same time - to protect them of dangerous social processes leading to depravation and pathology.
We started international co-operation in 2003 offering meetings, European Voluntary Service, workshops, trainings and youth exchanges.
We are working with local volunteers. Once a week they meet with teachers.
We also co-operate closely with students' association. Our volunteers meet with students. They visit our city together. They can go to the cinema, theatre or restaurant with them. Students organize theatrical group, music group or charitable group.

Bydgoszcz is a quite big town (ca. 400.000 inhabitants). It is over 650 years old. The biggest problems of the citizens of Bydgoszcz town are difficult economic situation, high unemployment (ca. 25%) and poverty. The economy is not going as well as wished. Now that the factories are old and unused, many workers are unemployed. In Bydgoszcz there is an adequate public transport - bus, taxi, train and tram. 30 kilometres outside of Bydgoszcz are the Tucholskie Forests. It is a beautiful place; unpolluted, fresh air and with very good ecological conditions.

Volunteers, who want to cooperate with "Windmill" will get to know the aims and the structure of the organization by supporting its activity. We would like to meet new volunteers, take advantage of the volunteers' individual skills, exchange experiences and give them opportunity to develop themselves.

B. Proposed activities for EVS volunteers.
We would like to cooperate with volunteers from different countries. Volunteers will have the possibility of proposing and developing educative activities depending on their interests. They will have the posibility to express their point of view in the different tasks and offer new ideas which may enrich the volunteers and the people doing these tasks in their personal development.
We are open for volunteers' own ideas and initiatives while thinking of the way of organizing and preparing such classes, meetings and work. We will appreciate if volunteers have also theirs own ideas for organizing activities in any part of the projects. We would like to make this project together with volunteers. Moreover we expect to expand our activities during the volunteers visit. The host organization guarantees the possibility for volunteers to participate in different activities named in the contract with the sending organization.
Volunteers will help as full time workers. They will work with competent staff.

TASK 1 - HELP DISABLED PEOPLE
The volunteers' tasks will be the following:
- to help during educational-therapy-rehabilitee activities
- to take care of disabled people
- to organize leisure time activities (meetings, theme events, theatre and cinema going)
- to teach people normal daily activities and cultural behavior
- to present different cultures, traditions, art and customs
- to help with activities for disabled people (holidays, excursion, therapy)
- help with some office work (e.g. send faxes, copy documents, send corespondences)

TASK 2 - MEDIA ACTIVITIES
The volunteer's tasks will be:
- to help and participate on media activities - groups for youth people (youth newspaper, photography, music)
- to help in work on preparing of international and national workshops, cultural events, meetings, conferences, ecological excursion
- to meet with volunteers, who want to go on international voluntary service
- to help in correspondence with partner organizations
- to help in seeking new partner organizations
- language telephone duty
-participation in preparation for international meetings
- ordering a documentation (press, photo archive)
- creating and updating the "Windmill" website
- office and administrative works (helping in preparing projects, translating and correcting texts, preparing brochures, computer work)
- arranging youth exchanges
- helping in preparing and leading of seminaries, workshops, conferences

TASK 3 - WORKING WITH CHIDREN AND YOUTH
The volunteer's tasks will be:
- to help to preapre summer and winter rest- to accompany children in their various activities
- to prepare theme workshops, interesting games- to help in carrying on workshops for children
- to assist and be responsible for some local projects and initiatives (cultural evenings, exhibitions, sport events, art, kitchen)
- to organize leisure time activities for children and youth (including excursions and promenades)
- to take part in different games with children
- to assist the children with their school exercises, play with them
- to help in looking after children during the entertainment (trips, matches)
- to prepare games, own ideas, materials if needed

C. Volunteer profiles and recruitment process
The volunteer should be an open-mined person, who would like to meet new people, countries and cultures. He should be interested in work with children, youth or disabled people. At least one volunteer shall have computer skills and media experiences. Volunteers should be flexible, creative and communicative. It will be an advantage, if the volunteers have experiences in national culture, social and youth work, work with disabled people.
On the beginning the volunteers will be put in contacts with the other volunteers (students and GPS groups), other youths, organizations and encouraged to join local cultural associations. Volunteers will know how to work in the office, what are the administrational and personal structures in the organizations. During this time we want them to take part in intensive polish language classes.The volunteers will work 5 days a week (from Monday to Friday). The Working day for the volunteer will be about 7-8 hours long.
Weekends: the volunteers normally have Saturdays and Sundays free for sightseeing and taking part in cultural activities. Volunteers are free to spend this time on their own wishes and preferences. All national and Church holidays are supposed to be free for the volunteers. We would like to give them also free period which they can use sometime during their stay for travelling etc. There will be exceptions when they are part of a team organizing a holiday trip or summer or winter camp for people with disabilities or children, youth that has program activities during the weekend. In this case the volunteers will get other days off to compensate. The volunteers will have the opportunity to visit the main cities of Poland.
We are open to cooperate with every sending organization.

D. Special needs.
We are open to entertain youth people with less opportunities - from a less-privileged cultural, geographic or socio-economic background. We have experience in work with disabled and ill people. In the "Windmill" Foudation is The Advice Centre, where psychologists serve their help. There are meetings of support-groups, individual and group consultations and workshops. Some psychologists speak english and they can help to solve problems which could appear.
Many people with fewer opportunities come to our foundation. We know their problems and we always try to help, to find a solution, to give them hope, time and understanding. We are sure the problems of people from different countries are similar. So we are ready to give them a helpful hand.

E. Risk prevention, safety and protection
Volunteers will take part in the job training and Health and Safety Course. We familiarise them with the Health and Safety at Work Act in the place of accommodation, kitchen and workplaces. Every volunteer will have a personal mentor and they will be in touch all the time.
In the "Windmill" foundation and in the Workshop Therapy Place safe living and working environment is guaranteed. Safety and protection of staff and youth is the most important for us.
The competent staff is responsible for children, youth and disabled people. A volunteer helps full-time worker but he/she doesn't bear responsibility.
He/she will not stay alone with children or disabled people. We plan to organize for volunteers a preparing to work in our organization.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=58000355710