The Fondazione is situated in Forlì, Emilia Romagna, and it's far about 60 km to Rimini and the Adriatic coast, and about 100 km to Bologna. Forlì is also relatively near to famous art cities like Florence, Ferrara, Venice and it's well linked with the rest of the Italy thanks to an excellent train service and with the rest of the Europe thanks to a small but efficient airport. The urban economy is based on the tertiary sector, small industries, and agricultural sector. Forlì has a strong link with rural traditions, but it has also an active cultural life and vivacious graduate schools.

The volunteers will perform their service in the Residential and Daily-care centre (workshops) so they will have to adjust their behaviour to the internal rules and participate actively to recreational activities concerning the residents. The volunteers will have to adapt to the domestic environment and participate to the dayly activities linked with the care of the centre and of the residents and with the lab and recreational activities.

The volunteer will have the possibility to develop his/her individual competences participating to the different activities and learning how to manage the relationships with the users and the professional staff. In particular, the volunteer will support the staff in the organization of leisure activities offering his/her skills with the chance to realize personal projects. In this way, the volunteers will be able to improve their transversal competences such as the communicative skills, decision-taking skills, attention to the interpersonal dimension and to the development of others' abilities through a non formal learning process in which they will be supported by professionals and by their tutor.

The Centre offers the volunteers the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally through the acquisition of competences that can be applied not only in the social sector but also in other fields: result orientation, interpersonal sensibility, team work and flexibility are some of the skills the volunteer can develop through the activities and tasks he/she will carry out during the service.

Moreover, by collaborating with the staff in the different activities, the volunteers will acquire a better linguistic and operational competence which facilitates their relation with the residents and their participation in the socio-rehabilitative activities, but also their integration in the local community. Volunteers are encouraged to use their own competences and interests to propose personal activities and organize events for the residents.
For the whole service volunteers will be supported by a tutor and will have regular meetings with him/her to evaluate the hosting project and solve any problem arising.
Volunteers will have different tasks within the Fondazione, according to the activities of the two Centres (Residential and Daily) but their role will always be of support to the staff and help for the residents in the organization and management of the workshops (mosaic, carpentry, etc.) and of everyday life (tyding up, cleaning, laundry etc.).

Moreover, volunteers will have the possibility - depending on their interests and skills - to present new proposals thus being actively involved in the activities and helping in their organization.
The Activities of the Residential Centre in which the volunteers can be involved are the following:
1. Activities linked to personal autonomy in everyday life
o Supporting the residents in knowing the neighbourhood where they live , the local resources and the community where they are inserted. The volunteer can help them in using the services present in the vicinity (post-office, hairdressers, gymmasium, swimming pool, laundry, etc.). Furthermore, the volunteer will lead the guests in finding and knowing how to move with public transport and how to reach places.
o Helping the residents in moments dedicated to shopping, such as buying food (weekly activity) or buying specific things (clothes, films, books, etc.);

2. Activities linked to the assistance of the residents
o Supporting the staff in everyday activities such as cleaning, tyding up of the environment and in the care of the residents (getting up, going to bed, eating…)
3. Activities linked to leisure time
o Accompanying of the residents to meetings, social events, traditional markets or other events and activities organized in the territory which allow the residents and the volunteers to meet new habits, traditions of the hosting community (weekly markets, traditional parties, etc..).
o Participation in visits and short trips organized by the centre and by other volunteering associations linked to the local community.
o Involvement in local initiatives and feasts organized in the neighbourhood.
On the other hand, the Activities of the volunteers in the Daily-care centre, can be:
1. Creative workshops
o Support to the staff and the residents in the development residents and volunteers personal hobbies and specific abilities in creating objects to use during everyday life, in the centre or into community in general (gardening, sewing, painting,etc..). The volunteer will have the opportunity to stimulate the guests (active participation) into the workshop and dedicate to each resident care and attention for integration into the community.
2. Psicomotricity
o Support to the staff in the developement of sensorial, cognitive, expressive skills using techniques of relaxation and non-verbal communication.
3. Activities linked to Drama and music
o Collaboration with the staff in the organization of moments of aggregation, parties, etc, in the stimulation of resident's creativity in creating new activities together with them, to facilitate exchanges, and relationships by the organization of new entries, birthday party, etc. Furthemore, these activities can be also dedicated to deep knowledge of the volunteer's culture or guests' cultures as far as cooking, cinema and other traditions are concerned.
The volunteer will be supported at the beginning by the Residential Centre's operators who will provide all the useful information about the users (competences, weak points, etc) and their living context. In the initial period (to be agreed with the volunteer) he/she will support the staff in the above mentioned activities. During the service, the volunteer will participate to some of the weekly meetings concerning the evaluation and planning of the activities and there he/she will be able to exchange ideas with the staff, verify the individual projects of the users and make proposals for eventual changes and new activities.
Volunteers will do their service from Monday to Friday for approximately 30 hours per week, divided into morning and afternoon duties; usually saturaday and Sunday are considered days off. However, it will be possible to arrange a different schedule with the tutor according to the needs of the volunteers or of the centre.
Beside the tutor, who will support volunteers during the service in the centre, they will also have the support of a mentor who will help them for questions, doubts and problems deriving from EVS management (insurance, food vauchers, etc) and the integration in the local community.

We can host both male and female volunteers, it could be better if they are higher than 20/21 years old (this is due to the fact that our users are adults from 28 to 60 years old) and it's better if the volunteers have got a driving licence. It's important that volunteers have got good relational competencies, a desire to rapport himself with physical and psychic disability, a capacity to adaptation and an ability to deal with different situations which could be of various kind. A good inclination to handily and artistic activities could permit a better integration in the laboratories of the daily centre.
Previous experiences of evs gave us a teaching that it's not fundamenal the type of sending organisation from which the volunteer comes, but the survey's work done on volunteer's real motivations in choosing our project and details given on the possible difficulties in the approach with disabled people.

The organization offers the full disposal to receive volunteers with particular needs from the social, economic, political and cultural point of view as it does not discriminate individuals for their sexual, religious or ethnic origins. However, considered the physical and psychical disabilities of our users, the hosting of disabled volunteers would be particularly difficult.
In all the other cases, the cooperative and the Consorzio, as a coordinating organization, will offer all the necessary psychological and training support to the volunteers with fewer opportunities.
The volunteer will share a flat with other volunteer. Their flat is located next to the Fondazione's building. We' ll give to the volunteer all the necessary information regarding security and risk prevention both in the domestic and working environment.
During their service, volunteer will be followed by a tutor who will guide them during their specific training and their service helping them in the realization of their activities.
Their tutor, through periodical meeting, will supervise and evaluate the service and will solve possible problems and conflicts. S/he will discuss new proposals (or critiques) expressed by the volunteers and will mediate the relations between them and the staff.

Due to the age of the residents, their level of disability and the activities of the centre, it will be extremely difficult to host volunteers younger than 18.

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=42000496401