ESC: AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM

Fondazione Stella Polare Onlus (FSPO) is a young non-profit organization based in Sicily, founded in 2015. FSPO derives its inspiration from Neohumanism, an approach in individual and collective life that extends respect for all life, from human to animals, plants and the environment. Our motto is Altruism In Action and we envision a world where people care for all beings and the environment. To achieve this, we are guided by our core values of integrity, selflessness, fairness, compassion and one human society. To this end, FSPO undertakes and supports activities that improve the quality of life through greater inner and social awareness. This includes regular free classes on meditation and spirituality, workshops on ethics and civics, non-formal and informal education for children, training of local and international volunteers with courses (also residential) held every summer in its registered office at Ispica or other locations, and providing volunteer opportunities to anyone interested in serving the community or continual learning. Our aim is to nurture human potential whenever possible with special focus on people who are socially or economically disadvantaged. The Foundation regularly partners with AMURT Italia. AMURT is a global non-profit NGO for disaster relief and development cooperation with branches all over the world, established since 1965. AMURT Italia sends their volunteers to FSPO for training and gives financial support periodically. We have also reached an agreement with Leroy Merlin, a home improvement company with branches all over Italy and other European countries, to be part of their ‘Emporio Fai da Noi’ network. This is a social responsibility project where home renovation materials are donated by Leroy Merlin to families living in poor conditions. FSPO’s role is to store these materials and supply them to the families after assessing their renovation needs and budgets. A free tool bank with tools provided by Leroy Merlin will also be available at our store to facilitate such renovation work. Being a non-profit organisation, FSPO depends on donations, fund-raising events (like vegetarian dinners, concerts) and cooperation with partners for its activities and operations. Currently, we are also looking into local and regional grants for additional support.