ESC: Volunteer in Milan in the youth center QR52

QR52 is a youth center (CAG), affiliated to the Gruppo di Volontario Vicenziano - AIC Italy, which aims at the promotion of personal, cultural, relational and educational growth of young people in the area of Milan, directly involving them into initiatives and activities of non-formal education in order to increase their self-confidence, leadership and proactivity. The center seeks to create a space where youngsters, through a secure and peaceful environment, full of stimuli and experiences, can positively develop their personality, increase confidence in their abilities and integrate more easily in a heterogeneous group. The target audience consists of children and teenagers between the age of 11 and 19, with attention also to young people up to 25 years old for job shadowing and introduction into volunteer activities. The main activities carried out by the center are: - school support (in italian, sostegno scolastico): in order to prevent early school dropout after-school activities were organized with the idea to support and shadow students of the secondary school in their studies; - sporting activities: thanks to the organization of sports courses and in particular the activation of courses, events and tournaments of different kinds of sports, such as football and volleyball, young visitors of the center get the opportunity to complete their mental and physical development and to increase and consolidate the socialization within the peer group, which is a very important dimension in this period of their growth; - workshops: they are fun recreational activities of non-formal education that not only facilitate learning focused on experimentation and action, but also help to develop personal qualities such as self-esteem, curiosity, patience, creativity and leadership skills. There are different workshops: on artistic expression, aimed at development of creativity and exploration of alternative and innovative means of communication such as spray art and rap music; on socialization, which concentrate on the work on awareness and acceptance of oneself and the others, seen as an asset, on tolerance and inclusion, on making new acquaintances, relationships and ability of expression of their own experiences and on managing emotions; cultural, that is dedicated to the discovery and rediscovery, to the exchange and interchange between young people and volunteers of their cultures, customs, languages and traditions; - moments of free aggregation (libera aggregazione): where youngsters themselves manage and organize activities, games and / or laboratories, also inviting people who do not usually attend the center. In these moments staff mainly act as an observer who are ready to offer incentives and guarantee compliance with the general rules of the center. - excursions, holidays and camps: visits are organized not only to rediscover the city, but also the outside area. These are extremely important moments, not only from a cultural point of view but also, and above all, for the fact that they allow youngsters to strengthen the group, to experience moments of independence from the family, of sharing and are the first experiences of volunteering; - outdoor education: workshops on sports, music, writing organized in public spaces of the area (parks, gardens, library, schools, etc.) - youth volunteering: promotion, training and supervision to youngsters so that they can assume with responsibility the role of volunteers for elementary school children. - “alternanza scuola/lavoro” i.e. creating opportunities for youngsters to acquire professional skills, through job shadowing and vocational trainings, in order to support them in their education path and in the search for their future career. - support to parenthood (sostegno alla genitorialità): During the meetings made over the years with parents of the families involved, it has become increasingly apparent the need to have a listening space and collaboration on issues related to the education of children and the parenting role. The CAG has for years relied on the professionalism of a psychotherapist who with the coordinator of the service and with the group of parents defines annually the issues to be developed during the meetings that are held once a month. - support to migrants (especially women and their children), helping them in their social integration in the local community and gaining knowledge of the Italian language. - support to the disadvantages families of our community, through the distribution of food packages, medicine and clothes and through the psychotherapeutic support of our Centri di Ascolto. - support to elderly people, especially those in conditions of vulnerability. At our Center they can in fact find a welcoming place, where they can meet other people and learn new skills, engaging with the rest of the community. The activities are constantly reviewed and adapted according to the profile of youngsters who attends the center.