The “GROW UP THROUGH VOLUNTEERING” project will take place in Portugal in Casa Pia de Lisboa (CED Santa Clara foster homes of Sintra and Cascais and in CED Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Lisbon) that protect children and young people under 18 years old. These children suffered maltreatments as: negligence, physical abuses, emotional abuses, sexual abuses, moral-legal/educational maltreatments, drug/alcohol addiction. This project is composed by 2 EVS activities for 6 volunteers that will start in October 2015 and end in July and September 2016. In this application we will consider activities with duration 10 and 12 months. The project will be coordinated by ProAtlântico – Associação Juvenil, involving 6 sending organisations and 1receiving organisation. The main objectives are: - improve informal and non-formal competences & skills of volunteers, children & young people to improve personal development and employability in the European labour market - raise expectations towards future, open mind and horizons of people with fewer opportunities - promote active citizenship in society, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and solidarity - foster quality improvements in youth work - enhance the international dimension of youth activities and the role of youth workers - promote healthy behaviours and well-being - develop basic and transversal skills: entrepreneurship, digital skills and multilingualism (Portuguese, Polish, Estonian, Spanish, Romanian Italian,and Bulgarian. The volunteers must be very human, self motivated, proactive, creative, with handwork skills, with self-initiative, willing to take on new challenges, very flexible and ready to help in different tasks of the children/young people education and life. A high motivation to work with this group and special interest on music, dance, theatre, sports, cooking, computers, handicrafts, gardening, history, can be an added value, since these areas their fields of interest and will be the way to reach their attention. So, is expected the volunteers have a positive attitude, patience and good listening capacity. The activities performed by the volunteers will be: - To create a home and safe environment, where the children feels protected and live in a healthy way - Animate and implement leisure time activities for the children/youngsters - Accompany children in outside activities of the foster home - Help the children/youngsters to do school exercises - Motivate children/youngsters to study and to complete their objectives - Propose and implement specific activities related to the period of the holidays - Help with the meals - Help children and youngsters to organise the house and the rooms - Divulgation of Erasmus + Programme (in schools, Universities, youth clubs and youth events) - Personal dissemination project Working methods used by the volunteers: - group dynamics, conversations, cultural visits, internet research, presentations, drawing, singing, body expression, dancing, cooking, active participation in the receiving organisations activities, games, workshops, send e-mails, take pictures/ record videos, meetings, presentations in schools and Universities about Erasmus + Programme. Results expected: - Creation of a video and promotional materials done by volunteers to be used by all partner organizations & other stakeholders to disseminate the project in events and social networks - Creation of a manual of the best practices done by project partners Impact envisaged: - development of new skills, abilities and competences for the volunteers & for the community involved in personal, social and cultural field to raise employability chances - build new research, analysis and evaluation tools, in order to take a better practice in the future - create positive awareness on volunteers & local community about different cultures - enrich free-time activities’ of the receiving organization, where volunteers offer support and provide new ideas, points of view, methods and techniques and improve their methods and capacity to provide quality activities to their beneficiaries. - Improve the work of the sending organizations in preparing future volunteers - Motivate other young people to take part in Erasmus + programme The potential longer term benefits: - Increased chances of employability for volunteers - Improved learning performance - Increased sense of initiative and entrepreneurship and active participation in society - Increased self-empowerment and self-esteem - Enhanced intercultural awareness - Better awareness of the European project and the EU values - Increased motivation for taking part in future (formal/ non-formal) education or training after EVS abroad - Improved foreign languages competences - Increased number of people taking part in Erasmus + programme - Better quality in youth work in partner organizations in favour of young people and volunteers - Increased motivation and satisfaction in daily work