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European Solidarity Corps

Volunteering

VOLUNTEERING FOR PEOPLE

WITH DISABILITIES

Steinach am Brenner, Austria September 2023 - September 2024

for EU/EEA, Turkey, + Rep. of

apply by 18. June 2023, 23:59
North Macedonia residents
 Your Hosting Organisation:
Arche Tirol
Arche Tirol is a community of people with and without disabilities. Arche Tirol was founded
in 1992 and is a Christian–ecumenical community. In our daily routine there is place for
spirituality. The work in Arche considers the UN convention for people with disabilities.
Currently, 10 people with a disability are accompanied in two houses, one in Steinach am
Brenner and one in St. Jodok (few kilometres distance).

Arche takes in people with disabilities at the age of 18. Currently, four people with mental
und multiple disabilities live in the Arche House in Steinach and six live in St. Jodok. Our
main philosophy is not only to provide care, but also to offer a community, personal
relationships and a home.

In Steinach there is a workshop and a basal group (Basale Gruppe) for the cared for people.
They produce candles, potteries, paper and bags. We sell these products. The assistants try to
support the people with disabilities in their cognition and self-awareness.

The main tasks are care/nursing, housekeeping and creating a familiar and welcoming
atmosphere for the disabled people. To achieve this goal, we share life and work, sing and
celebrate together and try to organise happy and exciting days for the residents. Household
chores include cooking, tidying, laundry and cleaning. We offer people with cognitive
impairments a comprehensive everyday life. For example, we have many weekly leisure
activities, where you can accompany them (for example: dancing, swimming, hiking...).

ARCHE TIROL

Hosting Organisation

St. Jodok am Brenner &

Steinach am Brenner

www.arche-tirol.at

office@arche-tirol.at
Your Tasks & Activities
We want applicants to know that it is important to engage with the process of living in this
community. You should be willing to communicate, take over responsibility and accept
challenges. Volunteers in our organisation bring an important and unique quality to our work,
but you also be willing to accept challenges. You will work five days a week, around 35 hours a
week including a German course. Each month you will have a different work schedule. The
work schedule for the month will be announced 2 weeks in advance.

There will be a weekend, this means two consecutive days off every week. You also get two
vacation days per month which you can accumulate. National Holidays are free days for you.

YOUR MAIN TASKS

being part of “Arche” team,

living together and working in our community,
supporting/caring for people with disabilities in
daily life (basic needs, leisure time),
doing household chores and other necessary jobs,
participating in regular team meetings and
meetings with the tutor,
participating in projects in the local communities
of the Arche houses,
creating and implementing a personal project
with professional support,
participating in the activities organised by InfoEck.

You live and work in Arche Tirol with a professional team (pedagogues, nurses and
psychologist) who have multicultural backgrounds. Arche staff has team meetings two times
a month and supervision 6 times a year. You will join these meetings.

Your task is to work with, care for and support the residents. You accompany their daily life.
You can help them in several situations – changing clothes, hygiene, eating, managing
morning routine, free time, workshop, cooking, going to bed etc.
Our team gives you time to get to know the people with disabilities and the other way round
also. Slowly you will take over more and more responsibility. We try to create a balance to
encourage you while not demanding too much. You can discover your potential and we are
open for new ideas and opportunities. Communication is the key.
Your Profile
We are looking for an open-minded volunteer, who
wants to collect experience in working with
disabled people. We expect that the volunteer
brings high motivation for the project and is open
for the target group.

You can apply for this project, if you legally reside in

an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway,
Republic of North Macedonia or Turkey. According
to the rules of the EuSC only people between 18 and
30 years can participate. This project requires you to
be available full time – you must not study, work, be
in training or any other side occupation that keeps
you from volunteering.

WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO HOST A VOLUNTEER WHO

wants to get to know our organisation “Arche Tirol”,
is interested in working with people with mental and multiple disabilities,
has a stable personality, in order to be able to work with people with disabilities, can
imagine to live in a community for 12 months (in an own separate room),
is open-minded, friendly, enthusiastic, creative and communicative,
wants to work in a team,
is motivated to learn German (and Tyrolean German dialect),
wants to gain social, intercultural, communication and nursing skills,
brings her or his own culture and interests into the project,
is ready to volunteer for 12 months starting in September 2023.

We are open to host volunteers with different backgrounds and especially encourage
participants who face challenges in their lives to send their application.
Project funding & Lead Organisation: InfoEck
The lead organisation of this project is InfoEck (Verein Generationen und Gesellschaft).
InfoEck coordinates eight volunteers in the region of Tyrol at seven hosting organisations and
oversees the administration, finances and the quality control of the project. InfoEck organises
wide-ranging group activities for all volunteers about once a month (like a radio show,
evaluation meetings, a charity cooking event etc.) These group events are part of the
volunteering project and you should be prepared to participate in all these activities.

The duration of this project is 12 months, expectedly from 18. September 2023 until 16.
August 2024. We ask you to be committed to participate the whole duration, it’s important
for the project, your own learning development and for the hosting organisation!

InfoEck has submitted this project to the Austrian National Agency. As we are still waiting for
the funding contract (grant agreement), these dates may change. However, we are optimistic,
due to good experiences in the past. The EU, InfoEck and Arche Tirol will finance this
volunteering project. The only possible financial contribution that you may need to make is a
small share of the travel costs.

The responsible coordinator is ready to answer open questions and to prepare the project
with Arche Tirol, you and the Supporting Sending Organisation. The coordinator's name is
Elisabeth Summerauer: international@infoeck.at (send applications to Arche Tirol, not to
Elisabeth!).

INFOECK

Lead Organisation /infoeck

www.infoeck.at /infoeck

international@infoeck.at /@infoeck869
We support you
You will have regular meetings with your
external mentor and your tutor Sidonie
Tomaschitz at the hosting organisation, to talk
about the wellbeing or about the project
activities.
In the hosting organisation, you will receive
orientation and support for the activities from
the house management and from the entire
team. There is a strong network and a lot of
possibilities to socialise if you are an open
person.

The lead organisation InfoEck will hold regular group meetings with all volunteers in Tyrol
in order to share experiences, give support to one another and to stay connected. The
volunteers are involved in common projects and will receive a language course. You will
get to know other volunteers from various countries and will be invited to participate in
occasional free-time activities.
At the end of the project, we will evaluate together with you and look at what you have
learned and which competences you gained and as a result, you can fill in the Youthpass
certificate.

Location, Housing & Finances

You will live in the community in St. Jodok, where you are offered your own room in the
same house with staff members and the people with disabilities. The Arche philosophy is to
work and live together with people with disabilities. So, volunteers live in the same house as
the residents, but you will have your privacy. It is important to know that living as part of
the community is an important part of this project and experience. All common facilities
can be used by you (kitchen, living areas, laundry room…). You have to accept the house
rules.

There is some infrastructure in the village, although small (grocery store, butcher’s shop,
bank, public transport, bars in Steinach). You can use bus or train. The next city is Innsbruck
(capital of Tyrol), which is 20-25 minutes away by train. You will get a ticket for public
transport in the entire region of Tyrol. The border to Italy is just a few minutes away. The
landscape is mountainous, the villages are very small (Steinach is a bit bigger). You have a
lot of possibilities for hiking, cycling, climbing, skiing and other activities in nature.

You can eat in the community. Additionally, you will receive sufficient monthly food money
and EUR 6,- per day of pocket money.
 How to apply
To apply, send an e-mail with your CV and the Application Form
directly to the hosting organisation.

Contact person: Sidonie Tomaschitz

E-Mail: office@arche-tirol.at

The deadline to apply is Sunday, 18. June 2023 at 23:59.

Only complete applications via e-mail will be considered.
Please do not apply online via the Solidarity Corps Portal!

The selection phase will start after the deadline and the final decision will be taken about
two weeks later by the Arche Tirol team. All applicants will be informed.

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in cooperation with
all photos ©Arche Tirol