After a quiet summer, we’d like to tell you about some opportunities to volunteer and contribute to the work of STCG and our partners. Read on to find out what’s coming up in the next couple of months!
In this newsletter:
- Friday, 25th September – Unloading supplies with Voix Libre
- Clair Bois project leader needed
- A Rocha dry meadow clearing – November
- Samedi du Partage – Saturday, 28th November
- Refugee aid with STC and beyond
- Several calls for volunteers from the CGV
- Join the team
If you’re no longer living in the area or are otherwise unable to continue volunteering with us, you can simply click the Unsubscribe from this list link at the bottom of this newsletter.
Friday, 25th September – Lend a helping hand to Voix Libres
Voix Libres is a humanitarian organisation based in Geneva, working to eradicate child labour and develop social businesses in Bolivia. They have asked for a number of people to help them unload a shipment of fairtrade quinoa and supplies at Rue des Grottes, 28, this Friday.
The work will start at 10am and volunteers will be invited to join the staff for a quinoa lunch at around 1pm. If you’re available to help, email us at info@servethecitygeneva.ch and we’ll pass your details on to the organisers.
Clair Bois Project Leader
Are you interested in taking over as the project leader for our work with the Clair Bois Foundation’s centres for severely disabled children and teens?
We’ve organised several one-off activities with Clair Bois in the past but for this school year we’ve put together a team of volunteers who will aim to take part in the Foundation’s activities more regularly in order to build a relationship with the children.
The current project leader is just getting things off the ground but unfortunately has to leave Geneva in mid-October, so we’re looking for a replacement to take over as soon as possible. The role simply involves liaising with Clair Bois and coordinating the volunteers, and should take up no more than a couple of hours a week, in addition to whatever time you spend volunteering with the kids.
There are no special requirements or qualifications but some French would be useful as some of the Clair Bois staff do not speak English. Ideally we would like someone who can commit to the role for a while (e.g. the full academic year) to ensure the smooth running of the project. Contact us at info@servethecitygeneva.ch if you’re interested!
A Saturday in November (either 14th or 21st) A Rocha dry meadow clearing
we are planning an environmental project together with our partner A Rocha, in the Geneva area. If you’d like to be project leader for this day (i.e. be the point of contact for volunteers), let us know by emailing info@servethecitygeneva.ch, stating your preferred date.
Once the date has been fixed, we’ll open the sign-up for volunteers.
Saturday, 28 November – Samedi du Partage
The next canton-wide collection of food and other essentials for the Partage association will take place Saturday, 28th November.
We have not yet been allocated shops so we have no further information at the moment, but please save the date (or part of the day)! Registration will open nearer the time.
Refugee aid
With the huge increase in the number of refugees seeking safety in Europe in recent months, many people have asked us what they can do to help those arriving in Geneva. While media coverage in Europe focuses on Syrian refugees, the majority of those seeking asylum in Switzerland are from Eritrea, with the next largest group coming from Afghanistan.
Here are a few ways that you can contribute to the safety, well-being and integration of asylum seekers and refugees in Switzerland and elsewhere:
STCG’s refugee centre in Armenia
A small group from Serve the City Geneva is heading to Armenia for a week from Monday, 5th October to help with the conversion of a convention centre into a self-sustaining facility for up to 40 Syrian refugees, complete with six hectares of farmland.
If you would like to join the team, we would be happy to have you. On-site accommodation will be provided, but you will need to make your own travel arrangements. If you’d like to contribute but aren’t able to help at the centre, you can also donate to help cover the costs of materials, or sign up to receive updates as this project progresses.
For more information, contact us at info@servethecitygeneva.ch.
STC Brussels
STC Brussels feeds refugees living in a tent city on a daily basis. Anyone wishing to travel to Belgium to lend a hand is most welcome – you can stay for as long as you like as you like and dormitory accommodation can be provided.
Please contact brussels@servethecity.be for more information.
Croix-Rouge Genevoise and Croix-Rouge Jeunesse
The local branch of the Red Cross and its youth (under 30s) section run some regular projects with asylum seekers, in particular unaccompanied minors and younger children.
See their website for more details of how to get involved (French is required).
Hospice Général
Asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their refugee status are housed in one of five welcome centres around the city run by the Hospice Général. Due to the influx of asylum seekers in 2015, many are now being housed in the city’s underground emergency bunkers. The Hospice Général welcomes private donations, which allow it to contribute to a better standard of education and quality of life for these vulnerable people.
ASEPE, The Association Suisse-Érythréenne Pour l’Entraide (Good French is needed)
Established by Eritrean migrants settled in Switzerland, the ASEPE has launched a course of informal, primarily oral, French lessons for recently arrived Eritreans to complement their official teaching or give them a head start while they await a place on a formal course.
They are always in need of more volunteers to prepare and/or lead the classes, which are in great demand, so if you feel that you can contribute to this initiative, please contact Sophia at sophiammar@yahoo.com (in French).
We are of course keen to do more so if you have any ideas and would be interested in leading a project for the benefit of Geneva’s refugee population, we would love to hear from you at the usual address: info@servethecitygeneva.ch.
Calls for volunteers from the CGV, Centre Genevois du Volontariat
The Centre Genevois du Volontariat is looking for volunteers for the projects listed below. For more details or to volunteer, please contact them directly at cgv@swissonline.ch or +41 22 736 82 42 (stating your preferred time slot where applicable).
If you don’t speak French, you may also wish to ask them whether English-speaking volunteers can still be of assistance.
Migrant women
An association supporting migrant women is looking for volunteers to supervise a basic IT skills course, using the teaching materials provided, for half a day per week for a minimum period of three months. The sessions take place in Carouge on Thursdays from 8.45am to 4.30pm and Tuesdays and Fridays from 1.15pm to 4pm.
CEVA (Cornavin – Eaux-vives – Annemasse railway)
CEVA is holding an open day on Sunday, 27th September and needs volunteers to give members of the public practical information about the day and raise awareness of CEVA’s upcoming ‘Voie Verte’ (cycling and pedestrian paths above the CEVA tunnels), parts of which will be open for the first time that day.
Volunteers will be placed at strategic points around the paths and some will also travel around the routes. Shifts are from 9.15am to 1pm or from 1pm to 5pm, and an information session will be arranged before the event.
INSIEME
INSIEME is a charity supporting people with developmental disabilities. They will be selling chocolate hearts to raise funds on Saturday, 3rd October from 9am to 4pm at various stands around the city and in shopping centres.
Volunteers are welcome for shifts according to their availability.
Terre des Hommes
This Swiss NGO supporting children in need all over the world needs help with various tasks for its annual Marche de l’Espoir (walk of hope) starting Saturday, 10th October:
Saturday, 10th October
2pm to 6pm – setting up
Sunday, 11th October
6am to 9am – making sandwiches
7 or 8am to 10.30am – blowing up balloons, setting up
10.30am to 2pm – manning stands OR
2pm to 5.30pm – manning stands
From 4pm, 5pm or 6pm onwards – dismantling stands and clearing up.
This year, the money raised will go to programmes supporting disadvantaged children in Burkina Faso. For more one-off and ongoing volunteering opportunities with the CGV, see their website (in French), which is updated regularly.
Join the STCG team!
STCG is always looking for regular helpers willing and able to organise new projects and look after ongoing support and coordination with our partners, so get in touch if you’re interested in joining the team as a project leader.
Thanks and best wishes from the Serve the City Geneva team.