In 2014, applications for scholarships to Fundació Catalana de l’Esplai (Fundesplai) 40%. Collaborate to make it possible “A summer for everyone!”.
   |
 |
| Image of the GE Sparks output |
 |
| Watch the video of Vincles de TV3 about Fundesplai |
 |
| Check out the press release! |
 |
| The departure of the camp is a very emotional moment |
 |
| Children of the CE Pubilla Cases camp – Can Vidalet |
The Fundació Catalana de l’Esplai (Fundesplai) has launched “A summer for everyone”, the summer activities campaign that this year offers more than 1,000 rounds of camps, camps, work camps, courses and family vacations, with more than 46,000 places (9% more than last summer). In addition, in the social field of the Fundesplai campaign, it plans to award 4,300 scholarships for summer activities this year, 37% more than last year.
The activities are organized by a large part of the 63 federated leisure centers, but Fundesplai also directly organizes camps, centers, routes and work camps. All activities are carried out by qualified leisure and nature monitors and are carried out in accessible facilities of the highest quality. Among the main novelties are circus, English and nature camps, from € 295; the work camp in the Llobregat Delta where participants combine environmental improvement interventions with leisure activities on the beach of Castelldefels (€ 260) or themed summer camps, from € 70 per week.
The slogan “A summer for everyone!” responds to Fundesplai’s desire to guarantee access to quality leisure activities for everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status or functional abilities. Precisely last Friday, June 6, the Síndic de Greuges presented to the Parliament of Catalonia where the existing inequalities in access to these activities were highlighted.
Scholarship campaign for camps for children without resources
For the fifth consecutive year, Fundesplai promotes a battery of initiatives to ensure that no child is left without camps for economic reasons. With these measures, to date, Fundesplai has been able to directly award some 4,300 scholarships for camps and camps, 37% more than last year, when more than 3,100 were awarded. Fundesplai plans to allocate about € 240,000 to these scholarships, 40% more than last year.
To award the scholarships, Fundesplai has a computer rating system through a website, which contemplates different risk indicators such as: employment situation of the parents, benefits received by the family unit, members of the family nucleus (single-parent families, large families, etc.), disability of the child or young person, among other indicators. Based on these data, it establishes the percentages of scholarships consistent with the socioeconomic situation of each family.
Family profile type recipient of Fundesplai scholarships
From the data collected through this system, it can be seen that the most usual profile of the recipient family of Fundesplai scholarships is: an autochthonous family (only 18% are of immigrant origin); with one or two children; that a very high percentage (43%) are single-parent, and that three out of every four suffer the consequences of unemployment (and in 27% of cases none of the members have a job). 9% of families have a child with a disability.
The worsening of the situation compared to last year has resulted in a 37% increase in the number of grants awarded, and a 13% increase in the average amount awarded.
On the other hand, this fact has also led Fundesplai to organize more activities aimed at guaranteeing the care of children in the most vulnerable situations. In this sense, up to 70% more places are offered in camps expressly organized during the month of August to guarantee food care. These are ordinary camps, aimed at all children, but which will reserve places for boys and girls who benefit from school canteen scholarships during the course, who already participate in a camp where lunch is offered, but during August could be left unattended.
Origin of the funds allocated to scholarships managed directly by Fundesplai
The €240,000 that is expected to be allocated to scholarships comes from the contributions of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Diputació de Barcelona; by the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, the Barcelona City Council, some companies such as Grífols and Avant Grup-Bardet and contributions from individuals who have made donations or who have participated in the 2nd Summer Charity Gymkhana. As a novelty, this year Fundesplai is also collecting micro-donations through the possibility of downloading the song , sending an SMS with the word fundesplai to 27171. A self-financing system has also been made available to all families with which, with the sale of raffle numbers, 100% of the cost of the activity can be recovered.
The overall amount of aid allocated can amount to more than one million euros
In addition to the €240,000 that is planned to be allocated to scholarships channelled directly by Fundesplai, some of the 63 member leisure centres also receive aid from their town councils or from the “la Caixa” Foundation’s Obra Social through the ProInfancia programme. In this sense, last year the economic amount allocated to grants and scholarships for children who participate in the summer activities of Fundesplai exceeded one million euros.
Despite the increase in funds and aid awarded, demand is still higher and the scholarship campaign remains open until mid-September. For this reason, Fundesplai reiterates its call to everyone to collaborate by making a donation through the telephone 902 10 40 30 or the www.fundesplai.org website.
Summer activities for people with functional diversity
The entities of Fundesplai develop an inclusive task, attending and including children and young people with functional diversity and providing “normalized” educational leisure spaces, to favor the relationship and socialization processes with other children and young people without disabilities. During the course, about 120 children and young people are attended in 55 inclusive ordinary recreations.
Fundesplai also hosts 7 specialized esplais that attend to 350 children, young people and adults with intellectual, physical and/or multiple disabilities, and who require more specialized attention. These centers respond to the objective of “social inclusion”, participate in the collective actions that are organized to promote encounter and positive integration between children with or without disabilities.
During holiday periods, a key aspect in guaranteeing access to leisure for people with functional diversity are the facilities where the activities are developed.
In this sense, Fundesplai has 16 holiday camps and hostels designed and/or adapted under the parameters of design for everyone. These facilities have not only been equipped with adapted lifts and toilets but have also adapted all interiors and, in many cases, outdoor spaces and equipment (such as swimming pools) to accommodate large groups of people in wheelchairs.
The design of these holiday camps allows groups of people with disabilities to develop their stays without any problem and, incidentally, benefits other users who, at one time or another in their lives, may (we can!) suffer a temporary or permanent situation of reduced mobility (pregnant women, families with prams, the elderly.
In 2013, 4,750 stays for people with mobility problems were made in the Fundesplai holiday homes.