On Friday, June 19, the school year ended and on Saturday a bus with 60 children from the Picaparets recreation departed…
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On Friday the school year ended and on Saturday a bus with 60 children from the Picaparets de Alcanar (Montsià – Tarragona) left for the holiday home of Can Massaguer (Breda, Montseny), thus inaugurating “A summer for everyone”, the Summer activities campaign that promotes Fundesplai (Fundació Catalana de l’Esplai) which This year it offers more than1,000 rounds of camps, camps, work camps, courses and family vacations, with close to 60,000 places.
The activities are organized by a large part of the 81 federated leisure and leisure projects, 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 new technology camps from 70 euros; circus, English, nature camps, from € 295 or work camps, such as the one in Selva de Mar in which participants combine environmental improvement interventions with leisure activities on the beaches of Cap de Creus (€ 260).
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, at a time when, according to recent data from the INE, 30.2% of children in our country live in households below the poverty line.
Scholarship campaign for camps for children without resources
For the sixth consecutive year, Fundesplai promotes a battery of initiatives to ensure that no child is left without camps for economic reasons. With these measures, Fundesplai wants to face the more than 5,300 requests for scholarships received so far. This figure represents 17% more than the 4,500 grants awarded last summer and multiplies by 5 those awarded in 2010, the year in which the campaign began.
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 indicators, 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 (30%) are single-parent, and that three out of every four suffer the consequences of unemployment (and in 19% of cases none of the members have a job). 9% of families have a child with a disability.
More batches and places of summer camps in August and September
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, the number of rounds and places for activities organized during the months of August and first fortnight of September has been increased to guarantee food care. This year, 111 rounds of camps are offered, with 8,420 places. This figure represents a 27% increase from last summer. These are ordinary camps, aimed at all children, but which will reserve some places for boys and girls who benefit from school canteen scholarships during the course, who already participate during July in a camp where lunch is offered, but who during August and first days of September could be left unattended.
Origin of the funds allocated to scholarships managed directly by Fundesplai
Fundesplai already has € 300,000 that is expected to be allocated to scholarships come 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 Avant Grup-Bardet, entities such as the Probitas Foundation and contributions from individuals who have made donations.
The overall amount of aid allocated can amount to more than one million euros
In addition to the €300,000 that is planned to be allocated to scholarships channelled directly by Fundesplai, some of the 81 leisure projects and associated leisure centres also receive aid from their town councils or from the “la Caixa” Foundation’s Social Projects, 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 It exceeded one million euros.
We need everyone’s help!
Despite the funds already available, the increase in demand for scholarships is still greater. For this reason, Fundesplai reiterates its call to everyone to collaborate by making a donation through the telephone 902 10 40 30 or the website www.fundesplai.org. You can also make a micro-donation by sending an SMS to 28034 with the word FUNDESPLAI, thus allocating the full amount of the call (€ 1.20) to the scholarship campaign.