RESTART

The project RESTART (“Resiliency Through Activism and Volunteering Teams” was realized with the involvement of forty-six young people coming from seven different countries in volunteering team activities addressing several societal needs that arose during the Covid-19 pandemic, in the frame of the European Solidarity Corps. The project aimed at the protection of youth and vulnerable groups from Covid-19 impact and support them in overcoming the obstacles and the negative impact the pandemic created in their lives. Three volunteering teams engaged in activities to support youth and vulnerable groups in Thessaloniki and in Aristotelis Municipality. The teams supported the work of USB and local partner associations Faros tou Kosmou and Argo. 

The activities included: 

-Communication campaigns and activities to prevent mental and physical health problems created by Covid-19 impact on young people and vulnerable groups; 

-Creation of social spaces either online (radio, online live shows) or offline (libraries, events) to promote safe social interaction; 

-Activities for the local community based on work-therapy and art-therapy principles; 

-Support of organisations and activities providing services for former drug-addicted; 

-Support of organisations and activities providing services for people with mental disabilities; 

-Support of organisations and activities for the inclusion of the Roma community; 

-Intergenerational workshops on use of online tools for socialising and communicating; 

-Activities to promote healthy lifestyle; 

-Promotion of volunteering as a way to engage in society and promote inclusion; 

-Promotion of the European Solidarity Corps program and of the volunteering team format for young people with fewer opportunities. 

The activities were based on non-formal methods and were open to people of all ages and backgrounds. The partnership includes eight organisations, all holding a valid ESC quality label.