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European Union celebrates the European Year of Volunteering.
It is a good opportunity for volunteers with intellectual disabilities.
Alvaro Roche is a volunteer with an intellectual disability.
He helps older people to use computers.
You can read about his volunteering experience in this article.
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The capital of Spain celebrated the launch of the European Year of Volunteering on 2 February 2011. On this occasion, Álvaro Roche, a volunteer with a Down syndrome, shared his experience of helping older people to use computers.
Álvaro is a member of the Down Syndrome Federation of Madrid. He is 29 and for the last 10 years, he has been working in the headquarters of one of Spain’s main political parties, where he is in charge of registering and delivering the external post.
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Apart from his full-time job, he does sports regularly, likes to spend time with his girlfriend and is a big fan of football. Since last year, he also spends every Friday volunteering in a social centre.The Down Syndrome Foundation told him about a project called ‘Volunteering for all’ that aims to help people with intellectual disabilities to become a volunteer.After attending a course on volunteering, he was offered a volunteer work assisting older people in the use of computers. ‘Everything went well from the beginning. It wasn’t hard to fit in, to get used to the environment and learn what to do,’ Alvaro explains.
This voluntary work has given him the opportunity to help the elderly, but also to exercise his right to volunteer. Becoming a volunteer is one of the most important things that ever happened to Álvaro because it is a very rewarding task.
'I have always counted on others to help me and now it’s my turn to help. Being a volunteer means you dedicate part of your spare time to collaborate with society. Everyone can do it because we are all the same, though people like me may need some support.’
Inclusion Europe welcomes the active participation of people with intellectual disabilities in volunteering programs as an important step towards empowerment and social inclusion.
This article was written thanks to the information provided by our member organization FEAPS, Spanish Confederation of Organizations in favor of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.
Do you know a person with intellectual disability active in volunteering? Or have you heard about any volunteering opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities?
We will be happy to hear from you at
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