Volunteering principles at Cherry International Foundation


In this document, you find the main lines on the role and position of your ESC placement at Cherry International Foundation. This company policy is there to clarify your role and position and to make clear what is expected and possible during your ESC time at Cherry. These are the guidelines in the daily practice of the foundation.

As you do your volunteering placement at Cherry we approach you as one of our employees, in working time and attitude. Meaning there is a clear difference between your activity time and your own time. The activity time is shaped in cooperation with your hosting place (Cherry); your own time is a private matter and shaped by yourself.

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General Attitude

Cherry is an organisation which organises several events every year  (trainings, exchanges, etc.). Being a volunteer at and for Cherry, you are becoming a part of the team of this organisation. This brings a specific attitude as well as specific duties that are there to be fulfilled. The general attitude respects the privacy of the clients and supports the goal of the specific program running.
The role of the team is to support the clients in creating a healthy environment for them in which their activity can take place. Respect and privacy are also there for your Cherry team members. Conflicts between team members are discussed in a respectful way and not in the presence of our clients.  
All team members come from a big variation of cultural habits and backgrounds therefore misunderstanding and miscommunication can occur. Essential and important part of your volunteering placement is to learn how to work, live and learn in this international team and a Dutch foundation and its culture/context; where culture, habits, and values are or can be different than where you come from.



ESC belongs to the volunteer

This ESC project will last 12 months, so prepare yourself to stay 12 months away.

We expect you to take this volunteering placement into your own hands; taking initiative and clear communication are crucial in order to function well. Making reality checks on assumptions that you have is much appreciated, inform yourself well, we as Cherry, don’t know what you don’t know. “I did not know” is not acceptable as an excuse. You are supposed to know the rules and regulations not only in the foundation but also by the Dutch law, which will also be presented to you in your first days here.



Cherry’s coach

The foundation has a certified coach (Tahira Tarquini) available who functions as job supervisor and will guide you in your daily activities, development plan or finding your way through your volunteering placement. Normally Tahira Tarquini is available every day from 9.00 until 13.00 and from 15:00 to 17:00 at your disposal and guiding the daily functioning of the foundation. Only during holidays, her working times will be different or there will be someone replacing her. If there are things coming up outside these times, you can always reach her through Facebook, WhatsApp or e-mail.  Besides Tahira Tarquini, the Cherry foundation is working with a few volunteers supporting you and her. They function as mentors or as tasks supervisors at the Cherry.
Besides her work at Cherry International Foundation, Tahira Tarquini has her own work at Flow Coaching & Training, which is located right next to the Cherry centre office. Her availability in Cherry will be collimated and depending on her working times and appointments with Flow.



Coexistence with Flow Coaching & Training

The building in which the Cherry centre is located is structured as the following: Cherry centre’s office, Flow Coaching & Training’s office, one common waiting room area, one common toilet (for both clients and employees of both organizations), one outdoor area for Cherry and one outdoor area for Flow. It is expected that you maintain a professional and polite posture when there are clients or visitors of either both organizations. During meetings, or at the presence of clients, do not engage in any activities that could disturb them, or the activity/event/meeting that they came for.

It is possible that during particular events, Flow’s office is used for other purposes which can be useful for Cherry, as for example a team room, or a separate training room. Also, the building in which both offices are located can be rented by external organizations sometimes, in this case it can be that you are asked to assist in the preparation of the space and supporting the organization in its logistics before, during and after their event. As you can see, the building and the offices can serve different purposes, so flexibility is also important.

You are not allowed to enter Flow’s spaces, as Flow’s workers or clients are not allowed to enter Cherry’s spaces. Flow works with Wolfdog Assisted Coaching, therefore when you see dogs in the building or in the outdoors areas, please do not interact with them.

It is possible that you might need a separate space within Cherry centre for a particular activity, always communicate with your mentor and the job supervisors so that everyone can find a compromise for their needs.



Daily communication

As team of the foundation, we have a Facebook group where all work-related information is posted. Take care that you check it on a daily basis and implement the announcements into your schema. If instructions are unclear, communicate in this group; in this way you are well informed. If you do not have Facebook, we will make sure that you receive the announcements by e-mail.



Team meetings

During the days in which you are working in the Cherry centre, we meet every day at 9.00. We check if you all have an activity to do. Also once per week we have a team meeting of a few hours with the whole team. Info is given about the development of the foundation and activities, working agreements are made, experience of the team, and the personal development plans from every volunteer is updated. That will happen the same day in which language lessons will take place. It will also be the day in which you will have your personal meeting (one to one) with your personal mentor.



Language course

You have the choice to study one foreign language using the Online Linguistic Support. You will be enrolled in the system by the mentor, but Cherry will also provide you with Dutch language classes.



Leave and absent

• In case of sickness, the volunteer must inform the job supervisor of the workplace 24 hours in advance either written or by phone. Or at least 1 hour before the working time starts at the workplace.
• A free day must be arranged by communicating with the job supervisor of the workplace 5 working days in advance.
• A holiday (leaving for one week or more) must be arranged by communicating with the job supervisor of the workplace 1 month before. Be sure that you first communicate them, before you arrange your travel and/or holiday.
• This always needs to be communicated and discussed with Tahira Tarquini on first hand; the same applies for changing working days, working place or any other project related activity changes. It is not up to you to take these decisions by yourself.



ESC and other projects

Many of our volunteers want to go to trainings or events in other countries. If you are on ESC it is not allowed to officially participate in events that are financed with Erasmus+ money. It is called double financing and forbidden in Erasmus+. As foundation, we want to play by the rules of Erasmus+ and stick to this rule. Other events in other countries are not allowed in your volunteering placement. If you want to go, it can be done; but it is considered as holiday or free days. In holiday or free days, it is up to you where you spend it. Holidays are not supposed to be more than 3 working weeks in a row.


Working Week

Working week consists of 36 working hours, free days and holidays are as agreed in CAO-welzijn (collective labour agreement for social work in The Netherlands).
Working days are from Monday till Friday.
For days that you spend in a training, exchange or another project and where the working days are longer, you can compensate it with free days. All activities related to the volunteering placement are included in the 36 hours working week (trainings from the National Agency, writing reports, mentor meetings, etc.). Travelling time to the activities or work is not included in the working hours.
In general, the working week of the volunteer can be very flexible. In times of projects running, there might be more work to do. In times that there are no projects running, the working schema can be open and filled in by the volunteer.



Housing Rules

You have a common responsibility to act like good renters of the houses. Respect the living rules of the building you are living in. Take care that other inhabitants of the building or estate have no annoyance of your behaviour.

• You take care of the cleaning of the house and general maintenance.
• When you invite a guest in your house; you are responsible to check if having the guest is ok with your housemate(s) and also with Eddie Wolters as the official renter of the house.
• The house is your private area, staff of the foundation is not allowed to be private with the volunteers in your house.
• The volunteers that are living together in a house make the house rules together and respect it.
• In case of damage, you either repair it yourself, or you pay the repairman from your own costs, unless the damage was unavoidable or it was not in your power to prevent it. In any case, it should be reported to the staff of the foundation before you undertake any action.
• We expect you to use the water and energy (lights, heating etc.) wisely, with respect to the nature and with responsibility. And following the instructions of energy use.

It could be that the landlord does not allow smoking inside the house, so keep that in mind.



Alcohol and Drugs

We expect you to be responsible regarding the use of alcohol and drugs. What you do in your free time is your choice and your responsibility as long as you do not disturb others, do not inflict the law, and do not compromise your ESC experience (being late, behaving strange due to alcohol or drugs, etc.). In The Netherlands, smoking weed in the streets is forbidden, and we, as Cherry, will not be tolerant with unprofessional behaviour do to these substances.



Introduction weeks

In the first month of the placement, you will have an introduction period. In this period you will have the opportunity to get practical information about life in Emmen and Dalen (supermarkets, medical system, free time possibilities, etc.), the method and culture of the foundation and the tasks that you will be having during the placement. Also, the vision and the customs of the foundation will be clarified and we will look to possibilities to work at organisations in and around Emmen.



Mentor

The foundation will provide you with a mentor who not part of the staff of the foundation, as imposed by the Erasmus+ program. Mostly the mentor is a mediator if there is a miscommunication between the job supervisor and you and if in case of personal support, takes care of the personal support and is mediator between the volunteers.
Tahira Tarquini is the job supervisor and she is doing this as freelancer for the foundation and she is not a member of the permanent staff of the foundation.

Once selected, you will be assigned with your own mentor and before your arrival online meetings will be organised with the job supervisor and your mentor, whose contact will be provided to you.



Youthpass

At the end of your volunteering placement you can fill in a Youthpass that will present the outcomes of your volunteering placement in a form of a certificate. Filling in the Youthpass is optional and is up to your own initiative.