Five social entities, the Afedes Association, the Atelsam Mental Health Association, the Canary Islands Asperger Association (Aspercan), the Canary Foundation for People with Deafness and their Families (Funcasor) and the Tenerife-Ámate Breast Cancer Association, They have added this year to the other 50 projects that have been awarded the Fundación Cepsa Social Value Awards since its launch, to which a total of 495,000 euros has been allocated.
Some awards that, according to the winners themselves, represent an important boost in the development of initiatives that would not be possible without this support, and that improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable groups.
One of the winning entities this year has been Ámate, which, thanks to the award, will bring, for the first time to El Hierro and La Gomera, a fundamental service for people affected by breast cancer and their families, such as information, training and advice, at the same time as reinforcing it in the entire western province.
Its president, María del Carmen Bonfante, affirms that the commitment to reach these islands “was a demand that we had on our agenda and that for economic reasons it was impossible for us to attend to.” He adds that this entails transferring the knowledge of the Ámate staff to the people residing on these islands, focusing on aspects such as awareness and early detection.
The president of Funcasor, Isabel Gómez, explains that the award, in addition to being recognition of the work carried out by the entity, through employees, users and volunteers, will make it possible to extend its speech therapy intervention service to people with hearing disabilities to the island of Gran Canaria. An aspect that qualifies as essential for improving the different areas involved in communication, hearing and language.
«The project will facilitate short-term and functional responses from Funcasor on this island, where there is a great demand for people with deafness who need speech therapy rehabilitation. This will allow them to improve their quality of life and favor their inclusion, especially at a time like this, “he says.
Labor insertion
The managing director of Atelsam Mental Health, Ana Julia Concepción Cáceres, for her part, points out that the award represents “satisfaction not only due to the public recognition of the work carried out by the entity, but also because it will allow the hiring and incorporation of a person who will complement the Occupational Center team -Prelaboral Isora, in order to continue advancing in the process of labor insertion of the users of the project ».
In this way, the job coach will work to guarantee the best employability conditions for the beneficiaries of the sustainable project ‘Finca Isora’, which, through organic farming and a poultry farm, enhances the skills and professional skills of people with serious mental illness for recovery and rehabilitation.
Another of the award-winning entities, the Canary Islands Asperger Association (Aspercan), will develop «an innovative project in which the main protagonist is the person with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), thus promoting the empowerment of the group through the acquisition of an active role in the process to make its characteristics more visible, serving as an example for future generations ”, explains its president, Israel Betancort.
The initiative includes the development of two guides for Canarian teachers and companies, with which they will publicize resources and good practices that facilitate the adaptation of students with ASD / AS, as well as the employment of this group.
To this will be added informative talks in which those affected, together with a technician, will take an active part, as well as meetings and activities for young people and adults of said group.
Coping with the pandemic
Influencing in contributing to alleviate the effects of COVID-19, Afedes It will undertake a project to help 20 families from municipalities in the north of Tenerife that are in a situation of vulnerability as a result of the current one, explains its president, Catalina de Lorenzo-Cáceres. This is a project with which the entity makes its debut in participating in these Awards and which is a stimulus to continue working, in addition to ensuring the development of the action.
In this case, educational reinforcements will be carried out through workshops for minors, in order to give them school support, as well as help families in the use of new technologies so that parents can assume the work of monitoring and accompaniment, thus reducing the digital divide. Integral development and social and labor inclusion will also be facilitated through empowerment workshops, in addition to meeting the basic needs of the aforementioned families.
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