Would you like to voluntary work with people with special needs? Are you interested in learning about different kinds of therapies such as riding therapy? Welcome to Lehtimäki Special Folk High School!
Lehtimäki Special Folk High School (Lehtimäen opisto) is a boarding school for youth and adults with special needs.
We offer 70–80 places for students, and there are about 40 different short-term courses for youth, adults, and elderly with disabilities and their families. We offer rehabilitation courses, such as riding therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Some training is aimed at increasing the occupational capacities of the students, through computer literacy training, for example.
Our school builds its activities around values of respecting individuality and uniqueness of people, equality among people, participation, safety, community, and lifelong learning.
Location
Lehtimäki Special Folk High School is situated in Western Finland in the small village of Lehtimäki, located about 60 km away from the city of Seinäjoki.
Volunteer’s role and tasks
As a volunteer at Lehtimäki, you will interact with students with special needs during their lessons and leisure time, supporting them in their daily activities. You’ll also assist the kitchen staff and work at the stables, probably one day a week in the kitchen and one day at the stables.
Volunteer’s profile
Volunteering at Lehtimäki could suit you well if you are motivated to work with people with special needs, have good social skills and an open attitude, and are willing to do various tasks. We are looking for volunteers with experience in horseback riding or working with horses as a hobby or a job. We also appreciate a musical background. Living in a small countryside village is part of the experience.
Accommodation, food, and transportation
The volunteers will live in an apartment in the campus area. It may be that the volunteer will be sharing the apartment with people of different gender. Meals are provided by the school restaurant. When the restaurant is closed during weekends and holidays, the volunteers will receive a food package.
Lehtimäki is situated in the countryside. The only public transportation nearby is one bus during the weekends to the nearest city Seinäjoki. The volunteers will get reimbursement for one weekly return trip between Seinäjoki and Lehtimäki, and the staff might also assist with moving around in the area.
The volunteers will have 2 days off per week and will be entitled to 2 holiday days a month.
Training during the activity
The volunteers will have an on-arrival training camp and mid-ferm evaluation camp organised by the Finnish National Agency of the European Solidarity Corps. In addition, they will be invited to the on-arrival training camp and mid-term evaluation camp of the coordinating organisation Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland.
The volunteers will get access to the Online Language Support (OLS) tool of the European Solidarity Corps to help them learn Finnish.
Accessibility
Lehtimäki Special Folk High School, unfortunately, cannot host volunteers with physical or sensory disabilities. If you need additional support due to a long-term illness or other reason and would like to discuss if volunteering at Lehtimäki could suit you, please don’t hesitate to contact us for further information via Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland at esc@maailmanvaihto.fi. We’ll be happy to tell you more!
Organisation in the European Youth Portal
Website and social media channels
Activity topics
education and training, disabilities, inclusion
How to apply?
>> See the application instructions
