what do we do?

The Lava Legato Foundation carries out activities related to charities, volunteer work and work in aid of the community.

The Lava Legato Foundation focuses on three areas:

· volunteer work & informal learning

· special education

· local community

and works on social entrepreneurship to support the three focus areas.

The Lava Legato Foundation works with a group of professionals and volunteers who organize and coordinate international volunteer activities and develop educational programs. One of the structural activities is facilitating volunteer work, in Rotterdam and The Hague for a great variety of organizations, but also in Vorden at the biodynamic farm Urtica de Vijfsprong. Up to date information about these activities can be found on the Lava Legato Facebook page.

Partners that Lava Legato has collaborated with

AGENTSCHAP NL, agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation and Agriculture

LMC (secondary school); special education department

Olympia college (secondary school), special education department

Middin (care organization for 5.500 clients with special needs)

Arosa (women’s shelter)

Da Vinci College (vocational training centre)

Hogeschool Rotterdam (University of Applied Sciences)
Province of South Holland (local government)
The Hague city council
Vocational training centre Zadkine
Rijn IJssel College (Vocational training centre)
Hogeschool Arnhem and Nijmegen (University of Applied Sciences)
Province of Noord-Brabant (local government)
Vocational training centre Mondriaan

and a great variety of international partners to organize international volunteer activities.

international volunteer work

The Lava Legato foundation offers volunteer work abroad for young people between 18 and 30 years old as part of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) program. The program lasts between 2 and 12 months and offers fulltime volunteer activities, a language course, an additional health insurance and training programs. Food allowance and accommodation are covered.

In order to do international volunteer work, you need to meet certain criteria:

-All ESC volunteer projects need at least three partners: a hosting organization, a supporting (sending) organization and a volunteer.

-You need an English CV and motivation letter to apply for a project. The motivation letter is used to explain why you would like to participate in the project.

You need to find a project abroad where you can do your volunteer work. Please check the European Solidarity Corps website.

A grant should be applied to finance the project. This is done by the sending or hosting organization. Please take into account the deadlines for applying for a grant. Only after the grant is approved you can go abroad. Contact us to find out about the next deadline.

The volunteer work offered by ESC is not a holiday: it means committing yourself between 2 and 12 months -depending on the offer by the hosting organization- to fulltime volunteer work. The idea is that you learn and develop new skills while being engaged as volunteer.

ESC projects can take place all over the world, but Lava Legato only works on projects that take place in Europe, including the Dutch Caribbean region.

It is possible to obtain a certificate of your participation: a Youthpass. In this certificate you formalise your learning experiences.

Lava Legato sends, coordinates and hosts volunteers. In the Netherlands, the hosting takes place in different areas. In Rotterdam and The Hague volunteers work for a variety of social and educational organizations. In Vorden, volunteers work at the biodyanmic farm Urtica de Vijfsprong.

why us?

For more than 20 years we have been working on activities to support people but also communities and districts that can use help. We set up and execute social projects with international stakeholders, but also with small scale local partners. A few of our well known projects are:

restaurant Trattoria Borgo d'Aneto: a restaurant set up to allow special education students to do an internship. Lava Legato was involved in the set up of restaurant in the first four years.
the Rotterdam Fruit Preserve: an organic delight that we made together with volunteers and interns from special education.
the espresso bar the Polka dot Rabbit at the cube houses in the city center of Rotterdam.

We do not receive structural funding. It is important for us to be self sustaining. We therefore inform young people -volunteers and students- about the impact of being independent. We do our best to teach them basic entrepreneurial skills. New partnerships are always interesting for us, under the condition that we are allowed to think out of the box and work professionally & with our hearts. Inspiration comes from people and organizations who dare to be different and who strive for excellence. We know that it is not always easy to make changes but we stay optimistic in trying to make the world a better place.

JESSIE VOERMANS

BOARD MEMBER

graduated in 1994 in the field of Child & Youth Psychology at Tilburg University. After her studies she started her own company, aimed at developing assessment tools for staff selection and recruitment and personnel management. From 2001 she made a career shift: from working for commercial organizations to being involved in social and educational activities. Creative expression, international activities and special needs students are her fields of expertise. In 2020 she finished her MA (with distinction) in Fine Arts. This allows her to organize more creative and artistic activities to contribute to the mission of the foundation.

EWALD RENAR

BOARD MEMBER

Grew up on the south side of Rotterdam. He knows this area and the developments that took place there like no other. After Ewald finished his studies in the catering business, he started being an entrepreneur. He specialized in mediation of art projects and the stimulation of enterpreneurship among artists. He collaborated with a variety of commercial and governmental organizations like Honda Nederland, Wyett, the ministry of Trafic and Water, the ministry of Security and Justice and DSM.

With his own company Fruit de Renar he started the collaboration with the Lava Legato foundation. Together they founded the Rotterdam fruit preserve in 2011. In 2018 this social -best practice- business was handed over to the Social Delight foundation.

HERMAN DE GROOT

BOARD MEMBER

Herman de Groot studied Architecture at the University of Delft. During his studies he used his free time to support residents’ associations for housing and district improvement in Delft. In the 80’s he worked for the Rotterdam City council on projects that aim to boost the city. In 1990 he started his own business in this area. More than 25 years he was engaged in innovative housing projects, for the most part in Rotterdam. He always strived for solutions that have added value for residents. The appreciation for his work is shown in the fact that local residents named two squares after him, one in Delft and one in Rotterdam.

GHISELLA SILVA

MENTOR

Gisella Silva has worked for several years as a professional in the field of Internationalisation for Inholland University of Applied Sciences. With a bachelor in Tourism management and coaching the obvious step was to combine these two with her love for the city of Rotterdam. In her current role she facilitates connection between higher education and local companies in Rotterdam. She has obtained vast experience in external relations and collaboration doing so.

In 2019 she also started her own company where she works as a trainer in Networking skills and Image Consulting bringing together her desire to help others in their personal growth as well as helping them to create valuable (professional) connections.

Lava Legato initiates projects or organizes activities upon requests. The Polka Dot Rabbit is a project that started in 2018. This is the story behind it.

The business unit located at Overblaak 96 was obtained in 2016 and is located in the Cube houses in Rotterdam. It was totally renovated and transformed into an espresso bar in 2017 and was part of the Rotterdamsche Confituur until 2018. Rotterdamsche Confituur is a project that was initiated by Lava Legato in 2011. It aims to make high quality fruit preserve for hotels and delight shops. Special education students do an internship to experience what it means to work for a company that makes food products. In 2018 Rotterdamsche confituur was taken over by three Rotterdam ladies. The shop on the south side of Rotterdam is still used to produce the best fruit preserve you ever had.

As a result, in 2018 we had to look for a new name for our espresso bar in the Cube houses. Not only the name had to be changed, the foundation was also ready to take on a new project. Jessie Voermans, one of the board members was doing a project that was part of an MA program in Fine Arts. She decided to experiment with a made up protagonist that could fit into a fairy tale; that is how the Polka Dot Rabbit was born. With Ewald as driving force, the espresso bar focusses on:

1. IMPROVING THE AREA OF THE CUBE HOUSES

Although the Cube houses are located in the city centre and are an important tourist attraction in Rotterdam, the area where the Cube house are located is not very attractive. There are few shops, and except for the Cube Houses itself, there is really nothing to see for tourists. As was done with the Pretorialaan on the south side of Rotterdam, Lava Legato aims to drastically improve the area by using the full potential of the district.

2. INTEGRATING DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES

As with all projects and activities of the foundation, Lava Legato tries to integrate different discplines in the Polka Dot Rabbit project. The idea is to combine the catering industry with art and education. This for instance means that small art pieces are sold in the venue. Eventually students with an interest in creative expression, will be invovled as well. One of the activities that was done in collaboration with the Polka Dot Rabbit was the Queen of Freedom project in 2020 to celebrate 75 years of Freedom in the Netherlands.

JUNE TOGETHER WITH CARE ORGANISATIONS WE WORK TOGETHER ON THE PROJECT EMPOWHERMENT LAB. THIS IS AN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT, THAT AIMS TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL SKILLS TO EMPOWER ESPECIALLY WOMEN IN CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES. VIA WORKSHOPS AND PRESENTATIONS, WE WANT TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE INTERNET. THE FIRST ACTIVITIES WE ARE GOING TO ORGANISE ARE INFORMAL TALKS WITH PEOPLE TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING TO USE THE INTERNET IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY.

DEC WE SAY GOODBYE TO 11 VOLUNTEERS IN ROTTERDAM AND ZOETERMEER AFTER 8 MONTHS OF VOLUNTEERING. AS ALWAYS, THE GROUP HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN FULLTIME VOLUNTEER WORK FOR SOCIAL ORGANISATIONS IN THE ROTTERDAM AND THE HAGUE DISTRICT.

MANUAL AND WORK SHEETS OF NEW PEER REVIEW METHOD IS READY. THE WHOLE METHOD WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR FREE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2022.

OKT THE RECRUITMENT OF ELEVEN VOLUNTEERS WHO WILL START IN JANUARY, HAS ALMOST COME TO AN END. THIS YEAR. ESPECIALLY FEMALE VOLUNTEERS HAVE APPLIED AND HAVE BEEN SELECTED; ONLY 2 MALE VOLUNTEERS WILL JOIN THE GROUP.

SEP WELCOME KLARA FROM GERMANY SHE STARTED HER PROJECT AT DE VIJFSPRONG, A BIODYNAMIC FARM. SHE WILL WORK THERE WITH VOLUNTEER SARA FOR THE DURATION OF NINE MONTHS.

AUG JEREMIAH FROM SABA ARRIVED TO DO VOLUNTEER WORK AT MONTEIRO GYM, DE BUITENHOF AND PAAL AND PERK. HE ALREADY SPEAKS A BIT OF DUTCH, AND LEARNED TO RIDE A BICYCLE IN THE BUSY CITY OF ROTTERDAM IN THE FIRST WEEK AFTER HIS ARRIVAL.

JULY WE ARE PREPARING FOR A NEW ARRIVAL: A VOLUNTEER WHO IS GOING TO WORK AT URTICA DE VIJFSPRONG, OUR LONG TERM PARTNER IN THE ZUTPHEN AREA. THE VIJFSPRONG IS A BIODYNAMIC FARM WHERE PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS WORK TOGETHER WITH HEALTH AND FARM PROFESSIONALS TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL BIODYNAMIC FOOD PRODUCTS.

JUNETHE QUEEN OF FREEDOM PROJECT CENTRED AROUND 75 YEARS OF FREEDOM IS FINISHED. WITH A GROUP OF LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS, WE CREATED ANIMATIONS, A FREEDOM CITY TOUR, AND THE ART OF FREEDOM CONTEST TO CELEBRATE FREEDOM.

 A NEW BOARD MEETING IS PLANNED TO DISCUSS THE FINANCIAL YEAR REPORT OF 2020 AND THE MIDTERM PROGRESS REPORT OF 2021.
MAYNEW APPLICATION FOR THE ESC QUALITY LABEL IS SUBMITTED TO ENSURE HIGH QUALITY OF INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER WORK.
 
WE ARE PREPARING A PROJECT THAT AIMS TO DEVELOP A NEW TOOL AND AND AN INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF 50 PARTNERS THAT PROMOTES A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FOCUS IN INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER & YOUTH WORK.
 
A NEW SET OF PEER 2 PEER AUDITS WILL BE EXECUTED TOGETHER WITH ITALIAN AND SPANISH PARTNER PORTA NUOVA AND TACC IN ORDER TO IMPROVE SENDING ACTIVITIES OF INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER WORK.
APRILGOODBYE AND A BIG THANK YOU TO 7 INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS IN ZOETERMEER AND 4 IN ROTTERDAM WHO SUPPORTED THE LOCAL COMMUNITY WITH A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES.

MARCH NEW MENTOR MANUELA WILL START WITH A NEW GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS IN MAY 2021.

FEB DIFFERENT PEER AUDITS HAVE BEEN EXECUTED TOGETHER WITH THE ITALIAN PARTNER PORTA NUOVA AND SPANISH PARTNER TACC IN ORDER TO STIMULATE QUALITY IN THE PROCESS OF FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER WORK.

JAN DURING THE BOARD MEETING, THE YEAR REPORT OF 2020 AND YEAR PLAN FOR 2021 ARE PRESENTED. LAVA LEGATO IS READY AND EXCITED TO START THE NEW YEAR.

DEC NEW INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR ROTTERDAM AND ZOETERMEER. THEY WILL START IN MAY 2021.

NOV THE SELECTION HAS STARTED FOR VOLUNTEERS WHO WILL START THEIR PROJECT IN APRIL 2021.

OCT THE ROTTERDAM FREEDOM TOUR IS RECORDED AND PUT TOGEHTER BY OUR INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS. CHECK THE WEBSITE REGULARLY BECAUSE THE CITY TOUR WILL BE PUBLISHED ONLINE. PETER VAN HEEMST IS INVOLVED AS CITY GUIDE.

THE ART OF FREEDOM COMPETITION IS CLOSED AND THE JURY WILL DECIDE ON THE WINNERS IN TWO CATEGORIES: 18+ AND UP TO 18 AND YOUNGER.

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEETING FOR THE PROJECT ESC 3.0: TO MAKE THINGS BETTER TOOK PLACE ON 12 AND 13 OCTOBER TOGETHER WITH A SPANISH AND ITALIAN PARTNER. UNFORTUNATELY WE WERE NOT ABLE TO ORGANISE THE MEETING IN ROTTERDAM AS WE PLANNED, BUT IT WAS ORGANISED ONLINE. THE RESULTS WERE VERY CONSTRUCTIVE AND INSPIRING AND WE ARE READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEPS.

SEP NEW VOLUNTEERS FROM ITALY, SPAIN, FRANCE, GERMANY AND ESTONIA ARRIVED, AND WILL START WITH THEIR 8 MONTHS LASTING VOLUNTEER PROJECT IN THE HAGUE AND ROTTERDAM.

AUG WE RECEIVED THE KEYS FOR THE NEW LOCATION IN ZOETERMEER AND ARE DECORATING THE 8 ROOMS FOR THE VOLUNTEERS WHO WILL ARRIVE IN SEPTEMBER.

JULY OUR APPLICATION FOR A VOLUNTEER PROJECT TO HOST YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THE BES ISLANDS IS GRANTED. THIS MEANS LAVA LEGATO CAN START WITH THE PREPARATION TO INVITE YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THE CARIBBEAN WHO NEED EXTRA SUPPORT TO DO A VOLUNTEER PROJECT.

JUNE DESPITE THE CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE ARE GOING TO EXPAND OUR VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES IN THE REGION OF THE HAGUE. MORE THAN EVER, WE BELIEVE IN SUPPORTING SOCIAL ORGANISATIONS WITH ACTIVITIES THAT HELP PEOPLE IN NEED. ON SEPTEMBER 1ST A NEW GROUP OF 12 INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS WILL START THEIR ADVENTURES IN THE NETHERLANDS.

MAYAFTER TWO MONTHS OF A SEMI-LOCKDOWN PERIOD, OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE SLOWLY STARTING UP THEIR ACTIVITIES. THEY ARE WELL-INSTRUCTED AND FOLLOW RULES AND SAFETY PROCEDURES RELATED TO THE COVID-19 SITUATION.

APRIL START STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP ESC 3.0: TO MAKE THINGS BETTER IS POSTPONED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2020, BECAUSE OF COVID-19.

MARCH ADJUSTMENTS ARE MADE FOR THE PROJECT QUEEN OF FREEDOM AS PART OF THE 75 YEARS ANNIVERSARY OF FREEDOM.

FEB ESPRESSO BAR POLKA DOT RABBIT IS CLOSED BECAUSE OF COVID-19.

JAN INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS IN ROTTERDAM FINISHED THEIR PROJECT AND A NEW GROUP OF FOUR VOLUNTEERS WILL START IN FEBRUARY

DEC BOARD MEETING TOOK PLACE TO CLOSE THE YEAR 2019 AND TO PRESENT THE 2020 PROGRAM

NOV PREPARATION OF NEW PROJECT STARTS AS PART OF THE CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS OF FREEDOM IN THE NETHERLANDS SINCE WO II

SEP NEW INTERESTING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR PROJECT COMING UP.

JULY BOARD MEMBER JESSIE BACK FROM ACTIVITIES IN THE CARIBBEAN AFTER 4,5 YEARS.

MAY NEW GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS START IN ROTTERDAM.

MARCH NEW DESIGN OF GARDEN SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE POLKA DOT RABBIT TOGETHER WITH OTHER LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS.

DEC END OF THE YEAR BOARD MEETING OF THE LAVA LEGATO FOUNDATION . WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT YEAR CONTINUING WITH CURRENT PROJECTS AND INTERESTING NEW ONES.

OCT LAVA LEGATO PRESENTS THE SOCIAL BUSINESS IDEAS DURING THE FINAL YSE MEETING FROM 1 TO 4 OCTOBER IN ANDUJAR, SPAIN.

AUG THE EVS VOLUNTEERS IN ROTTERDAM ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE YSE PROJECT. THE WORKSHOPS BRING A LOT OF GREAT SOCIAL BUSINESS IDEAS ON THE TABLE.

APRIL ESPRESSO BAR THE POLKA DOT RABBIT IS BORN. CHECK THE INSTAPAGE

LAVA LEGATO HOSTS THE SECOND MEETING FOR THE YSE PROJECT 2-5 APRIL IN ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS.

MARCH IT'S A WRAP! SEVEN YEARS AFTER FOUNDING THE ROTTERDAM FRUIT PRESERVE WE TRANSFER THE SOCIAL BUSINESS TO THE SOCIAL DELIGHT FOUNDATION.

news

OCT A NEW VOLUNTEER FROM GERMANY HAS ARRIVED TO SUPPORT THE BIODYANMIC FARM URTICA DE VIJFSPRONG IN VORDEN. SHE WILL HELPOUT WITH REGULAR FARM ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS HARVESTING, MILKING THE COWS, AND WORKING IN THE GARDEN.

MAY A NEW VOLUNTEER HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR BIODYNAMIC FARM URTICA DE VIJFSPRONG: LISA FROM ITALY. SHE WILL JOIN JAANIKA FROM ESTONIA IN SUPPORTING THE BIODYNAMIC FARM URTICA DE VIJFSPRONG IN VORDEN FROM JUNE 1ST.

LAVA LEGATO GIVES A PRESENTATION ON PEER TO PEER AUDITS AT THE NETWORK MEETING THAT WAS ORGANISED BY THE NATIONAL AGENCY OF EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CORPS. OTHER ORGANISATIONS ARE AS ENTHOUSIASTIC AS WE ARE AND ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN PEER TO PEER AUDITS.

DEC WE SAY GOODBYE TO 11 VOLUNTEERS IN ROTTERDAM AND ZOETERMEER AFTER 8 MONTHS OF VOLUNTEERING. AS ALWAYS, THE GROUP HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN FULLTIME VOLUNTEER WORK FOR SOCIAL ORGANISATIONS IN THE ROTTERDAM AND THE HAGUE DISTRICT.

MANUAL AND WORK SHEETS OF NEW PEER REVIEW METHOD IS READY. THE WHOLE METHOD WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR FREE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2022.

OKT THE RECRUITMENT OF ELEVEN VOLUNTEERS WHO WILL START IN JANUARY, HAS ALMOST COME TO AN END. THIS YEAR. ESPECIALLY FEMALE VOLUNTEERS HAVE APPLIED AND HAVE BEEN SELECTED; ONLY 2 MALE VOLUNTEERS WILL JOIN THE GROUP.

SEP WELCOME KLARA FROM GERMANY SHE STARTED HER PROJECT AT DE VIJFSPRONG, A BIODYNAMIC FARM. SHE WILL WORK THERE WITH VOLUNTEER SARA FOR THE DURATION OF NINE MONTHS.

AUG JEREMIAH FROM SABA ARRIVED TO DO VOLUNTEER WORK AT MONTEIRO GYM, DE BUITENHOF AND PAAL AND PERK. HE ALREADY SPEAKS A BIT OF DUTCH, AND LEARNED TO RIDE A BICYCLE IN THE BUSY CITY OF ROTTERDAM IN THE FIRST WEEK AFTER HIS ARRIVAL.

JUNETHE QUEEN OF FREEDOM PROJECT CENTRED AROUND 75 YEARS OF FREEDOM IS FINISHED. WITH A GROUP OF LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS, WE CREATED ANIMATIONS, A FREEDOM CITY TOUR, AND THE ART OF FREEDOM CONTEST TO CELEBRATE FREEDOM.

FEB DIFFERENT PEER AUDITS HAVE BEEN EXECUTED TOGETHER WITH THE ITALIAN PARTNER PORTA NUOVA AND SPANISH PARTNER TACC IN ORDER TO STIMULATE QUALITY IN THE PROCESS OF FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER WORK.

JAN DURING THE BOARD MEETING, THE YEAR REPORT OF 2020 AND YEAR PLAN FOR 2021 ARE PRESENTED. LAVA LEGATO IS READY AND EXCITED TO START THE NEW YEAR.