The Office of the Vice President Issues Call for the Third Solidarity Volunteering Award

The Office of the Vice President Issues Call for the Third Solidarity Volunteering Award
Santo Domingo, August 25 2015

The Office of the Vice President of the Republic issued a call for the Third Solidarity Volunteering Awards, as part of the Alliance Against Poverty strategy, which seeks to recognize and promote the generous deeds of people who contribute to the development of the country.

The ceremony was led by the Director of Communications of the Office of the Vice President, Julieta Tejada, during a press conference that took place in the Dr. Margarita Cedeño exhibition hall of the Children and Youth Library of the Dominican Republic (BIJRD) Tejada explained the rules to participate and called on the various sectors to continue their altruistic work in favor of those most in need and to answer the invitation, which serves to encourage Dominicans to continue participating in the philanthropic work in the country.

“For the Vice Presidency of the Republic, to establish the Solidarity Volunteering Award is an important example that, through solidarity, together we can build a better country,” said Tejada.

She explained that those interested in participating should go to the www.progresandoconsolidaridad.gob.do web page, fill out the form and describe in which activities they are engaged in their community, and ensure that their proposal is endorsed by one of the agencies that are part of the Alliance Against Poverty or by a public institution that can bear witness to their work in the selected areas.

“These are related to poverty reduction, education, health, childhood or youth, women, inclusion, natural resources and the environment, citizen participation, community development, border development, sports and culture,” she said.

She added that the category diversity was introduced in this edition of the competition to allow the participation of people with disabilities who conduct important work in their community. Likewise, the categories of innovation and creativity were also incorporated.

The Solidarity Volunteering Award, an initiative of the Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeño, also recognizes the selfless work being carried out by more than sixteen thousand volunteers and two thousand institutions that work jointly with the Cabinet Office for the Coordination of Social Policies (GCPS for its acronym in Spanish) under her administration.

Details of the Competition

For purposes of the allocation of the awards, volunteering has been established as a participation mechanism by which people, motivated by a spirit of altruism, coordinate themselves and put into action the values of cooperation and solidarity to benefit the community, in accordance with the Volunteering Act 61-13.

Participants must be Dominican and must reside in the country, have a history of voluntary service and be duly endorsed by a public or private institution. The award will be presented by age groups, from 14 to 24 years, from 25 to 35 years, and over 35 years of age.

The humanitarian contributions of those who have contributed to the national development in the areas of priority established by the National Development Strategy, the Millennium Development Goals and the GCPS Social Protection Network through Prosoli, will also be recognized.

The jury will be made of representatives of the institutions that make up the Alliance against Poverty and government entities involved in the deeds undertaken by the nominated persons.

The Vice President created this competition so that each year public institutions, civil society organizations, schools and universities submit their proposals for the Solidarity Volunteering Award using the aforementioned parameters.

With this initiative the Government complies with the Dominican Volunteering Act 61-13, which orders the State to promote, in cooperation with civil society organizations, the setting up of mechanisms for technical assistance, outreach campaigns and the recognition of altruistic activities for the welfare of those most in need.

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