The Suisse Romande chapter of a nationwide Swiss volunteer organization is calling on retired professionals to help them in a range of benevolent projects throughout Switzerland.
Set up in 2006 with the support of Pour-cent Culturel Migros and the Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Lucerne – Travail Social, Innovage makes use of the considerable expertise of retired professional staff to help them in a wide range of voluntary projects where the costs of employing highly skilled consultants would normally be prohibitively expensive.
Today, Innovage is made of 9 different chapters throughout Switzerland, each with its own team of 10 to 30 retired or semi-retired professionals, typically aged between 55 and 75 years old, each keen to support volunteer organizations in whatever areas they can, depending on their needs and the expertise available.
In the past, typical projects have included replacing the computing and network infrastructure for the Alzheimer’s Association in Switzerland, helping teenagers who are between school and apprenticeship, or simply advising on the restructure of a professional team. You can find out more information on the projects in which Innovage Suisse Romande (ISR) has been involved over the last few years, by clicking here.
In general, Innovage aims to provide enough support to organizations that they can eventually run their own projects independently after an initial set-up period. David Myers , a local volunteer who helps out at ISR, told knowitall.ch about his experience of working with the association, “These days seniors don’t all have one foot in the grave. In general we like to keep busy and Innovage is a great place to do that! Not only does it help to keep your brain active, it provides a unique opportunity to meet like-minded people. Not only are we looking for new professional-level members to get involved, but we are also looking for suitable projects that require our scientific, social, legal or management expertise.”
Asked what makes Innovage special compared to other volunteer organizations, ISR President, Monique Bolognini, concluded “I am not sure that there is any directly comparable organization. For example, the association Pro Senectute aims to help old people, whereas Innovage aims to use seniors to help (usually) young ones! Unlike other business consultancies, Innovage does not charge for the services it provides, although we may sometimes need to cover our expenses.”
Anyone interested in becoming an Innovage consultant at the Suisse Romande chapter can make an initial enquiry via this form or contact Monique directly at the address below. There will be an introductory seminar for all new members who wish to get involved in the work. More details on request.
On the other hand, if you have a project in mind that you think might benefit from the expert support of Innovage, please don’t hesitate to send details to Monique at the same address.
Innovage Suisse Romande
Monique Bolognini
President
079 629 25 91
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.innovage.ch/html/reseaux/suisse-romande/netzwerk-suisse-romande/?L=1
