The Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO), through the management of the Oficina de Cooperación y Acción Social (Office of Cooperation and Social Action, OCAS), is visited by the non-profit humanitarian organization Cáritas Santander, represented by Sara Puente Ramirez, responsible for volunteering and training.
The objective of this visit was to strengthen the collaboration with Cáritas Santander and to explain the programs deployed by the organization in which the students at the university can participate, either as volunteers or collaborators in different areas. This relationship has a long history and every year UNEATLANTICO supports all the projects and activities developed.
According to Cáritas, its work goes beyond the day-to-day care of people in vulnerable situations. Its approach focuses on providing comprehensive care, based on respect for the dignity, rights, and potential of everyone. Following this model, Cáritas is transforming its approach to accompaniment, moving away from a welfare model to promote the development and autonomy of individuals.
During the visit, volunteer work was emphasized, which is fundamental to the work of Cáritas. In the Diocese of Santander, there are a total of 360 volunteers, who work as a team with the 39 people hired. They are always open to receive new volunteers to join in this solidarity work. In this sense, students have been invited to join the UNEATLANTICO volunteer group in which the chief of institutional relations, Elena Palacio, and the student Sofía Gómez, who represent OCAS and the University’s volunteer group respectively, are involved.
If you are interested in knowing the programs and projects of Cáritas in which you can help, you can access them through the following link link.
Similarly, Cáritas has highlighted the importance of attitudes such as unconditional acceptance, empathy, and authenticity. In addition, they have highlighted skills such as active listening, personalization, confrontation, and empathetic response to provide effective and caring support.
In Spain, the Cáritas confederation is made up of 70 diocesan caritas distributed throughout the country. Its objective is to promote the integral human development of the people it accompanies. In the Diocese of Santander, there are 62 parochial charities and several diocesan programs and projects.