Our work

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ELEVENTH SCHOOL INSTITUTE

On 25 May 1994, the ZPM Ljubljana Moste-Polje established its Eleventh School Institute; that same year, the Institute became the owner of the Vila Šumica holiday home in Kranjska Gora, which has the status of a protected monument and represents a valuable piece of cultural heritage. Since then, the Institute has been performing leisure activities, such as humanitarian camps and training sessions, in Vila Šumica.

THE FIRST HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMME NEVER ALONE

The time when our country became independent showed an extremely great affliction of parents who were losing their jobs and earnings and were unable to meet the basic existential needs of their children. We were therefore the first among all associations of the friends of youth in Slovenia to start intensively helping families and children in need.

We provided them with material donations, helped them pay their bills, and assisted in the purchase of disability and other supplies for children. We continued with humanitarian camps and holidays, and also established the first psychosocial support and assistance organisation as a voluntary organisation of the Civil Society.

COMMON STEP FAMILY CENTRE

We established the Common Step family centre intended to help children, adolescents and parents facing psychosocial distress. In the implementation of these activities, we were assisted by volunteers with knowledge in the social protection field, and we also connected with social work centres and health centres.

HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATION STATUS

On 21 September 2007, the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs granted the ZPM Ljubljana Moste-Polje the status of a humanitarian organisation.

YOUNG PEOPLE AND EUROPE

We have established the Youth in Europe holiday programme, which allows adolescents to spend their holidays by visiting and sightseeing in European cities, learning more about their cultures and languages, and learning how to become independent and responsible when travelling abroad.

SCHOLARSHIP FUND

We started by providing assistance through a scholarship fund, which allows high school pupils and students from socially disadvantaged families to continue the education they wish to pursue if their parents are unable to help them with that.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SPONSORSHIP IN SLOVENIA PROGRAMME

The purpose of the programme is to help children and adolescents from families in need from all over Slovenia. Through the Sponsorship in Slovenia programme, we strive to reduce the social exclusion of children and adolescents due to poverty, and to provide better conditions for their healthy and stimulating development, education, discovery, and development of their talents.

VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION STATUS

On 23 February 2012, the ZPM Moste-Polje received the status of a voluntary organisation. We have invested all our time, knowledge, and energy in activities for children, young people, and families. The programmes and projects, which were placed in the appropriate time and space and implemented in an exemplary manner, ensured healthy development of children, stable and stimulating parenting, and equal access for children, young people, and families.

ANITA OGULIN RECEIVES THE ORDER FOR MERITS

The President of the Republic of Slovenia awarded Anita Ogulin with the Order for Merits, an award for merit in the civil field in the Republic of Slovenia. Dr Danilo Türk, the then-President of the Republic, awarded Anita Ogulin for her self-sacrificing humanitarian assistance to children from all over Slovenia who have found a way out of distress, as well as a bridge to education and to themselves, and for her dedicated volunteering.

ANITA OGULIN BECOMES DELO’S PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

Anita Ogulin received the Delo’s Personality of the Year award as a thank you for her decades of work with children. Readers of the newspaper Delo chose Anita Ogulin for her selfless help and support to many families in need.

THE FIRST MANIFESTO OF THE ZPM MOSTE-POLJE

The first manifesto for legal changes in the Republic of Slovenia was created. With this manifesto, we called on decision-makers to act by proposing an amendment to the housing law, reiterated the proposal to regulate the suspension of enforcement for public services for families receiving financial social assistance, expressed the need for faster decision-making by social work centres and decision-making on the basis of current data, and emphasised the importance of providing full health insurance for all children and subsidising at least one hot meal for all children living below the poverty threshold.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE “WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY” PROGRAMME

The “Where There’s a Will There’s Always a Way” programme was established as the entry point to our humanitarian activities. The programme was designed in response to the growing and more complex distress of families who found themselves in the grip of poverty due to life circumstances. With the support of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and the Municipality of Ljubljana, we provide immediate comprehensive assistance and support to families in need.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE I’M ALRIGHT PROGRAMME

We started with the preventive I’m Alright programme with the purpose of strengthening the mental health of vulnerable groups. The programme is aimed at raising awareness and educating individuals from vulnerable groups, with the purpose of making it easier for them to influence, strengthen, and protect their mental health and well-being. The programme is supported by the Ministry of Health.

THE FIRST CHARITY CAMPAIGN OF THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME

The “Pure Joy” campaign of the Sponsorship in Slovenia programme was performed in cooperation with Gorenje Surovina and Spar Slovenija. We collected waste raw materials to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents from families in need. The campaign also cultivated a respectful attitude towards nature.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL FUND OF THE SPONSORSHIP IN SLOVENIA PROGRAMME

We designed the High School Fund project which operates within the framework of the Sponsorship in Slovenia programme. Using the fund, we cover the costs of accommodation in high school dormitories for high school students from families in need. In this way, we help high school pupils achieve their wishes and goals in the field of education.

GRAND PRIZE FOR SOCIAL WELFARE

During the 25th Slovenian Advertising Festival (SOF), the Sponsorship in Slovenia programme received the Grand Prize for social welfare. In this way, the programme pushed the boundaries of the impact of humanitarian projects in our country, since this was the first humanitarian project to win the SOF Grand Prize.

PRISM AWARD FOR THE “PURE JOY” CAMPAIGN

At the Slovenian Conference on Public Relations (SKOJ), the “Pure Joy” campaign carried out by ZPM Moste-Polje in 2015 in cooperation with Gorenje Surovina and Spar Slovenija received the “PRISM” award in the category of social responsibility programmes and non-profit campaigns.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMUNITY POINT MULTI-GENERATIONAL CENTRES

With the support of the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs and the European Social Fund, we initiated the Community Point multi-generational centre project at three locations in the region of Central Slovenia. The multi-generational centre creates a space for socialising, cooperation, knowledge transfer and active learning at all stages of life, while introducing free content for the inclusion and socialisation of vulnerable groups as well as offering preventive programs for residents of the local environment.

VERIFICATION OF THE “WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY” PROGRAMME

The “Where There’s a Will, There’s Always a Way” integrated assistance programme has been verified by the Social Chamber of Slovenia, becoming the public social welfare programme for families in need.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHAIN OF GOOD PEOPLE PROGRAMME

In 2018, humanitarian aid activities for socially disadvantaged families were merged into the Chain of Good People programme. The foundation of the programme is integrated assistance for socially disadvantaged families, with an individually adapted empowerment plan that enables them to actively solve their issues and benefit from long-term independence.

ANITA OGULIN BECOMES AN HONORARY CITIZEN OF LJUBLJANA

The Mayor of the City of Ljubljana, Zoran Janković, awarded Anita Ogulin with the title of the Honorary Citizen of Ljubljana for her numerous years of work in the field of social protection and charity.

THE START OF THE THSN – GROWING TOGETHER PROGRAMME

In 2018, the ZPM Ljubljana Moste-Polje partnered with The Human Safety Net Foundation (THSN) and, in cooperation with Zavarovalnica Generali, started implementing the “Growing Together” programme, which is intended to benefit socially disadvantaged families with children from 0 to 6 years of age. The main purpose of the programme is to provide support activities that enable parents to strengthen their parental competences and promote the healthy development of their children at an early stage of growing up. As part of the programme, we provide families with material and financial assistance, as well as free workshops, socialising, activities and education.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A SINGLE LEGAL POINT

In 2013, we established a free legal aid project in cooperation with the Zidar Klemenčič law firm, which was carried out until the end of 2018 under the auspices of the Sponsorship in Slovenia project. Due to the increasing need for assistance, we established a single legal point in 2019 under the auspices of the humanitarian programmes Chain of Good People and Sponsorship in Slovenia. The purpose of the single legal point is to solve the social problems of the most vulnerable families, primarily covering the areas of housing issues and the exercise of rights from public funds.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SPONSORSHIP IN SPORTS PROJECT

We designed the Sponsorship in Sports project, which operates within the Sponsorship in Slovenia programme. The project provides assistance to young athletes from socially disadvantaged backgrounds from 14 to 23 years of age in the development and realisation of their sports potentials.

EXHIBITION FOR THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME

The exhibition was held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Sponsorship in Slovenia programme, the purpose of which was to showcase the operation of the programme through the decade, as well as the actual situation of many children and adolescents in Slovenian society.

GODFATHER’S GIFT PICTURE BOOK

We published the Godfather’s Gift picture book. Boštjan Gorenc – Pyjama wrote a delicate and funny story about two friends, in which we learn that every family can sometimes find itself in material distress and how important it is to help one another when we’re in trouble. The picture book is still available in the outlets of the Mladinska knjiga publishing house and in the emka.si online bookstore.

ANITA OGULIN BECOMES VAL 202’S NAME OF THE YEAR

Anita Ogulin became Val 202’s Name of the Year. She was awarded the title based on the votes cast by the general public, who chose Anita due to her many years of assistance to children and families from all over Slovenia.

STATUS OF AN INTERNSHIP INSTITUTION

On 1 June 2022, ZPM Ljubljana Moste-Polje received the status of an internship institution granted by the Expert Council of the Association of Marriage and Family Therapists of Slovenia. As an internship institution, we offer the possibility of internships to students of the Marriage and Family Studies study programme. As part of the Chain of Good People humanitarian programme, we enable these students to gain practical experience with clients who are experiencing severe emotional distress, and also provide them with supervision and mentoring by an experienced therapist.

AWARD FOR WORK IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL WELFARE

The “Where There’s a Will, There’s Always a Way” social protection programme has received a group award for employees or members of a legal entity that has been successfully working in the field of social protection for a long time in accordance with the Code of Ethical Principles in Social Protection and the Social Protection Regulations, and is recognisable in the local environment; the award is awarded by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.

QUALITY LABEL

The ZPM Moste-Polje has been awarded the Quality Label for a support and hosting organisation by the Institute for the Development of Youth Mobility (MOVIT), in accordance with the European Solidarity Corps Guide.

RENAMING OF OUR ORGANISATION

The ZPM Moste-Polje was renamed the Anita Ogulin and ZPM Association. The renaming did not in any way change our organisation or operation. We continue to lead and develop programmes for children, adolescents, and their parents. Equal opportunities for children and adolescents and the provision of comprehensive assistance to families in need, as well as awareness-raising in terms of gaps in the system that prevent a more dignified resolution of their plight thereby still remain our priority.