WimBelemDon

Portuguese:
https://www.wimbelemdon.com.br/
Spanish https://www.wimbelemdon.com.br/sobre-el-proyecto/
Other languages https://www.wimbelemdon.com.br/about-the-project-2/

WELCOME TO WIMBELEMDON!

WimBelemDon is an NGO that aims to promote the inclusion of children and adolescents at risk and/or social vulnerability, promoting the integral development of each student and encouraging them to take the lead.

It all started on October 31, 2000, when photographer Marcelo Ruschel rented an abandoned tennis court in Belém Novo, a neighborhood in the south of Porto Alegre where he lives, to develop a social project with the children of the neighborhood. The name is a pun and tribute to the Wimbledon Tournament in London.

Tennis is the main focus in attracting and retaining the children and adolescents served, interconnected socio-emotional, pedagogical, and cultural workshops, such as cinema, arts, learning laboratory, literacy, and psychology groups, promoting individual and social transformations. In addition to these activities, our students receive a snack and lunch daily.

The activities and workshops offered are:

• Tennis Sports Workshops
• Recreational Sports Workshops
• Psychology Workshops
• Sport Psychology Workshops
• Well-being and relaxation practices
• Learning Labs
• Yoga and meditation
• Literacy and Storytelling Workshops
• Cultural Arts Workshops
• Cultural Cinema Workshops

All the workshops develop work based on attributes, understood as the human values necessary for a full life and the construction of a just and egalitarian society, leading students to understand their importance in life, for a good life. human relationship, and for self-knowledge.

Each one of these personal attributes – love, altruism, self-acceptance, empathy, generosity, kindness, gratitude, honesty, humility, forgiveness, perseverance, respect, and tolerance – is important for the pupils and becomes largely influential in their journey to self-discovery and their relationship with their peers and the wider society.

In its more than twenty years of history, WimBelemDon has been the scene of countless cases of social transformation in the more than 1,000 children and adolescents attended. These are stories that involve improving school performance, entering university, the labor market, and, mainly, improving family relationships.

In addition to the positive results we see in our students, we also have the recognition of society. In two opportunities (2017 and 2018, we were on a select list of the 100 Best NGOs in Brazil in an evaluation that involves criteria of good management and transparency. In 2019 we received the international certification of ICFO – International Committee on Fundraising Organizations (www.icfo.org) which also evaluates NGOs on similar criteria. And we are also the only Brazilian institution awarded the ATP Aces for Charity, an award that the Association of Professional Tennis Players (ATP) awards for social causes linked to tennis.

In addition to formal recognition, we are very proud of the support we receive from individuals and companies who believe in our work. Since 2015, we have already carried out six crowdfunding campaigns with different objectives and, in all of them, we reached and exceed our crowdfunding goals.

This gives us the certainty that we are on the right path to continue our work of promoting SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION.

VISION

“That all children may have a dream and the capacity to pursue it while creating a fair, self-sustaining society”.

MISSION

“To promote social transformation for vulnerable children and teenagers through the practice of tennis and cultural, pedagogical and socio-emotional activities, adopting a human outlook that respects the limits and activates the potential of each pupil, encouraging them to be autonomous, spreading good values and inspiring the communities around them”.

VALUES

INNOVATION: We use innovation and creativity to engage people, thereby promoting change and collective growth.

PERSEVERANCE: We are committed to and driven by our cause, and we work with courage and perseverance to contribute towards the creation of a fair, self-sustaining society.

TRANSFORMATION: We promote social transformation through integrated development, creating opportunities for individuals to be transformative agents towards a fair and diverse society.

EMPATHY: We create solid, long-lasting ties by living our values and examples.

TRANSPARENCY: We value trustworthy relationships through actions based on an honest, transparent position, which  results in recognition of the work done.

OVERALL GOAL

To promote the social inclusion of at-risk and/or vulnerable children and teenagers using sport, culture, and education as transformative tools.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 

• To offer educational, sports, and cultural activities, thereby stimulating the pupils’ physical, cognitive, emotional, and artistic development.
• To promote socializing and working with ethical values to respect differences, integration, cooperation, and improvement of school attainment.
• To encourage the development of competences and skills that respect different learning styles and the pupils’ multiple intelligences during their participation in the project.
• To expand lived experiences and worldviews through participation in different cultural and sports events, such as visiting theatres, museums, expos, and tennis tournaments.
• To guarantee the daily provision of well-balanced meals, aiming to encourage the development of healthy eating habits.