Clarify the roles of the manager and mentor in implementing Icehearts Europe

Co-create the initial Intervention

Generally, team activities are carried out after school hours, in the afternoon. These include activities such as homework help, structured and unstructured games, recreational sports, team sports.

The choice of activities to be carried out, as well as the timing and frequency, are decided to take into account the resources available and the context in which they take place. However, they must be carried out regularly. In addition, a well-defined schedule must be established, which must be clearly communicated to all those involved.

Based on the learnings from the SANA you conducted, the first question to ask yourself is: which programme settings will be the one we will mainly focus on:

• SCHOOL settings
• SPORT settings
• COMMUNITY settings

The following interactive display will provide you with tangible example of potential activities based on the various settings (ie areas of work):

However and in the end, we would like to remind you of the guiding PRINCIPLE of any Icehearts Europe programme of intervention: the child/young person ALWAYS comes first. That means that when it comes to creating your Icehearts Europe implementation, flexibility should be included so that:

 “When choosing the activities to be carried out, it is essential to listen to the opinion of the children/adolescents in the team.“

Nelli Niemela, Manager of Mentors, Icehearts Finland

Notably, a variety of sports activities are included in Icehearts Europe initial implementation by pilot countries, as well as non-sporting events including taking children hiking, organising Christmas parties, barbecues and visits to cultural institutions or arranging Summer Camps. 

The primary reasons for the variety of activities lie in the fact that grassroots organisations differ from each others in terms of previous programmes operated (i.e they build on their experience and strengths), roles and stakeholders and the level to which the various stakeholders wish to be (or are capable of being) involved in Icehearts Europe.

Assess the costs of the programme

The cost assessment concerns both the implementation of the intervention and its long-term sustainability. 

Once the availability of financial resources has been assessed, staff must consider the cost of different budget items, including: 

• the salary of the mentor(s) 
• the use of spaces for carrying out activities 
• materials and equipment for the team(s) 
• insurance and administrative costs 
• the organisation of activities such as trips and summer camps as well as snacks
• the long-term sustainability of the intervention. 

By assessing the costs and matching them with available resources, the initial programme of activities as well as Action Plan can be fine-tuned.