Maurice Ravel Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 I'm pretty excited to volunteer this summer!What are your plans?I was wondering how volunteering goes in Europe because the job market has always been tight. In Canada, getting a volunteer job is a piece o' cake. It's free workforce which employers tend to get advantage of.I'm going to a seniors' house 9-10 hours a day. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
__inthemaking Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 I'm volunteering for a private animal shelter this summer. And hopefully later on at several animal clinics.I've volunteered at the SPCA in Hong Kong before, it wasn't hard getting a position there actually, much easier than getting a position at the SPCA in Canada. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 The only big problem I had with volunteering round here was the number of hurdles which had to be jumped to volunteer. It took a month and a half for all my paperwork to be completed! Which is silly because I wasn't exactly working with children or vulnerable people - I wanted to work at a hospice, but you had to be eighteen to qualify I don't know about other European countries, but it's really very bureaucratic here. Then I went and volunteered overseas with vulnerable people in South America and had to fill out no paperwork at all! Bizarre stuff. I loved volunteering, though. I hope you enjoy it Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abu Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 I volunteered at the RDA centre in Singapore once a week for 2 hours. Ended up getting Bronchitis after inhaling too much sand and dirt from the stables. That's how I got most of my service hours I think. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aya91 Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 it's a program where you help out to give moral support to the soldiers and help out in the kitchen etc. Should be fun I'll be volunteering for the IDF in israel Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vvi Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 I'm not sure how easy it would be to volunteer in Europe. Generally, people tend to have their summer jobs secured by January (5 months ahead of time). And if you aren't an EU citizen, you may need to apply for some kind of work permit even if you are just volunteering (you would need a visa to enter the country at the very least, and that can take time to get/be refused, etc.) And the job market is pretty tight, I have friends that are between jobs right now and have been searching for a job for 3 months. If it's that easy to volunteer in Canada, why not just stay there? You won't have to pay extra for living costs in Europe either, which are pretty high (unless you are in Eastern Europe, but then you would need to speak Russian in order to work). Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bohemian03 Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 I'm not sure how easy it would be to volunteer in Europe. Generally, people tend to have their summer jobs secured by January (5 months ahead of time). And if you aren't an EU citizen, you may need to apply for some kind of work permit even if you are just volunteering (you would need a visa to enter the country at the very least, and that can take time to get/be refused, etc.) And the job market is pretty tight, I have friends that are between jobs right now and have been searching for a job for 3 months. If it's that easy to volunteer in Canada, why not just stay there? You won't have to pay extra for living costs in Europe either, which are pretty high (unless you are in Eastern Europe, but then you would need to speak Russian in order to work).Really? Oh no... I was just thinking about volunteering in the Netherlands... but I'm not an EU citizen... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vvi Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 You can try these websites and see if there are any volunteer programs that accept non-EU citizens. You may be better off trying to find a program that is internationally run, as local ones probably have bureaucratic restrictions.http://www.serveyourworld.com/articles/228/1/Summer-Volunteering-in-Europehttp://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/volunteer/volunteerprogramscentraleurope.shtml Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
herong2x Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 well i volunteer to go to public schools and help the dentists and the doctors on their medical and dental missions. in our school, we also go CAS CAMPS where we cook, teach, and spend time with the unfortunate people who are there. there are alot of things to be learned whenever we go on one for summer, i plan to do alot of actions. dancing, boxing, yoga and those stuff together with some creativity like learning how to play the guitar, decorating some boards in school and learning germangood luck to you guys! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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