Volunteer Opportunities/Oportunidades de voluntar en Espana

[pmh]

Hola amig@s!

Tengo tiempo antes de empezar un puesto nuevo y quiero visitar a Espana! Estoy pensando en participar en un programa de voluntarios pero no se donde empezar en encontrar dicho programa! Tienen ideas? Me gustaria ir pronto - como la semana que viene - pero es probable que voy a viajar solita, entonces estaria yo mas comoda con un programa con unos dias libres en vez de ir sin idea donde voy. Me quedare dos semanas.
(Corrections welcome!)

Hi all -
I'm looking for volunteer opportunities in Spain - I'd love to find a program that would allow me to be of help there (orphanages? Women's shelters? Something Habitat-for-Humanity-esque?) while also allowing some time to explore. I hope to leave very soon - next week even? Anyone have ideas? I looked at programs like EarthWatch and CrossCultural Solutions, but I really want Spain to be my destination.

Mil gracias!

[GringoStar]

Hola! Has oido de wwoof?, creo que hay un mensaje sobre ello aqui en el foro. Es una organización en la que puedes encontrar granjas ecologicas que necesitan ayuda en el trabajo de la agricultura. Diles por cuanto tiempo quieres quedarte, cuando quieres venir. Eso es basicamente todo lo que tienes que hacer. Hay granjas en casi todo España, sobre todo en Andalucía. Este verano trabajé en tres granjas en el norte de España, y fue una buena experiencia por la gran parte. La dirección a la organización es wwoof.es

[Beckett]

GringoStar,
You highly recommend the organization and then you tell people to email you privately to learn about something they should watch out for with the same organization. It would be nice if you could share the warning with the rest of the forum, particularly if it is something that people should be aware of before volunteering. Thanks.

[Perro Callejero]

The Red Cross in Madrid accepts volunteers.

I checked out the wwoof website and you have to pay a fee to volunteer :confused: :-/

[Beckett]

I checked out the wwoof website and you have to pay a fee to volunteer :confused: :-/

That's becoming quite a financial racket....organizations requiring people to pay a fee to volunteer. I can understand them asking for a donation but requiring people to pay a fee that in some cases is hundreds of dollars or euros is obviously the organization's way of generating revenue AND getting free labor. I've seen some organizations in South America that are charging close to $2000 to people who want to come and volunteer. It's a way to raise funds from well-meaning people who probably wouldn't donate more than $20 to the organization otherwise.

In Spain the whole charging people to do a non-paid internship is another popular scam. But there are so many college students who are eager to have the experience on their resume that they pony up the thousands of euros for the "privilege."

I've volunteered in three Spanish-speaking countries (Costa Rica, Guatemala and Spain) and in only one case did I make a donation, and that was because I was traveling with a large group of volunteers from my alma mater and the organization required us to make a donation, seeing as they were going to provide us with housing, all transportation plus three square meals daily during our stay. Seemed like a totally reasonable request. But when I volunteered with organizations in Costa Rica and Spain, I just arranged it on my own, walking in off the street, introducing myself and offering myself up as a volunteer. Easy as pie and no money was required to exchange hands before I could start volunteering.

[Perro Callejero]

Wow! That is news to me. I do a lot of volunteer stuff around where I live, but I have never even thought of an organization requiring payment for volunteer work. That instantly smells of a scam to me.

[Hellcat]

There's a similar thread: http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1699

Exchange info from both posts ;)

[pmh]

Perfecto - mil gracias! Es chistoso - he escuchado mucho sobre los organizaciones que require una "donacion" de 1.000s de dolares. Estaba al punto de pagar p/q es conveniente no areglar sus comidas y hoteles ye todo... pero gracias por recordarme que no necesito pagar para donar mi tiempo!