Acción Social Protestante
This association gives out food and clothing to those in need every Wednesday morning. They need help on Wednesdays from 10:00 to 12:00 noon to sort out the goods and to distribute them. They are also seeking volunteers on Thursday evenings to babysit kids while their moms attend language classes for about an hour from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
Amigos de los Mayores
This NGO serves the elderly in Madrid. Interested students need to carry out a brief preliminary interview. Those chosen to collaborate are then placed on an on-call list. You will then be called when an elderly person in your neighborhood needs help submitting official paperwork, going to the doctor or running errands. For more information, see http://www.amigosdelosmayores.org/
Colegio Carlos V
Volunteers can participate in and lead afternoon activities with the students: art projects, dance, martial arts, etc. You need not be a master of any of these activities. The school simply needs English speakers to assist the teacher and provide input in English. All you need is the ability to speak English and the desire to have a good time! If you are interested in this opportunity or would like more information, write to voluntariosapacarlosv@gmail.com gmail.com.
Colegio Julian Marias
This public school is looking for volunteers to assist English teachers with their classes, providing the oral input of a native speaker. The schedule is flexible, depending on the volunteer’s availability.
Colegio Nuestra Senora del Pilar
This Jesuit school seeks English speakers for their after-school program. Volunteers tutor students ages 12-16 and help them with their homework.
Cruz Roja
The Spanish Red Cross offers service opportunities in all areas of the organization (drug dependency, awareness groups, elderly adults, etc). If you are interested in working with them, attend one of their weekly information sessions to learn about their mission and goals. www.cruzroja.es
Desarrollo y Asistencia
The mission of this NGO is to create solidarity in the Madrid community. They work with over 1,700 volunteers in a wide variety of programs that serve many different populations. Volunteer opportunities exist in hospitals, visiting the elderly, serving the needs of the homeless, helping in long-term care centers and engaging physically handicapped people in activities. Contact: María del Valle Pinaglia: promocion@desarrolloyasistencia.org.
Comedor Social Ventas
Volunteer your time at this Soup kitchen clos to the center of Madrid by dedicating one day a week (Monday through Thursday) from 12:00 to 2:30 pm while helping out with the normal duties of a soup kitchen during lunchtime. This opportunity does have a weekly commitment.
Concaes
Volunteer your time teaching English once a week to the inmates at a prison close to Madrid. This experience will take several hours of one of the days of the week and it does require a weekly commitment.
El Rompeolas
Volunteer by hanging out with high schoolers after class while participating in a fun language exchange in Alcobendas. It is about spending some good quality time with Spanish students who are close to your age and for you to talk to them in English and also a chance to learn some Spanish language and culture.
Fundación Amigos de los Mayores
This association has two volunteer programs throughout the year: Volunteers are needed to visit elderly people and offer conversation and support to mostly Spanish-speakers and to accompany them on their doctor’s appointments and to run errands.
Fundación Amoverse
Teach English and participate in fun activities with teenagers in El Pozo del Tío Raimundo, one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in the city.
Fundación Esclerosis Múltiple Madrid
Volunteer with Multiple Sclerosis patients participating in a language exchange through which you will be able to practice and improve your Spanish while they will be able to learn some English and a lot about your culture while feeling useful for sharing their knowledge. The time can be worked out with your schedule and the patients.
Fundación Masnatur
Volunteer with Masnatur by accompanying children with disabilities to do cool stuff in Madrid on a Saturday or a Sunday! All activities are planned by the organization and are carried out in groups of 20 to 30 kids with their corresponding volunteers. It provides a great chance to meet other volunteers, get to know Madrid and give the kids the opportunity to participate in activities they normally don't get to do! (water polo games, visits to museums, parks and magicians are just a few of the activities planned). For more information write an email to voluntarios@masnatur.org or check their webpage http://www.masnatur.org.
Fundación Rais
Fundación RAIS is dedicated to working with homeless people in order to get them out of this situation which usually creates marginalization from our society. You can volunteer here by participating in language exchanges with homeless people who are actively seeking employment, knowing a little English will help them in their chances to find a job. The hours can be set to your convenience and the exchange can happen at the foundation's office in Madrid.
Inspirasports
Inspirasports works with homeless people in the process to stop the marginalization of this group by doing sports together with them. Join one of their two weekly runs on Tuesdays or Thursdays at 7:30 pm in the Retiro Park. Use this time to get to meet new wonderful people as you practice healthy exercise.
Tuuu Librería
This bookstore provides free books to anyone who wants them. It is part of Grupo 2013, an NGO whose mission is to provide books and materials for schools in developing countries. You can volunteer to help the library catalogue the book donations.
Madreselva ONGD
A Madrid-based Salesian NGO focused on development programs worldwide. If you are interested in volunteering on a short-term basis in another country, this is a good place to start. They also have many volunteer opportunities in Madrid. For more information go to http://www.madreselvaongd.net/ or send them an email voluntarios@madreselvaongd.net.
Missionaries of Charity
This group of nuns run a shelter for people with HIV who are in a very advanced stage of their illness.You can go in the mornings to tidy up the place, and help out with the patients, or in the afternoons to take the patients out for a walk and give them company. They also run a soup kitchen in Vallecas and they usually need help in the evenings to set up tables or clean everything up.
Missionaries of Charity Soup Kitchen
Volunteer any day of the week except for Thursdays at this soup kitchen in Vallecas which serves around 100 people a day. You only need to commit from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and the duties are those that you would find in any soup kitchen, help preparing the food, serving it and cleaning after the shift is over.
Parroquia San Carlos Borromeo
Tutor kids on Wednesday evenings from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the parish, located in one of the more economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Madrid. Provide help in Math, Physics, Chemistry or any other subject you might be good at. Also, they are always looking for English tutors willing to spend quality time with children.
Parroquia San Timoteo
Volunteer at this parish in Vallecas, one of the neighborhoods which has suffered the most due to the economic downturn. Tutor kids from the area by helping them with their English homework, organize games in English and have a good time with them after class. This program happens on Tuesday evenings.
Primary School El Olivo
This public school is looking for volunteers to collaborate with the English teacher in conversation classes, with a flexible schedule, depending on the volunteer's availability.
Rainfer Primate Santuary
Do you like animals? Would you like to help out at a primate sanctuary? Can you volunteer for one day a week during the weekends? If you answered yes to all three of these questions, Rainfer is for you. They are always seeking volunteers and they really need help to take care of the rescued primates. They use English at the sanctuary and are supported by Dr. Jane Goodall! For more info contact voluntarios@rainfer.com or visit www.rainfer.com/english
Serve the City Madrid
Join STC and make a difference in your community. STC Madrid needs your help to keep our many projects moving.
Go to http:wwwstcmadrid.com/home.
Soñar despierto
This association works at care centers for children who cannot be looked after by their parents. They are seeking native English speakers to help kids with the language and to carry out activities with them in English.
T-oigo
If you are a native English speaker, you can really make a difference in the life of a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing! Thanks to the amazing technology that is available, deaf children who are diagnosed early on, learn to speak and can have a normal life. However when it comes to learning a second language, like English, it is helpful to have one-on-one time with a native speaker. t-oigo.com seeks volunteers who can commit to 1-2 hours a week (or more) to provide fun activities in English and speak English with a child, usually 5-10 years old, in their home. The family of the child will always be there, so you will not be 100% responsible for the child. Additionally, you will get to know a Spanish family and learn more about this growing field, where you may want to consider a future in speech therapy, audiology, medicine, communications, technology, and more. Contact Dale to learn more dale@t-oigo.com
Thank you to St. Louis University for many of the opportunities on this list.
General Ideas
Donate or raise money for your local Red Cross
Organize a community blood drive
Send cards to soldiers serving overseas
For your next birthday, ask for charitable donations instead of gifts
Hold a bake sale for your favorite charity
Read books or letters to a person who is visually impaired
Organize a wheelchair basketball team
Participate in a charity race
Collect unused makeup and perfume to donate to a center for abused women
Help register people to vote
Help deliver meals and gifts to patients at a local hospital
Helping Children and Schools
Tutor children during or after school
Donate stuffed animals to children in hospitals
Organize games and activities for children in hospitals or who are visiting hospitalized relatives
Knit or crochet baby blankets to be donated to hospitals or homeless shelters
Collect baby clothes and supplies to donate to new parents
Collect used sports equipment to donate to families and after-school programs
Coach a youth sports team
Put on performances for children in hospitals
Give free music lessons to schoolchildren
Organize a summer reading program to encourage kids to read
Organize an Easter egg hunt for neighborhood children
Create a new game for children to play
Organize events to help new students make friends
Babysit children during a parent meeting
Organize a reading hour for children at a local school or library
Donate used children's books to a school library
Helping Senior Citizens
Read to residents at a nursing home
Deliver groceries and meals to elderly neighbors
Teach computer skills to the elderly
Host a bingo night for nursing home residents
Make birthday cards for the elderly
Donate and decorate a Christmas tree at a nursing home
Organize a family day for residents of a retirement home and relatives to play games together
Ask residents of a retirement home to tell you about their lives
Pick up medicine for an elderly neighbor
Perform a concert or play at a senior center
Help elderly neighbors clean their homes and organize their belongings
Wash windows for a senior citizen
Deliver cookies to a homebound senior citizen
Helping Animals and the Environment
Take care of cats and dogs at an animal shelter
Clean up a local park
Place a bird feeder and bird fountain in your backyard
Sponsor a recycling contest
Grow flowers in your backyard then give bouquets to hospital patients or people who are housebound
Adopt an acre of rainforest
Help train service dogs
Participate in the cleanup of a local river, pond, or lake
Care for a neighbor's pet while they are away
Train your pet to be a therapy animal and bring it to hospitals or nursing homes
Build and set up a bird house
Volunteer at a nature camp and teach kids about the environment
Helping the Hungry and/or Homeless
Donate your old clothes
Volunteer at a soup kitchen
Donate old eyeglasses to an organization that collects that and distributes them to people in need
Donate non-perishable food to a food bank
Donate blankets to a homeless shelter
Make "care kits" with shampoo, toothbrushes, combs, etc. to donate to homeless shelters
Prepare a home-cooked meal for the residents of a nearby homeless shelter
Donate art supplies to kids in a homeless shelter
Help organize and sort donations at a homeless shelter
Bake a batch of cookies or loaf of bread and deliver it to a soup kitchen
Organize a winter clothes drive to collect coats, hats, scarves, and gloves to be donated
Make first aid kits for homeless shelters
Promoting Community Enhancement
Donate used books to your local library
Become a tour guide at your local museum
Plant flowers in bare public areas
Organize a campaign to raise money to buy and install new playground equipment for a park
Participate in or help organize a community parade
Clean up vacant lot
Produce a neighborhood newspaper
Volunteer to clean up trash at a community event
Adopt a local highway or road and clean up trash along it
Help fix or raise funds to repair a run-down playground
Research carefully to find your volunteer opportunity. Read every review you can find. Listed below are some sites to get you started .....compare them, ask questions, be an informed consumer!
Go Overseas: https://www.gooverseas.com/
Volunteer Abroad: www.volunteerhq.org
Volunteer Forever: https://www.volunteerforever.com
Go Abroad: www.goabroad.com
Travellers Quest: www.travellersquest.com
Listed below are popular international opportunities for service. Please check them out carefully before deciding which one best suits your interests, availability, desired location and any associated costs.
