Your team will be working in an apartment facility for the mentally handicapped run by the Social Foundation of Köpenick. The residents work in various workshops until the early afternoon. In the afternoons the main job, for 3-4 hours, will be organizing and putting on a summer festival with the residents. Bring your creative side, for ideas for decorations, games, entertainment (i.e. music and theatre), and food. You will also have plenty of time to organize and go on excursions with the residents.
Location:
Berlin.
Free Time:
The Köpenick district is on the edge of Berlin. Nearby are two rivers, countless lakes, and vast woodlands. In your accommodation there are club rooms, a party basement, computers, and a fitness room available for you to use. The city centre is easily reachable with public transport; tickets will be provided for you.
Requirements:
Knowledge of German is desired, though not required.
Accomodation and food:
On weekdays lunch will be provided; all other meals will be prepared as a group. You will share rooms in the Pro-Social centre.
Here in Nidderau your support is needed to help run a summer vacation programme for local kids between 6 and 13. Each week will run under a different motto. “Get Outside” is the theme for the first two weeks, where sports, games, and movement are the main focus. During the third week various workshops and interesting excursions are on the itinerary. Please bring game and craft ideas from home! Recipes, songs, games, or sports that you know are also more than welcome and really help to enrich the program for the children. At the beginning of camp you will have an introduction to the program before jumping in!
Age:
18-26
Food/Accommodation:
Breakfast and dinner will be prepared together; lunch will be provided and you and the children will eat together on site. You will be staying at the Blauhaus Youth Center.
Location:
Nidderau, Hesse; 20 km from Frankfurt, 70 km from Mainz, 85 km from Fulda.
Travel Terminal:
Nidderau train station.
Leisure Time:
Nidderau offers diverse cultural and leisure activities. You can play billiards at the youth center, or take advantage of the good public transport connections to Frankfurt, Mainz, and Fulda, or travel to the Rhine, Spessart, or Vogelsberg.
Experience Europe First Hand — your group will be running a "camp in a camp" and a graffiti-project for children and youth aged 12 and up. During the first week you will develop the program for the "camp in a camp" and put on various events, and during the second week up to 30 children and youth will be there. Please bring ideas from home, such as for games, recipes, art, music, and fantasy. During the third week a graffiti artist will be coming, who, along with you and the children, will be painting a 4x6 meter container. You can also let your creative side shine by building sculptures out of concrete and wood for decoration.
Location:
Lower Saxony; Hannover 50 km, Bremen 70 km, Hamburg 150 km.
Free Time:
Pool, tour along the Weser River, canoeing, grilling, trips, and visits to various events in Nienburg are all possible here. Trips to Hannover, Bremen, and Hamburg are also very worthwhile. Bikes will be provided for you to get better acquainted with the area. Marklohe is a rural but pretty community with a good infrastructure. The towns of Nienburg and Weser are 6 kilometers away and has good public transport connections to Bremen and Hannover. The youth centre consists of a building with an office and small kitchen, and an old circus wagon as a common room. A fire pit, skating area, and a beach volleyball court are available for your use as well. Please check www.Marklohe.de; www.jam-ini.de.
Requirements:
Knowledge of either English or German; you must also know how to ride a bike. Only for volunteers from Western, Central and Eastern European countries.
Accomodation and food:
Lunch will be provided; the other meals will be prepared together as a group. You will stay in tents on the Youth Centre grounds.
"A Vacation from Everyday Life with an International Flair" is the motto of what the residents of the nursing and assisted living homes in Edewecht will be experiencing this summer. Your group will be helping care for and organize free time activities with the residents. Excursions, walks, singing, games, and reading aloud mean fun is to be had by all. Additionally, you will be working outside on the grounds to lay a flowerbed that is wheelchair accessible (paving is involved). A portable worktable will also be made, so that the residents plant and sow their own herbs independently.
Location:
Lower Saxony; Oldenburg 20 km, Bremen 65 km.
Free Time:
Edewecht is a small town located in the gorgeous Ammerland region. You will be provided with bikes so you can get to know the area better. Oldenburg is 20 kilometers away and easily accessible with public transportation. On the weekends you can take trips to Bremen and the North Sea.
Requirements:
You should be interested in working with the elderly.
Accomodation and food:
Meals will be prepared as a group. You will be staying in a school in Edewecht.
In this project you will be helping to look after the residents of the "Abendsonne" Nursing Home. You will be helping distribute food and helping the residents eat if necessary. Your team will also be organizing various leisure activities, such as games, movement activities, or bringing in special events. Other activities include reading with the residents and going for walks with them. A special need is individual attention to the bedridden residents so that they are also included. Let your creative side shine and give these activities an international flair!
Location:
Where: Berlin.
Free Time:
The community center has club rooms, a party basement, and a fitness room available for your use. Berlin's city centre is easily reachable with public transportation; a ticket will be provided. A nearby botanical garden invites you to relax and enjoy the summer weather in it.
Requirements:
a good basic knowledge of German is required.
Accomodation and food:
On weekdays lunch will be provided; the other meals will be prepared as a group. You will be sharing rooms in the „Pro-Social" Community Centre.
A variety of jobs await you in Munich! During the first week you will be building wooden huts with the kids over their summer break. They will need your support and supervision and are already looking forward to meeting you and your group. The hut building will end with a festival and a large bonfire. During the second week you will be working with the Environmental Department to do various landscaping jobs. These include maintaining biotopes and hedges and working in both the fields and near the water. During the third week you will be helping watch kids and youth during their summer vacation. Bring creative ideas and games from your home country to introduce to the kids. You will be provided with bikes to get to and from the work site.
Free Time:
Munich is only a 20 minute tram ride away, where you will find all that a big city has to offer. The workers at the youth centre will give you ideas on things to do, and will also have activities planned for you. In good weather you can also take advantage of the pool and nearby lake for swimming. www.vaterstetten.de
Requirements:
At least a basic knowledge of German is required! And you must know how to ride a bike.
Accomodation and food:
Meals will be prepared as a group, though at times you can eat the meals provided with the kids. You will be staying in a well furnished youth centre - www.juz-vaterstetten.de
The „Holznagelhausen Adventure Playground" is run by the Veitshöchheim community for youth to spend their summer vacation time on. Together with other volunteers you will be watching about 170 kids aged 7-13, which will be divided into 12 groups. You will be building wooden huts, offering sports and workshops with activities ranging from soccer and baseball, making pizza in a clay oven, crafts, and educational games. The best part of the camp will be spending a night in the huts and going on a night hike. Feel free to bring ideas, and learn how one organizes and runs such a youth project. You will be doing the work in groups, so you can learn new languages and make lots of friends. The „Holznagelhausen Adventure Playground" turned 25 last year and has become a long and successful tradition in Veitshöchheim. The youth center is celebrating its 20 year anniversary this year as well. (www.veitshoechheim.de; more information starting in March can be found at www.juz.veitshoechheim.de).
Free Time:
In Veitshöchheim there is a pool, and you can take boat tours along the Main while meeting new people. Wurzburg is a 10 minute train ride away where you can do sightseeing, shop, go to the movies or a café, and enjoy the night life. In the area there is also a climbing park, go-carting, youth clubs of every shape and kind, recreation areas, biking and skating paths, etc. In Nuremberg and Frankfurt you will find everything that a big city has to offer. Come on by and take a peek! Veitshöchheim is a community of about 10,000 residents and is located on the banks of the Main, about 10 minutes from Wurzburg. Bus and train connections to Wurzburg, Aschaffenburg, Nuremberg, and Frankfurt are excellent. In Wurzburg you can sightsee and experience the local night life...as a college town it always has something to offer! In the surrounding area you will find activities to do outside, sporting events, and even larger cities of Nuremberg and Frankfurt have even more to offer!
Requirements:
a basic knowledge of German is of advantage.
Accomodation and food:
Meals will be prepared as a group. You will be staying at the "Am Kalten Brunnen" Nature-Friends-House.
Work: The idea of the Familienbildungsstätte Alte Flachsfabrik is realized in the dwelling of an old flax manufactory. To rebuild it into a boarding house we now have to renovate the rooms (painting/fettling, tiling, building walls,.). We also need help in gardening and landscaping (fencing wickers and building an open barn for sheeps and alpacas, laying out the garden/beds and ways, .).The study-part:All participants have the chance to gain experience in technical skills as well as in the contact with children in pedagogical work. They can learn about pedagogical opportunities in and with nature. This includes outdoor activities such as climbing. You will participate in the construction of a charitable Family Education Centre. In addition you will get to know the surrounding of Rödinghausen (Bielefeld, Herford, Köln,.) doing different activities and excursions. Location: The accomodation: The Family Education Centre Alte Flachsfabrik is placed in a climatic health resort and a countryside which is surrounded by the large forest/hill "Wiehengebirge". It is situated on the edge of the village, next to the nature protection area. Partner: "Familienbildungsstätte Alte Flachsfabrik" is a Family Education Centre which offers room for education, trainings and exchange to pedagogues, parents, foster parents, teachers and for all who are interested. The program includes workshops, lectures, seminars and discussions dealing with pedagogical themes. In this context the association FAS-OWL wants to create awareness about the Fetal Alcohol Syndrom, which is caused by the maternal consume of alcohol during pregnancy. Beside education and trainings, "Familienbildungsstätte Alte Flachsfabrik" will offer a joyful time for foster parents and their foster children to relax and rest. Therefore there is a large amount of leisure time facilities. Our service includes holiday camps for families (childcare is available) and children as well as a lot of creative and practical workshops. In the future the Animal Assisted Therapy for difficult children will be a part of our work. The project wants to improve the pedagogic skills of the adults and support the development of children. Requirements: Remarks:Participants should be ready for physical work and be interested in pedagogical and ecological themes. Non-smokers and Non-alcoholics are especially welcome. Accomodation and food: The participants will live in renovated guestrooms of the centre. Besides the recreation room and the kitchen there are several renovated showers and restrooms. Bedcovers will be provided.
« I would recommend participating in a workcamp, especially with VAP, who ensured that I found a project to suit me and provided essential training for me in preparation for my trip. Being part of a workcamp really is a life-changing experience, oh, and it looks great on your CV! »
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