Have you ever heard of the European Solidarity Corps?

When I decided to do voluntary service abroad, I had absolutely no idea how to go about it. I had questions upon questions. Where do I want to go? What do I want to do? How long do I want to stay? Can I afford it financially?

So I took out my laptop and entered the jungle of different initiatives, organisations and offers. But I soon realised that I have a completely different problem: my age. I knew that by the time I could start the voluntary service, I would be at least 27 years old. And with that, I would have reached the age limit of many voluntary services abroad. Disappointing and incomprehensible for me.

That's how I became aware of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). And the more I looked into it, the more excited I became about the possibilities:

👍 The age limit here is 30

👍 A huge range of project topics, such as inclusion, health, environment, culture, sports, etc.

👍 The Projects last between 2 and 12 months

👍 A wide choice of project countries, even if they are mainly limited to the EU

👍 👍 It´s EU funded. Food, accommodation, insurance, arrival/departure costs and even pocket money - all included.

So I finally registered on the ESC database, created a profile and started applying. The application process is a bit more complicated (e.g. you need both a sending organisation from your home country and a hosting organisation in the project country), but absolutely doable. My ESC volunteering adventure has started.

I think the European Solidarity Corps programm is a great EU initiative and a great privilege for all young Europeans who want to work for a social and diverse Europe. Here you can find more informations about it: https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity_en

Comments

Arrivederci, Jesi!

I can’t believe time has passed so quickly. It feels like yesterday that I arrived in Jesi and got a tour though the whole Caritas facility. But since then, six months have passed. This experience has been valuable to me in more than just one way and I will never forget the precious time that I spent here. It’s hard to put into words how much this project helped me grow personally and how much I learned while volunteering here. I’m so grateful for all of the people I got to meet during my stay in Jesi. My ESC project here gave me the opportunity to make friends from all over the world who shared a lot about their countries and cultures with me. Therefore, they made it possible for me to widen my horizons and it’s their fault that so many places got added to my travel list 😆 Of course, I also found a lot of new friends from this area who introduced me to Italian dinners (something I’ll certainly continue after coming back to Austria!) and who often planned trips to show me around the a...

Arrivederci, Louise!

After nine months of volunteering here at Caritas Jesi, Louise's project has come to an end. However, she wanted to say goodbye to you: It's strange to think that it's already over. As I write these lines, I'm already on the Flixbus, but I find it hard to believe that in a few hours I'll be in France! If I had to sum up my experience here in one word, I would say: encounters. I've learned a lot in 9 months: speaking a new language, opening up more to others, learning how to cook pasta properly 😅...but none of this would have been possible without the people I've met. Whether it was the other volunteers, the beneficiaries of Caritas, the people who follow us on our ESC journey, and above all the friendships I made along the way! Thanks to you, I decided to extend my experience, I gained confidence in myself and, sitting on this bus, I'm already thinking about when I'll come back to see you! So thank you very much, everyone, for everything, and welcom...

Cristina

Hi, my name is Cristina I'm 21 years old, I'm come from Spain and I am a recent graduate of social work. A few months ago, when I graduated, I was very happy but then I realized that I didn't know what to do with my life now, If I should continue studying or working. Then one day I saw a video of a girl who did the ESC volunteer program, and my eyes lit up. I already knew what I wanted to do this year! The next step was to choose what I wanted to volunteer about and in which country. I was clear that I wanted to do it focused on social work. And since I was little I had in mind going to live in Italy for a while, so this was the time to fulfill that dream. So it wasn't difficult for me to choose volunteering. I am very excited about this experience!

From Europe to Jesi

Search This Blog