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ESC: Volunteering in Lousã: working with elderly

Code: 52840 Copied

Portugal European Voluntary Service Social work Culture European Voluntary Service Social work +1 Fixed dates

About the project

ESC: Volunteering in Lousã: working with elderly

📝 Detailed information

🏢 About the local organisation

Activar is a non-profit local development association located in Lousã. Its work with the community is based on the development of social and cultural projects in various fields of action, namely: childhood, youth, social development, sport, professional training and tourism. Activar has strong links with the community and strong partnerships at local, national and international levels. At Activar, we believe that sharing and cooperation are the main drivers for improving learning and development and for increasing social value. The main activities developed by Activar are: Childhood activities (support to about 160 children aged 3 to 6 in Animation and Family Support Activities and development of Extracurricular Activities with about 500 children aged 6 to 10); Youth office (organized activities and individual support for young people aged 10 to 30); Local Social Development Contract (family involvement and training, education for global citizenship, prevention of risky behavior in adolescents, local production and consumption model, local culture and heritage preservation, active aging activities, etc.); Sports (Karate, Krav Maga, Zumba, among others); Tourism (nature tourism activities such as hiking and team building events, promotion of “Casa da Eira” - tourism office, local products store and exhibition center in the schist village of Talasnal and “Casa do Caminheiro” - rural accommodation ; Vocational training center.

💼 What the programme involves

You will work daily with elderly, integrated in a local elderly care center. You will also develop other punctual activities within Activar and a personal project of your choice. Tasks: support the team in the implementation of activities; develop your own activity with elderly, bringing intercultural value; share your experience and promote volunteering among the local community; support other innitiatives/events from Activar; develop a personal project; participate in team meetings; learn basic portuguese; organize a volunteers group event by the end of the project.

🏠 Accommodation on site

You will be accommodated in an apartment in the centre of Lousã, from where you can easily access several services and places by foot or bike. The apartment has an equipped kitchen, electric heaters, bed linen and bath towels, and access to WI-FI. Food and transport support will be provided in the form of payment, every month, as well as pocket money to your Revolut account.

🎒 Leisure activities

Regular meetings and integration in Activar's teams as well as "on the job" training will be provided. You will be given access to Online Linguistic Support (OLS) platform and we will also suggest other tools to study and learn the portuguese language. Support for clarifying doubts and motivation to improve your skills and develop your ideas will be given by the elderly care center office workers, the ESC coordinator. You will also be enrolled on the On-arrival training provided by Portuguese National Agency.

⚠️ Requirements

The Participant profile: We are looking for a motivated young person who wants to be part of the life of a beautiful, authentic Portuguese village and experience local culture up close. The volunteer should: Enjoy working with elderly people; Be flexible and ready to help in workshops, events, cultural activities, and community projects; Bring energy, curiosity, and a positive attitude, open to new experiences and different cultures; Have creative skills (painting, singing, playing an instrument, handcrafts) — a big plus; Speak or want to learn/improve Portuguese. No prior experience is needed — just motivation, curiosity, and a willingness to join the local community life!
Deadline:

ℹ️ Additional information

The project is implemented under the European Solidarity Corps Programme, financed by the European Commission.
The participating organisations have to be mindful of these needs as they are responsible for providing a respectful and trusting hosting environment. At the same time, the organisations participating in the initiative devote a great deal of time, energy and resources to set up a high-quality activity; they should therefore expect that European Solidarity Corps participants show a similar level of respect for the local communities and the people that are directly concerned by the activities (https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/mission_en).
What do we provide ?
  • Training before and after the project
  • Health insurance during your project
  • round-trip travel reimbursement
  • accommodation and food
  • pocket money
  • language course
  • Return Week-end
  • Youth Pass and SVI international Volunteer passport

Before applying for this volunteering project, you need to enroll yourself at European Solidarity Corps Platform (https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en) and specify your European Solidarity Corps Participant Number (PRN).
This organisation holds a European Solidarity Corps Quality Label.
Contact the ESC coordinator at +32 2 888 67 13 to get more informations.

Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.

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📅 Available sessions

PT52840

26/10/2026 → 19/01/2027

Open
Volunteers registered 0 / 2
♂ 0/1 ♀ 0/1

ℹ️ Key information

Age required

18–30 years old

Solidarity donation

0.00 EUR

French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).

📍 Location

3200 Lousã, Portugal

Portugal

🌍 Location info

Local currency

Euro Member Countries (EUR / €)

Timezone

Western European Summer Time

Local time: 21:08 (12/11/2026)

✅ Features

🏠 Accommodation

Collective

🗣️ Languages spoken

English Portuguese