Youth volunteering opportunities abroad

Are you aged between 18 and 30, legally resident in the UK and looking for volunteering opportunities in Europe?

Our international volunteering programme sends 8-10 young people a year from the UK to other European Red Cross National Societies. We currently have links with the Red Cross in Armenia, Germany and Norway and are constantly working to expand the number and diversity of opportunities we offer.

What could I do and where?

Here is a sample of some of the placements our volunteers are currently doing.

German Red Cross
The German Red Cross is the third largest Red Cross Society in the world and looks out for those who need help and support in order to overcome social disadvantage, emergencies and vulnerability. 

As a volunteer you can get involved with:

• The ‘Kaufbar’ project which helps adults who are long-term unemployed as well as local families and the wider community.
• The wide variety of activities at the Kaufbar. These could include;
  • supporting the running of the second-hand shop,
  • participating in the after school crèche,
  • helping to plan and advertise events,
  • supporting IT, language, CV and other person development sessions,
  • office support to staff members and volunteers.

Volunteers will primarily be based at the Kaufbar in central Braunschweig. There will also be the opportunity to take part in opportunities run by the Red Cross office in Salzgitter, approximately 15 miles from Braunschweig, working with local vulnerable communities. Braunschweig, which is one of the larger cities in the region between Hanover and Berlin, has a rich cultural heritage and as well as the glorious parks, medieval markets and architecture in the city centre there are numerous musical and theatrical festivals running throughout the year.

Armenian Red Cross
The Armenian Red Cross supports the integration of young and elderly refugees into Armenian society, helping to prevent social exclusion, and improve their living conditions and well-being.

As a volunteer, you could:

• organise social events and services for lonely elderly refugees
• get involved with the Smiley Club, which organises educational, cultural and social activities for poor and refugee children living in dormitories
• organise Raid Cross, an interactive simulation game that teaches the laws of war to young people in a fun way.

Volunteers are based in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, which has an opera house, several museums and loads of cafes and clubs.

Red Cross Nordic United World College, Norway
Every year the college runs the Leirskule – a children’s summer camp for Norwegian schools for children around 12 years old.

Volunteers get involved with:

• improving the equipment and facilities of the college
• running activities that take place outside the summer camps, such as ski week
• assisting in the various sessions in the summer camps, including kayaking, biking, archery, skin diving, climbing and a local adventure race.

The college is located on the remote shores of Flekke Fjord in the municipality of Fjaler, western coastal Norway. It is a beautiful, rural and mountainous area about two-and-a-half hours away from Bergen, the nearest large town.

How do I apply?

Find our current opportunities and fill out an application online.

If there are currently no international opportunities on our website, we can email you when they are next advertised. To be added to the database of people interested in overseas volunteering, please send the following information to srobertson@redcross.org.uk

• full name
• date of birth
• email address 
• job/volunteer title
• whether you have taken part in any overseas or UK volunteering before
• any other information that you think could be of interest to us (past experience, languages, interest in specific countries)
• and, if you are part of the Red Cross already, the name of someone who would endorse your application (for example, your current line manager).

Apply now

Find out more about the IYV programme