Volunteering in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales
To search for projects currently available in the UK, please visit the VFP Open Projects Directory.
England
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"overall, I found that everyone who participated signed up for the same reason – to have an experience and make new friends. I now have friends from all over the world – literally: Japan, Italy, Czech Republic, UK, Germany, Greece, Portugal – its really awesome. One of the best experiences I have ever had – and now I would like to lead a work camp. Thank you VFP for all you do!" Shannon Kelly / England ~ 2009 |
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This is my first time ever volunteering abroad, and to be coordinating not one, but four projects over the next 5 months seems quite a daunting task. But, for my first project at the YMCA Fairthorne Manor, I am so happy to have had the opportunity to work alongside some great volunteers. The group of seven ladies and one gent were very hard workers and crossed the cultural barriers to get to know each other a little better. They came from Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, Korea, and Russia. Many questions were asked, many foods shared, many new games learned, and many, many laughs were laughed.
Monica Burns / England Medium Term Volunteer ~ 2008 |
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Cleaning the steam engine "Stepney" on the Bluebell Railway, UK.
Heidi Busse / England ~ 1998 |
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In a peace community in England, volunteers lived as part of the larger group, helping with construction and renovation projects.
Vivek Sharma / England ~ 2002 |
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"The entire experience was probably the best in my life. There were 11 volunteers and we were working in pairs in several youth clubs in London. I spent half my time with the special needs group, kids with learning disabilities, and the other half with what the club called mainstream youth. The work was basically hanging out with the youths, and sometimes supervising them on trips. For example we went fruit-picking one day and to an amusement park another time. The kids were mildly interested about all of our [the volunteers'] lives but I think there were mostly excited to have people from outside the community to interact with because most of them had never (or rarely) spent time outside of their community in east London." Anastasia Kostrominova / England - 2005
"I had predicted that I would enjoy my two weeks at the Peace Centre, but I could not have predicted how well organized the Centre is or how well its staff would take care of the other international volunteers and me!" Kelly Maynard / England - 2004
"They are there to have fun and realize that there is even fun to be had! For many of the children, this may be the only holiday they experience in their childhood." Sabrina Aldridge / England - 2003
Northern Ireland
"In Belfast, I worked in the community house of Ballynafeigh Community Development Association. The volunteers worked with Catholic and Protestant children together in their summer playscheme - the scenario being a lesson in the possibility of peace in the region. I was constantly learning of the cultural richness of Belfast and the surrounding counties of Northern Ireland. One of the most memorable experiences of my whole summer was the visit to my Irish family that had not been in contact with my family in the US for over 20 years." Christopher Reeve / Northern Ireland - 2001
"This year I came away from the camp with a renewed sense of purpose in my life unlike any other." Matthew Ascah / Northern Ireland - 2000
Scotland
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“My trip to Scotland through Volunteers for Peace lasted two weeks, and I'm happy to say it was AWESOME and totally worth the anxiety of getting a visa! This particular project involved helping with environmental and manual labor at the Clyde Muirsheil Regional Park outside of Lochwinnoch. Our host organization, XChange Scotland, got together a group from all over: France, Catalonia, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Spain, the US, and of course, Scotland, and we all got along great. The organizer, Jonathan Robertson was very friendly and made everyone feel at home, and in my opinion he and his staff did a terrific job organizing the experience. It was hard work, pushing wheelbarrows up massive hills to help build and maintain trails. We also spent a lot of time hacking and trimming the "evil rhododendron" which is not a native species, and has been taking over indigenous growth. Our efforts went towards helping the park rangers make Clyde Miursheil an inviting place to learn about and enjoy nature and the environment. By the end of the day, we were tired, but it was a good tired. When we weren't working, we hung out at the park's Barnbrock campsite, sleeping in wooden tents called sheighlings (forgive any bad spelling). I brought something a little American for everyone - bandanas (I guess they're American), played guitar, and tried to learn some German words - not always easy to pronouce. We took turns helping each other cook and tasted international dishes (I couldn't find any hot dogs for people to try out, oh well), played frisbee, and went kayaking in the loch. We even took a field trip to Glasgow, danced at a Scottish dance party called a ceileigh (again, sorry for the spelling), and joined residents at the local pubs, so they definitely encouraged us to learn about the local culture. It was an eye-opening experience for me, and truly memorable and wonderful . I would highly recommend volunteering through VFP. Many thanks to Jonathan, and to Amy at VFP for hanging in there and supporting me while I got my visa and paperwork in order. I would do it over again in a heartbeat.” Terence Gardner ~ 2009 |
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Volunteers help with the Kingslink Community Carnival.
Ani Semanjaku / Scotland ~ 2008 |
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Volunteers helped to publicise the Kingslink Community Carnival and assited in making costumes for the parade with the local children.
Ani Semanjaku / Scotland ~ 2008 |
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Volunteers Share Meals
Ana Semanjaku / Scotland ~ 2008 |
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Volunteers make a human knot.
Nancy Reycraft / Scotland ~ 1999 |
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"I was continually amazed at how quickly we got work done, and at the quality of our work as well. That's something that's hard to find in the conventional workplace, where it's easy to become frustrated when other workers don't cooperate." Annie Solinger / Scotland - 2004
"I just wanted to send you a note about the workcamp in Gowanbank, Scotland. It was a great experience, and I'm even thinking about going back next summer to help them with construction of new buildings. Mary and Malcolm who oversee the whole project, are never tiring people who somehow pull together an eccentric group of people to achieve amazing things." Linda Schubert / Scotland - 2003
"The work was valuable and enjoyable, but the magical ingredients to our experience were the people!!! The residents at Gowanbank are very diverse, but all share a common vision. And the other volunteers were some of the nicest people we ever met…12 volunteers from 10 countries!" Kristi and Brady Guinn / Scotland - 2002
Wales
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In 2008, VFP in conjunction with our partner UNA Exchange in Wales offered a total of 33 projects.
UNA Wales / 2008 |
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Volunteers from throughout the world gather to participate on a manual labor project in Wales.
UNA Wales / 2008 |
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“I just returned from this workcamp and what a wonderful experience it was for myself and my son . We were welcomed by an enthusiastic group of longer term volunteers who had been at this site for 4 months. The landscape was breathtaking, the multi-cultural meals were excellent and the work was hard but fun. It was very energizing and gives me hope for our planet to work with such kind and dedicated people. I recommend this worksite highly.” Lee McKinley ~ 2009
"I'm helping with the Festival of Sport which is being held in the park where we are staying. I'm working with a group of disabled children ages 5-10 with various disabilities. They arrive @ 9:30 and leave at 3:00 each day. We do 4 activities per day, all on the park grounds. The activities are varied and creative:pony rides, canoeing, obstacle courses, target shooting, arts and crafts, wall climbing. Many of the children have never done any of the activities so it is a wonderful experience for them. The days go by quickly and I just have fun with the kids all day, like day camp. They are really active and have to be watched and entertained all the time, so by 3:00 I am pretty tired. But I really love being able to participate with this program. The kids are really sweet, loving, and fun to be with. I know I will be sad when it ends. In the evenings, I have been having a great time with all of the volunteers. It's wonderful to be able to get to know pe! ople and have fun together. Yesterday, we went to a local beach to have a picnic dinner, watch the sunset and then built a bonfire. We stayed at the beach for several hours. singing, telling stories, and relaxing. We had the best time! I bought the ingredients for Smores and we all made them as an American cultural experience. Everyone loved them! We will have a Czech Republic night and a Japanese night as well. It's great to learn about cultural traditions from everyone in the group. It makes this whole experience so much richer and more interesting. I am also helping people to improve their english and enjoying that experience too." Becky Slatkin / Wales - 2004
"I had a great and wonderful time with the people in our group and with the interaction of the athletes and families. It was truly rewarding to see the motivation the athletes put into every event (Special Olympics). I am now hooked/addicted to doing projects...sign me up for a lifetime supply...heehee!!!!!" Christina Scafuri / Wales - 2001
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