The European Voluntary Service (EVS) is the European Commission’s project that enables young people to carry out voluntary service for up to 12 months in a country other than their country of residence. It fosters solidarity among young people and is a true ‘learning service’. Beyond benefiting local communities, volunteers learn new skills and languages, and discover other cultures. An EVS project has three phases: • planning and preparation • implementation of the Activity • evaluation (including reflection on a possible follow-up)

Non-formal learning principles and practice are reflected throughout the project. An EVS project can focus on a variety of themes and areas of intervention, such as culture, youth, sports, social care, cultural heritage, arts, civil protection, environment, development cooperation, etc. High-risk interventions in immediate post-crisis situations (e.g. humanitarian aid, immediate disaster relief, etc.) are excluded. It is designed to implement one or more EVS Activities.

So you are interested in an EVS? Finding an EVS project for you, can be easy or not depending what kind of project you are into. Just by googling “EVS projects” you can find some of the main web site where organizations post projects. Here are some of the most popular websites where you can find an EVS project and start your adventure: European Youth Portal Here you can find more information about the different types of volunteering, read inspiring stories from previous volunteers, and find out about the European Voluntary Service and EU Aid Volunteers. FindEVS For You They are a small team of people with different experiences in the EVS process, from writing and implementing EVS projects to being a EVS volunteer.  They post the calls for applicants that they can find and that are sent to them to publish.  SALTO-YOUTH SALTO-YOUTH is a network of eight Resource Centers working on European priority areas within the youth field. On their page you can find open calls for EVS projects. European Voluntary Service Another great site with a lot of open calls for EVS project.

Besides websites, there are also bunch of Facebook groups that you can join and keep track of project posted in there.

Here are a few of them:

There is also another way to find out about EVS project, it could be a friend, from some blog you read (like this one) or from your local organization.

We hope that we gave you enough information where to search for an EVS project.

Happy hunting!

So, you found a few projects that you are interested in. When you find a project, the receiving organization usually provide the basic information that the volunteers need to know, before applying and that information is usually consisted of the name of the project, location of the project, description of the project, duration of the project, deadline to apply and how to apply. The process of applying for EVS project is consisted of three steps: • Find sending organization Find a sending organization on your city or another city if you don’t have in your own and ask them they can be your sending organization. You can also try to find sending organization from you country in the official EVS Database: https://europa.eu/youth/volunteering/evs-organisation_en • Find out what is the way to apply for the project you are interested in Most of the receiving organization will ask you to send them your CV and motivational letter, some may ask to fill out a questionaire form, some maybe both. After you are selected the organization may ask you for an Skype interview or just some more questions. And if you pass all that, you can start volunteering 🙂

• Create your CV and your motivational letter

Write a great motivational letter where you talk about yourself, the reason why you want to be a part of the project and what you expect to gain from the project.

Send the CV and motivational letter to the email provided from the receiving organization and wait for them to contact you if you are selected for further information.

 

After you are selected, pack your things and enjoy the EVS journey!