Volunteers play a crucial role at AAP and they’re as much part of the AAP-family as our regular staff. So it’s no wonder young people from all over Europe are interested in volunteering at our rescue facilities in Almere and Spain! Since 2008 AAP has participated in the European Voluntary Service (EVS), a subsidy programme by the European Union. This programme has contributed in reaching AAP’s goals in animal rescue and public education, while at the same time it has enriched dozens of European youngsters by valuable working experience at one of the leading animal welfare NGO’s in Europe.

What ‘s in it for the volunteer?

AAP is one of very few EVS-accredited organisations focusing on animals. It provides the volunteers an interesting and valuable working experience in the area of exotic wildlife and it also helps them to develop general skills and competences for daily life. EVS-volunteers coming to AAP spend 12 months volunteering, mostly in animal care. During their stay they receive a thorough training and guidance by AAP’s senior staff, next to external trainings organized by the national agencies in the receiving country. Due to financial support by EVS, AAP is able to fully cover the volunteers’ costs of living (accommodation included) and even to provide them with monthly pocket money. Also, their travel and vaccination costs are all reimbursed.

Target group of EVS

As EVS is part of Erasmus+ Youth Programme, its target group is young people up to and including 30 years of age. Since 2014, AAP offers EVS-positions both in her main rescue facility in Almere, the Netherlands as at her Spanish branch Primadomus (located in Villena, province of Alicante). Whereas AAP Almere can host volunteers of all EU-nationalities, for organizational reasons Primadomus EVS-projects are temporarily restricted to Dutch volunteers only.

Interested to participate?

When you are interested, you can apply for one of the EVS-positions at AAP Almere or Primadomus, but only when the vacancies are open. However, it’s important that you take the procedures of recruitment and selection into account. Be aware of the fact that it takes several months between the application and the actual starting date at the project. And please keep in mind that AAP only accepts volunteers for the full period of 12 months.

EVS operates on basis of three strict application deadlines per year. That’s why the recruitment and selection of new EVS-volunteers is restricted to a few short periods. Currently, AAP works with three possible starting dates for EVS-projects: beginning of February, beginning of June and beginning of September. For projects starting during 2014-2016, the recruitment and selection procedures for AAP-EVS-projects take place according to the following schedule:

 

 

AAP mostly hosts two EVS-volunteers per period per location, in other words there are 6 EVS-positions per year available in both AAP-Almere as in Primadomus.

Please note

Due to practical reasons, we cannot reply to all individual information requests. Everyone who is seriously interested in the EVS-volunteering period at AAP is asked to send his CV and motivation letter during the period indicated in the published vacancies. Keep in mind that only emails received in those periods will be processed! We use many relevant channels to announce the EVS-vacancies, but our own website is always one of them. You are invited to keep an eye on it, so you won’t miss the opportunity to apply.

Extensive information on EVS can be found at the official website of Erasmus+ and through the National Agencies in the Netherlands and Spain.

Detailed description of AAP’s EVS-projects is listed in the European Youth Portal.

 

 

 

Voluntary work outside EVS

Of course, AAP welcomes also non-EVS-volunteers, especially if they are willing to spend a longer period at AAP in the Netherlands or its Spanish dependence Primadomus. Such a volunteering period is offered outside the standard EVS-terms, but you can count on free accommodation in either Almere (NL) or Villena (ES) and on extensive guidance of our staff at the animal care departments. If you have several months available for full-time volunteering, please check our website.