Articles
Guides, tips and stories about volunteering.
Volunteering to help a young mother: supporting the families who need it
A new baby can be a moment of real fragility, especially for isolated or struggling mothers. You don't need to be a professional: a home-cooked meal, a listening ear, a presence are enough. Here's how to volunteer to support young mothers, and find a mission near you.
Volunteering by helping a neighbour: what if engagement started on your doorstep?
Carrying the shopping, fixing a computer, having a coffee with someone who's alone: helping a neighbour is a form of engagement in its own right — and often the first step towards more regular volunteering. Here's why, and how to go further.
How to Find a Volunteering Mission Near You
You want to get involved but don't know where to start? Here is a practical guide to finding the right volunteering mission for your values, your schedule and where you live.
Can You Volunteer Just a Few Hours a Month?
"I don't have time" is the number-one reason people give for not getting involved. Yet a huge share of volunteering happens just a few hours a month — sometimes remotely, from home. An overview of short, flexible missions, and how to find one that fits your schedule.
Volunteering with Animals: What Are the Options?
Shelters, wildlife rescue, foster homes, sanctuaries, animal-assisted therapy… Volunteering with animals is about far more than walking dogs. A tour of what's possible, what each mission really involves, and how to get started near you.
Volunteering in Retirement: Staying Active, Useful and Connected
Retirement frees up what was missing all your working life: time. Volunteering is the richest way to spend it — passing on your experience, keeping a rhythm, meeting people and feeling useful. A guide to volunteering for active retirees: which missions, at what pace, and how to get started.
Building Human Connection Through Volunteering
People usually become volunteers to help others. They stay for the people they meet. Behind every mission, bonds form — between generations, between strangers, between neighbours. Here's why volunteering is one of the best remedies for loneliness, and how to find a mission that will actually connect you with others.
How to Become a Volunteer Near Me: Finding a Mission in Your Town
Want to get involved close to home? Here's how to find a volunteering mission in your town or neighbourhood — by city, by postcode, or remotely — free, in just a few minutes.
Sports Volunteering: France's Biggest Field of Engagement
Sport is the number-one field of volunteering in France. Coach, referee, club officer, one-day marathon helper… sports volunteering (bénévolat sportif) takes a thousand forms — and none require you to be a great athlete. A guide to the missions and ways to get involved.
Bénévolat vs Volontariat: What's the Difference?
The two are often used interchangeably, but in France bénévolat and volontariat are different statuses. A bénévole gives time freely and unpaid; a volontaire signs a contract, commits full-time and receives an allowance. Here's how to tell them apart — and choose.
Volunteering as a Student in France: ECTS Credits, Official Recognition and Internships in Associations
Since 2017, French universities must recognize their students' volunteer work: ECTS credits, dedicated course units, timetable accommodations. And an association can host your mandatory internship. Here's how it works.
Volunteering as a Stepping Stone to Employment: Skills, Network and the French Schemes to Know
A gap in your CV, a career change, a first job? Volunteering builds skills recruiters actually look for — and France has official tools to get them recognized: VAE, the Passeport Bénévole and the Compte d'Engagement Citoyen.
Volunteering While Unemployed: What French Law Says
Can you volunteer while receiving unemployment benefits in France? The answer is yes — under certain conditions. Here is what the law says and what you must declare to France Travail.
Volunteering During the Summer Holidays: Short and One-off Missions
A few free weeks this summer? It's the perfect moment to get involved. A tour of the short, one-off volunteering missions you can do during the holidays.
Volunteering in France as an English Speaker: A Complete Guide
France has thousands of volunteering opportunities open to English speakers. Here is everything you need to know to get started, even if your French is limited.
The digital transformation of associations
French associations are accelerating their digital transition. What tools are they adopting, and how is technology changing their relationship with volunteers?
Corporate volunteering: when employees get involved
More and more companies are encouraging their employees to volunteer during working hours. A movement that benefits everyone.
Why become a volunteer?
Volunteering transforms not only communities but also those who take part. Discover the deep reasons why thousands of people choose to give their time.
How to publish your volunteering mission on JeVeuxAider — and appear on Benevole.com
Does your association publish volunteering missions? Find out how to make them visible on Benevole.com in a few simple steps via JeVeuxAider.gouv.fr.
What volunteering really changes — stories from the field
They took the plunge. Volunteers share why they got involved, what it has given them, and what they would say to those who are still hesitating.