Volunteering

The Girona Buddies volunteering group exists to connect people with volunteering opportunities in Girona and help organize volunteering activities.

It's open to anyone interested in volunteering, including Catalan speakers and non-Catalan speakers.

The WhatsApp group is at https://chat.whatsapp.com/GRO8cijOS4xDBRv0CrqnhV.

This page has a list of volunteering opportunities in Girona for English-speakers.

Litter cleanup

Just an informal litter cleanup (Julia's idea). Take a bin bag and gloves.

Ideas for places:

• lake Park del Migdia when it’s drained
• top of hill behind Vista Alegre
• Parc del Migdia in general

Litter cleanups organised by others

• FreeAdvenTour: Organized a past cleanup at Gola de Ter. Contact Alex. (no current plans for another event).
• Brigada Activista del Salabret https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076137530456. They pick up litter from the ground and rivers.
• Voluntariat ambiental per la conservació de l’espinós a l’Espai Natural Protegit de les Gavarres / Associació La Sorellona https://voluntariatambiental.cat/activitat/voluntariat-ambiental-a-les-gavarres/, They pick up litter, sometimes they do it in Girona
• XCN (xarxa per a la conservació de la natura) https://xcn.cat/ they might do litter picking?
• Spogomi Cleanup Competition: Annual litter-picking competition in Girona. Requires teams of three, including at least two Spanish speakers. Only takes place once a year.

Community allotment/garden

Tessa wrote a wrote a proposal for the Ajuntament a few years ago and they offered her a free huerto (kitchen garden) in Santa Eugenia.

Chat with language learners in your native language

Girona Buddies has subgroups for different languages. If you’re a native speaker, you can help by chatting with learners and giving them a chance to practice.

• English: gironabuddies.com/english (The English learners meet every Thursday, 7-9 PM. at PdePa bakery Claret)
• Catalan gironabuddies.com/catalan
• Spanish: gironabuddies.com/spanish
• French: gironabuddies.com/french
• German: gironabuddies.com/german

Other volunteering ideas

• “Chatting Bench” project: Sitting in public spaces and offering conversation to lonely people.
• Spending time with elderly residents at retirement homes (although language might be a barrier).
• Helping homeless people by offering food, clothes, and conversation (inspired by a Barcelona initiative).
• Helping local businesses or entrepreneurs with skills like marketing, leadership, or fundraising.
• Volunteering at food waste programs (e.g., starting something similar to Olio).
• Finding opportunities at animal shelters (walking dogs, assisting with care).
• Help each other with problems we have (Stuart's idea)
• Time bank (Paul's idea)

Volunteering Resources

• Girona City Council Volunteering Platform: https://web.girona.cat/voluntariat/ciutadania/demandes Lists volunteering opportunities in Girona (However, most require Catalan).
• Sorrellona: A group that organizes volunteering activities and speaks English. Someone in the group previously volunteered with them.