Volunteering | Cherry International Foundation

CARE

Community Animal-Assisted Resource and Engagement

4 volunteers will be selected for our CARE ESC project to spend 5 months in The Netherlands. .

CARE is a project focused on practical and digital work to engage with the local community.

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Drenthe tends to be xenophobic about foreigners, and with CARE we would like to show them that foreigners can even improve the areas where they live. Manual tasks help creating this connection as well, since it is always connected to an immediate result. The video above shows the first version of our volunteering project; we have now added the benefit of animals as a promotion of welfare and engagement in it.

The project focuses on engaging the community by organising workshops and creating different initiatives in the community, creating impact in different local workplaces, as well as digital work such as social media and website management.

This being a European Solidarity Corps program, there are certain rules attached to it. Meaning that if you choose to be part of this project, you are expected to join the activities and working places related to this project, these include mentoring and the Dutch classes as well.

Monday to Friday are usual working days, weekends off
Every month , you can request 2 days off, which are cumulative
There are 2 obligatory trainings from the subsidy program if you come for long term: On Arrival and Mid Term trainings, while only 1 of the 2 for short terms; they focus on your settlement here in The Netherlands.

You also have the possibility to work in other working places besides Cherry, such as organising workshops with SEDNA, a beautiful garden with Bloemen op Marokko, DARA, an NGO collecting funds for the educational support for children in Cambodia and more.

By applying for this position, you are applying for a 5-month European Solidarity Corps long-term volunteering project. This means you will be fully involved in our daily work and activities for five consecutive months.

Please note that ESC rules allow each volunteer to take part in only one long-term individual volunteering project in their lifetime. After completing this 5-month project, you cannot join another long-term ESC placement in the future.
However, you can still participate in other ESC opportunities, such as short-term volunteering, volunteering teams, or local/in-country volunteering, as long as your total ESC volunteering time does not exceed 12 months.

If you are considering future ESC opportunities, please keep this in mind when applying.

We are looking for 4 participants between the age of 18 and 30 years old.

You:

General profile

Like to take initiative (and if you've been in our projects, you know how much we care about it).
Are an entrepreneur, don't wait and hope for something to happen.
Come with alternative solutions for a problem.
Are open to cultural differences and even in case of cultural shock, willing to give it another shot.
Are willing to realise practical work or to learn about it.
Are willing to cooperate and work with the Dutch community.
Speak and understand basic English (diploma is not necessary).
Are aware that you will be living in a Dutch town and village in a rural setting.
Are accountable/responsible for your actions.
Are aware that a bicycle will be your means of transportation no matter the weather, even at -20 degrees (tricycle is also an option). It rains a lot in The Netherlands.
Have a driving license could be handy. Not mandatory though.

Work related profile

Have experience with social media (posts, content creation, reels, video editing).
Are interested in maintaining a website (text, newsletters, blog - we use Wix).
Like to do office work, administration, writing.
Are motivated to organise workshops for the locals.
Respect animals in their behaviour, and you don't force them for your own entertainment.

The project and its activities will take place in the Dutch region of Drenthe, located in the North Eastern part of The Netherlands. Your housing/living will be in the town of Emmen. The Cherry centre/office is in the village of Dalen (16,5km from Emmen. You need to take the train to reach it, which we pay for).

In the tab "tasks", you can see the Cherry centre, our headquarters. Because we do not have a fixed accommodation for volunteers (we rent it), you will receive the pictures of it during the application process.

Emmen is a town of 108.000 inhabitants, it has all kinds of entertainment that a city can offer, including a cinema and one of Netherland's most famous zoos, Wildlands, which more than a zoo, it is an adventure park. Shops, restaurants, bars, pubs, and much more, can be easily found in Emmen.

Dalen instead, is a typical Dutch village (3.470 inhabitants), surrounded by green fields and parks. Dalen has a few shops, a supermarket and a few restaurants. It also has a train station which is located at 10 minutes walk from the Cherry centre.

You and your fellow ESC's will be housed in the same house, with common areas. Each of you will have your own room though.

Long term

This year will consist of two long-term volunteering slots. Currently, only the first one is open. It can be if you are not selected for the first slot, that you could join for the second slot once it is opened.

Slot:

2nd March 2026 - 25th July 2026

Upon arriving, you get a few days to settle in. The project finishes on the 25th of July, due to other projects organized by Cherry.

Cherry reserves the right to adjust the arrival and departure dates, as well as the overall length of the project, based on various factors.

The project is subsidised by the European program European Solidarity Corps. The subsidy covers:

Travel (arrival + departure, calculated with the subsidy's distance calculator. Starting point is the address of your sending organisation, not your home address).
Housing
ECAS health insurance
Living costs (217 Euro pocket money + 210 Euro living money = 427 Euro per month)

We ask:

50 Euro registration fee to be paid maximum 2 weeks after the confirmation of participation email.

Should we not receive the payment, your participation will be automatically cancelled.
This amount will be restituted to you once you start your project here in The Netherlands.
Should you cancel your participation and not find a replacement candidate, the amount will not be restituted.

Check with your sending organisation if they ask for any kind of (participation) fee.

Trips that are project related are covered by us (i.e. going to the Cherry center). You will also receive a bicycle from us which will be your main transportation within a 10-kilometer route.

In CARE, taking initiative is very important. You will notice that it will help you finding out what you like to do. We are flexible in the tasks that you can do and motivate you to work on your own interests, as long as they support your development and match the objectives of the project.

These are the tasks that you can expect during CARE:

Maintaining social media channels of Cherry
Creating Newsletters
Creating content for the website's blog
Planning, organising, and promoting workshops for locals (different creative and artistic one based on holidays, animal care, toys for animals, your skills, etc.)
Maintaining the Cherry garden with its animals
Physical work with the animals and the garden (learning about animal therapy, building cages for them, creating different additions to the garden)