Personal accounts documenting the experience of participating in our Volunteer Project
Read articles about volunteering in France at La Giraudière from volunteers who have taken part. If you are thinking about applying or maybe you have applied and are wondering what goes on here; then take some time to read what others have said about their stay.
A Unique French Experience in France While some projects claim to provide an opportunity to become immersed in the country’s language and culture, most lack the unique cultural exchange experience that La Giraudière provides. This article was started by Kelly Kean from the USA, a volunteer in July 2012, and followed up by Merise Riddell from Australia, a volunteer who added to this article in September 2012.
A Volunteer Working Holiday is an article written by Dr. DJ Rohling. An American volunteer at La Giraudière in August/September 2012. Dr. DJ Rohling is an aspiring novelist who writes about his volunteering abroad in France experience.
Take Time Out Volunteering An article from Caroline O’Brien, an aspiring Math’s teacher from the UK. Carrie writes about her stay and reflects on what she has achieved for both herself and La Giraudière. Read how volunteering helped Carrie at a very confusing time in her life.
Travelling Alone first time abroad
First Time Volunteering Jordan from the USA choose La Giraudière for her first ever trip abroad alone. Read about Jordan’s experience of Southwest France’s countryside as a young female volunteer traveling alone for the first time abroad.
Learn French in France is an article written by volunteers explaining the benefits of learning French in France. How to Learn French explains the different ways of learning French and the writer’s opinion of the most effective way that worked for them. Another article on the subject of learning French is titled French an Important Language and gives some good reasons why you should learn French.
Chinese Volunteer in France Read Minjies article about being a Chinese volunteer in France. She explains how she found out about the project, how she applied, including the Visa application process, and how she found life at La Giraudière.
Volunteering Abroad is an article written by Reuben Lachmansingh, a published author from Canada whilst he was volunteering at La Giraudière in 2016. Read how Reuben relates La Giraudière to volunteering in 1755.
Christmas in France is an article from Chris, an Australian volunteer who came to La Giraudière to experience Christmas and the New Year. Read about her experience and the highlights of her trip.
Restoration House Read Barbara Booth’s testimonial and see the magazine article she published in an household family magazine in Australia. Barbara Booth has been a freelance journalist for over 20 years, published nationally in newspapers and magazines, including The Age, The Canberra Times, The West Australian, Qantas Club magazine, Home Beautiful, and OzArts.
Barbara arrived at La Giraudière in 2013 as a volunteer unknown to us. Little did we knoz she was going to make us a celebrity in Australia! In 2015, an Australian magazine published a three-page article about the culture exchange project here at La Giraudière. You can see the magazine article titled Restoration House on our Press Articles Page.
Read more about Barbara’s volunteering holiday in France by reading her testimonial titled Australian Volunteers in France.
An article explaining the European Union’s new learning programme which replaces the Erasmus Plus programme. Read how La Giraudière has taken part in such programmes in the past like European Solidarity Corps.
The dates for 2025 Summer program are presently
26th June 2025 until 30th September 2025
The recommended volunteering period is 3 weeks but you can apply for any length of stay during the 2025 program dates.