I have some free time for the next two months, and I am trying to find out if there is anywhere I can volunteer my time as an english speaker with a little bit of french language skills.

Anyone know of anywhere???

Thanks!

Have you tried www.benevol.ch ?

http://www.benevol.ch/index.php?id=88

have a look on google with the word volontariat, volontaire, bénévole, bénévolat

Good luck

You could try contacting the local woman's group, as they might have connections with volunteer work. www.aiwc-lausanne.org/

The big hospital in Lausanne might be glad to have an English speaker on call to assist patients with no French knowledge.

http://www.chuv.ch/le-chuv-en-bref/c...ganigramme.htm

thanks for the great ideas! I will look into them

Here's some listings for Geneve, maybe some are located close to Lausanne, or maybe you could travel a bit to geneve.

http://www.charity-charities.org/vol...rs/Geneva.html

http://www.icvolunteers.org/

It's already hard enough for people to find employment as an English teacher here, even for a paltry Chf 25.--/hour and now you're offering to do it free of charge on a voluntary basis.

Whilst i admire you for doing voluntary work, you're going to be taking potential work away from a lot of people here, and lets be honest, anybody living in Switzerland can afford English lessons or the State is willing to pay for them under the unemployment umbrella.

People who need an official interpreter with a license, edu, experience and guarantee with search for one and pay for one. If there is a adhoc need for something urgent and un-guaranteed, the institution has no qualms about contacting OP, why not, then? You are mixing two different things. If people want to volunteer based on a noble principle, why wouldn't they? Why would it threaten a job market? You are trying to control something that is actually uncontrolable. Would you stop an older brother tutoring younger sibling in English so you can have your job? I think what OP wants to do is marvelous, will expand her employment opportunities, integrate her/him, teacher her/him about this culture and country a lot more than coffees with expats and random conversation with local cashier. It's none of our biz to try to discourage a volunteer from their intention. Good for them.

__________________
"L'homme ne peut pas remplacer son coeur avec sa tete, ni sa tete avec ses mains." J.H. Pestalozzi

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is a matter of depth.” S.P. Cadman

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." A. Einstein

Dear Today Only,

Sounds like you got the short end of the stick and now want others to feel bad for you. I am a good person with some free time wanting to help others in need. I wont let you make me feel bad about that.
Perhaps it has never crossed your mind that people do sometimes like to do good deeds without expecting a paycheck.

Dear Today only,

Perhaps if you feel you are undervalued for your English teaching abilities, you should learn how to read English first. Just a suggestion from a fellow English speaker.

For shame. Good luck in the job market!

Nothing could be further from the truth, i semi-retired at 40 and now do various things, some paid, some not. I have no wish whatsoever to make you feel bad, i also do some voluntary work which involves children and finance.

You implied you wanted to each English and there are many threads on people who want to do this for a living here, maybe i had a wrong asumption about you wanting to teach English, in which case i appologise.

Have you thought about helping out with some of the homeless in Geenva/Lausanne, Salvation Army maybe or simply go to the social services in the town where you live and propose your services.

Did she?

Where?

Todayonly IS SOOO MISERABLE.

Did you think about working in the zoo? that would be awesome!

Sorry, Jenn, of course you are "she". And probably integrated well enough already. Good luck with volunteering, lovely idea. (the most fun I had volunteering was working in a hobo kitchen, it was great).

Thats soo cool MusicChick!

What about helping blind people around the city? or training a guide dog?

I would love to help blind people, since it is some scary sh...t. I always help out when I see somebody blind who needs help. My own vision is deteorating so fast it makes me think about all the people who have had to put up with it for a long time...In fact if OP wants to team up teaching English in some blind institute here, I could pull it off a few hrs a week.

Now that sounds very cool!
me too I give blind people a hand onto the tram. there is a blind lady at my stop every morning and I pop her onto the tram.
If you're doing that in Lausanne I can't help but if you do it in Basel I would love to help too

Overheard at a tram terminal in Basel (translated from the German for the convenience of our friends in the west and south):

"No, I haven't got a ticket! No, no... I was just waiting until the tram moved out of the way so I could cross the road to buy a lottery ticket... then, no, really... yes, someone grabbed me by the elbow and put me on this tram! I didn't want to get on the tram... no, I just wanted to buy my lottery ticket and a can of Red Bull for breakfast... no, I'm not going to pay the fine... yes, I know I've been caught before... but it's not my fault! No, really!"

Then what the hell was her big pole for?!