Experience Barcelona beyond its famous landmarks and become part of a vibrant local community in the Nou Barris neighborhood. Through meaningful service, you can support food-security initiatives, assist children and families, connect with older residents and contribute to community-led programs that create lasting social impact. Work in a community garden to cultivate ingredients for meal preparation and distribution. Along the way, you will build genuine relationships, develop practical skills and experience the culture, energy and everyday life of Barcelona from a perspective most visitors never see.
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Volunteer in Barcelona, Spain
Volunteer Opportunities in Barcelona, Spain
Community Building Program
This community development program is dedicated to empowering Nou Barris, a marginalized neighborhood in Barcelona with over 100,000 residents suffering from social exclusion. It seeks motivated volunteers to build solidarity networks, fight poverty, and learn skills that support social and job integration, all while experiencing the city beyond traditional tourist routes. Participants work 35 hours per week from Monday through Friday, starting each day with a 30-minute wellbeing routine and focusing on center activities.
Disabled Babies & Young Children
Participants support babies and children aged 3 months to 10 years with severe mental and physical disabilities at a children’s day hospital in Barcelona. Volunteers collaborate with a multidisciplinary medical team to run adapted activities, design custom games and crafts, and manage a bank of specialized materials for affected families. Help children interact with their environment and grow happily while connecting with an international community of like-minded peers.
Marine Conservation
This program invites local and international participants to help protect and conserve Barcelona‘s marine ecosystems through scuba diving initiative tasks in Mediterranean waters. In collaboration with the Catalan federation of scuba diving and scientific programs, voluntrainees participate in marine preservation activities while residing in the NGO’s community apartments. Participants staying at least two weeks can complete internationally recognized CMAS diving certifications tailored to their experience level.
Connect
Become part of a welcoming international community in Barcelona. Build genuine relationships with local coordinators, community members, and fellow volunteers while experiencing the warmth, diversity, and everyday life of the Nou Barris neighborhood.
Learn
Take part in orientations, workshops, and group activities that deepen your understanding of community development, cultural exchange, and locally led service. Volunteers gain practical insight into how neighborhood organizations respond to real social needs.
Contribute
Support hands-on community initiatives, including food preparation, food-bank logistics, and the organization of essential supplies for local families. Your daily work helps reduce food waste while strengthening access to nutritious meals and community support.
Quest Fees and Details
United Planet Quests are designed to be immersive, authentic, comprehensive and provide you everything you’ll need to succeed. The program elements allow you to engage fully with a new culture, forge strong relationships, and challenge yourself. Most importantly, we partner with the community to ensure your experience will be important, relevant and helpful to the community you serve.
- Pre-departure preparation
- Food and lodging in your host country
- Airport transfers
- Emergency medical insurance
- Online pre-departure training with our staff
- In-country orientation upon arrival and ongoing support and supervision throughout your Quest
- 20-40 hrs of service per week
- A United Planet t-shirt
Due to varying airline prices, United Planet does not arrange or cover the cost of flights to and from Barcelona, Spain. However, we arrange all ground transportation to and from the airport in Barcelona, Spain and will ensure that you arrive safely at orientation.
- Volunteers are responsible for booking and covering the cost of their own flights.
- Volunteers will obtain visas as necessary, depending on duration.
- Travel anytime throughout the year for this Quest. We recommend June-August for maximum sunlight!
About Our Quest Fee
We want you to succeed. That means having in place the support our volunteers need. We don’t just drop you in country and hope for the best. We provide training before you leave … language exposure … 24/7 in-country support … support for your host family … accommodations, meals and airport transportation … activities and excursions. The whole idea is to make the experience successful and productive for you and the host community, and we have found that these things are crucial. Remember that we are a non-profit, mission-driven organization – we wouldn’t spend money on something that wasn’t important.
*Payment Plan Details: A $300 deposit is due at the time of your enrollment to lock in your spot in our program. After your confirmation in a program, you can choose to pay the Quest Fee all at once or in installments. The total Quest Fee is due 4 weeks before your departure date.
Have questions? We’re here for you. We’d love to help.