Teenagers Get Free Room and Board for Volunteer Work in Spain

Teenagers can volunteer for a week in Spain and get free room and board via TeenTown. Teenagers who are fluent in English can help Spanish teenagers become more fluent in this language via the TeenTown volunteer program in Spain. Here's the rundown on the volunteer program for teenagers in Spain called TeenTown.

Program Overview and Issues of Concern to Parents

Teenagers who are fluent in English and who are aged 13-18 years old can help make a difference in the lives of Spanish teenagers who are trying to improve their English-speaking skills, getting free room and board in the process during the program as well as free transport to the volunteer venues from and back to Madrid, Spain! This summer, the language training firm called Pueblo Ingles will be hosting seven TeenTown programs at two off the beaten path venues. One is in the olive oil producing region of Andalucia called Cazorla, where Anglo and Spanish teens have as a backdrop Yedra Castle and some beautiful mountains! This venue is a four hour bus ride from Madrid. The other venue is called La Alberca, which is in Northwest Spain, close to the Portuguese border in the Castile and Leon region, about a 3.5 hour bus ride from Madrid. This laid back medieval town was the first Spanish village to be declared a National Heritage Site in 1940.

Parents are often concerned about the safety and behaviour of their teenagers when they are travelling alone, but the TeenTown volunteer program is geared to make sure that the kids will have a good time time in a wholesome way. Sandra Händler Noble,the Program Manager for TeenTown says, "Throughout their stay in Madrid the teens are chaperoned. Once the program starts, the teens are under the constant supervision of the staff. The venues are private enclosures that cannot be accessed by people that are not a part of the program. Also, the teens are not allowed to leave the resort without the supervision of a counsellor. There is zero tolerance for drug and alcohol use for both staff and participants." Teens share rooms (no more than two teenagers to a room), but all sleeping accommodations are same sex.