Free (or Cheap) Volunteer Work in Denmark
| advert | Stay Free as a House Sitter. The Win Win for Pet Lovers That Travel
Partly influenced by its healthy civil society and welfare state, Denmark has a strong tradition of volunteering, with 35 per cent of Danes doing some kind of volunteer work. Since 2020, anyone with legal residence in Denmark is allowed to volunteer.
Grassroots Volunteering in Denmark
The organisations listed below have either got in touch with us to add their details to this or another of our websites, or we otherwise have reason to believe they are actively looking for international volunteers and charge reasonable or no fees to join in, live and work with them:
Studenterhuset
www.studenterhuset.com
A place for University of Copenhagen students to meet, Studenterhuset is run by students, alongside a small group of paid staff, to create an amazing atmosphere for debates, concerts, events and all kinds of activities. Around 40 nationalities make up the 200+ volunteers found here who, in return for their labour, get discounted drinks, free concert tickets and bartending experience.
Where: Copenhagen.
Accommodation & Costs: Volunteers should be self funding.
+++\ + /+++
Middelaldercentret
www.middelaldercentret.dk
In the medieval town of Sundkøbing, visitors can meet craftspeople, merchants, and brave knights jousting in the tournament field – all enacted by a group of dedicated volunteers.
Where: Nykøbing Falster.
Accommodation & Costs: Accommodation and food are provided in the form of sleeping in medieval houses and making your own food from ingredients provided by the Medieval Centre. It is free to volunteer, but yearly membership of the Guldborgsund Guild, the Medieval Center’s support association, and completing a beginner course – in Danish – is required to acquire a basic knowledge of the Middle Ages and learn how to act in the medieval town of Sundkøbing.
+++\ + /+++
Trampoline House
www.trampolinehouse.dk
Trampoline House is an independent community centre in Copenhagen that provides refugees and asylum seekers in Denmark with a place of support, community, and purpose. Volunteers are needed to teach or help out in numerous areas. A six month minimum commitment is required. Self funding unpaid educational interns and job trainees are also hired on a three to six months basis, working 20 to 25 hours per week.
Where: Copenhagen.
Accommodation & Costs: Volunteers find their own accommodation and should be self funding.
Hostel Work Exchanges
Copenhagen’s YMCA Interpoint Hostel describes itself as a hostel run by volunteers, which rather neatly answers the question of whether they are receptive to volunteers or not. Typically their volunteers are in their 20s, team players and not shy of cleaning and cooking. Food, lodging and pocket money are the rewards for four to six hours of effort.
Festival Volunteering in Denmark
Typically the rewards of volunteering at a festival are a free ticket and a better camping pitch.
Roskilde Festival
www.roskilde-festival.dk
Roskilde Festival is Northern Europe’s largest culture and music festival. The festival has been around since 1971 and is run by a non-profit organisation with the assistance of around 30,000 volunteers. Most volunteers work for societies and organisations who recruit their own volunteers, but around 7,500 work directly for Roskilde Festival. Applications are taken for a short period from the end of March.
The festival takes place for four days in early July with a six day warm up period immediately beforehand. Volunteers can help out throughout the entire ten day period or just for the four days of the festival. You can also volunteer in the months leading up to or throughout the entire year. Typical jobs include office work, runner, wiring, electrical work, stage guard, renovation, guard tasks and trade control.
During the festival period volunteers sleep at either audience camping or in restricted camping. Meals are also provided along with a ticket. If you are between the age of 18 and 31 (36 for Canadians) and from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea you can apply to volunteer on a Working Holiday Agreement. Applications take up to three months.
Other Opportunities to Volunteer in Denmark
Free accommodation, a lot of fun and free usage of the newest kitesurf equipment is promised to volunteers hooking up for a while with Kiteschool Pro, whose assigned tasks revolve around the kitchen, front desk or construction and repairs. A good knowledge of English is mandatory, but German and Danish would be great too especially as their website is only in those two languages. This flyer may be more useful to English speakers.
Help Exchange Networks in Denmark
Workaway – https://www.workaway.info/hostlist-DK.html
Other Ways to Travel or Stay for Free in Denmark
Stay free in return for caring for local residents’ homes or pets. Join Trusted Housesitters to live rent free as a house sitter.
More Volunteering in Denmark Resources
Volunteering.dk – Volunteering.dk is a subsite of Frivilligjob.dk, the largest portal for volunteer jobs in Denmark. Side by side with entries from traditional associations such as the Red Cross and Danish Scouts you will also find posts by grassroots organisations, social enterprises and projects undertaken by public institutions. Listings are given in English with the aim of attracting international volunteers.
Image courtesy Tamas
Get Our Newsletter. It's Where The Jobs Abroad Are