Make memories with Concordia that will last a lifetime.
- Dec 4, 2025
- 3 min read
When you volunteer with Concordia, you won’t just be contributing to meaningful projects around the world and learning new skills; you’ll make memories that will last a lifetime.
How do we know? Some of our very first volunteers still look back fondly on their time with Concordia, over 70 years later!
Meet Bill, who joined Concordia’s volunteer camps in 1954, 1955 and 1960. Working on a community-based project in France called “Les Castors” (The Beavers), Bill helped build self-built housing cooperatives to address the post-war housing shortage. Despite the years that have passed and the full life Bill’s lived since volunteering, he still talks fondly about his time volunteering, about the people from all over the world he met, and the songs he learnt.
For Bill’s first two camps, in 1954 and 1955, he made his way to the outskirts of Paris by ferry and train. The last part of the journey was on foot. Joining a team of locals and other international volunteers, Bill worked hard digging trenches, a vital part of constructing new homes that were in desperate need following the war. For Bill's last project, he arrived on his trusty Lambretta, on his way home from a road trip to Italy with a friend.
Work started early, around 7 am (don’t worry, Concordia’s volunteer camps don’t start quite that early nowadays), with the volunteers downing tools mid-morning for a typical “Casse Croute” (light meal). Work would then finish for the day at around 2 pm, for a large lunch, as was the norm in France at the time. As was the case back then, Concordia projects and camps are still organised and run by local community-based host organisations. This means volunteers get to step into the world of the locals, eat as they eat, and learn more about the cultures that make our world so rich and diverse.
"I loved it because I met up with and worked with people from all over the world. And also an occasional train trip into Paris when we weren’t too exhausted" - Bill
Alongside meaningful work and experiencing new cultures, volunteers with Concordia make new friends from all over the world. That’s because Concordia is part of two global networks that work together to send volunteers from all over the world to the same project. Bill has particularly fond memories of two volunteers from India: Toon and Nitisch. They arrived together on a Vespa, and Bill recalls they were amazing table tennis players. They were aiming to play at the world championship, so they had set off on their scooter from India. To pay for the trip, they’d put on table tennis demonstrations as they went. Despite their epic journey, they arrived a year too late for the world championship, but they still had an amazing journey.
A lot has changed in the world since Bill volunteered with us over 70 years ago, but Concordia is still organising volunteer camps all over the world for you to get involved with. Be like Bill: spend your summer doing something meaningful, supporting community-based projects, making new friends, and experiencing the world. You’ll remember it for decades to come.
Check our latest projects or get in touch for a hand in finding your next volunteering adventure.
