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voluntary work.....advice needed please!!!!


Frank
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Hi all,

I don't know if this is the correct place to post this query, but here goes! I have enquired about voluntary work at the Mairie and I have been invited along to see about the 'banque alimentaire' Before I go along and 'sign up' so to speak, are there any forms etc that would need completing to show work is unpaid (for the tax office) or do I get something to say it is unpaid work. I have tried to find out info on internet and Mairie but sadly no answers to questions, Would appreciate if any one who has done voluntary work could offer some advice or suggest links to sites, many thanks in advance

Jetlag
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Nope, no forms. Actually you join the association and pay 10€ a year for the privilege. But, for example, our president promised to pay for protective footwear for new members, which would actually cost more than your membership.

The BA is a really good cause -- they act as a 'wholesaler' distributing free food from various sources (supermarket surplus, European food mountains ...) to other charities like the Red Cross and local associations who look after the poor and needy. It's completely non-sectarian and non-political

I'm a volunteer at our local BA in Vannes, but I mostly look after sorting out their IT (trying to get them into the 20th (yes, 20th) century. If mine is anything to go by the majority of members are over 60, but we have some younger ones, too

The majority of the volunteers do stuff like collecting food from supermarkets (organised in advance -- you're not begging [:)] )and distributing it to the 'customers'. However, they also need people with more technical experience of things like food hygiene or warehouse management -- they distribute thousands of tons of food aid each year in France.

The national Web site is:

http://www.banquealimentaire.org/Dons-de-temps.html

This is the page about the more specialised volunteers that they need, but they'll be happy to see you even if it's just for being a "driver's mate". It might even give you some experience that could help to get a 'real' job somewhere if that's what you want.

You could also look at the Wikipedia article about food banks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_bank

If you want to know more drop me an email or a PM.

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In reply to Albert the InfoGipsey,

I volunteer with the local Red Cross in Indre. They distribute food to needy people, but the food they pick up from the Banque Alimentaire is not free. Perhaps it's different in each department.

FairyNuff

Edit: In reply to the OP, please do volunteer, you'll be welcomed with open arms. After being a life long volunteer,you couldn't pay me enough to do what I do for nothing.
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[quote user="Iceni"]

Would some expert please explain how one earns a living doing unpaid work?

A. Simpleton

[/quote]ANOther Simpleton asks:

Where is it mentioned that anybody earns a living at this?  The only money mentioned in this thread that I can see is a payment to join up, and the vague possibility of some expenses to compensate.

Are you referring to the board this is posted on? 

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[quote user="FairyNuff"]In reply to Albert the InfoGipsey, I volunteer with the local Red Cross in Indre. They distribute food to needy people, but the food they pick up from the Banque Alimentaire is not free. Perhaps it's different in each department. [/quote]

Strange! I'll double-check this with our branch and also with the Red Cross -- my wife knows the local president and I've done a bit of pro bono work for them.

From the Banque Alimentaire web site:

Que faisons-nous ?

Les Banques Alimentaires collectent gratuitement des denrées auprès de plusieurs sources d’approvisionnements :

Les producteurs donnent des fruits, des légumes, du lait, etc...
L’industrie agroalimentaire donne toutes sortes de produits : secs, congelés, réfrigérés, en conserve,...
La grande distribution donne quotidiennement les produits retirés des linéaires avant la date limite de consommation.
L’Union européenne donne, par l’intermédiaire du Programme Européen d’aide aux plus démunis (PEAD) des produits céréaliers et laitiers.
L’Etat donne par l’intermédaire du PNAA des produits carnés, des fruits, des légumes
Le grand public donne, à l’occasion de collectes dans les grandes surfaces, des denrées non périssables.

Les Banques Alimentaires trient, gèrent et stockent ces denrées dans leurs entrepôts dans le plus grand respect des règles d’hygiène et de sécurité alimentaire.

Les équipements nécessaires (chambres froides, camions frigorifiques,...) sont financés, comme les frais de fonctionnement, par des subventions des collectivités, des dons d’entreprises, de clubs services et de particuliers ainsi que par les participations de solidarité versées par les associations distributrices.
Certains collaborateurs ont la qualité de Responsables Hygiène et Sécurité alimentaire. Ils ont été formés pour contrôler la qualité de chaque produit collecté et distribué.

Maybe you mean the bit in bold italics?

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UPDATE!!!!

I have just got in from my first day as a volunteer for the banque alimentaire in my commune, and I have to say it is well worth giving up a few hours a fortnight to help out. Many thanks for all who have replied and offered advice to my original post.

Jetlag
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Well done, Jetlag. I have tried to enlist British volunteers to work for Restos du Coeur in the past, and never been successful. It is such a pity that only few expats volunteer to work for charities here, as it is such a great way to practice the language (or learn it), as well as giving invaluable insight into the underbelly of the country one has chosen to live in. Very rewarding work - although, quite tiring, don't you find?
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Well we are not your area 5-element, but we are both volunteers with Restos du Coeur.  We think they are a brilliant charity.  In our area the banque alimentaire operate in the summer when we don't so we are just gearing up for the new start.

It does help our French - none of the other volunteers speak English - and when we first started caused amusement amongst the "customers". 

There have been English customers too...

So, Yes go for it if you want to help out.  We have chosen to live in France so should contribute as we would  (and we did) in the UK.

Mrs H

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Kudos to Mrs. H and (presumably) Mr. !!!

This does warm my heart, it truly does. Maybe more people would do it if they had the possibility - of course it is not always feasible for everyone, for various reasons.

But, there might just be a branch in your area. As for Banque Alimentaire, you can ask at your Mairie.

http://www.restosducoeur.org/

If you would like (and are able) to have a go, it is usually just for one morning a week (or maybe 2) during the winter campaign (starting about now?) until the end of March. It often means giving out specific food items to specific people, it is all very carefully worked out. It can be fairly hard physically as there is a lot of shifting of boxes etc, especially as the distribution centres are usually unheated (they have to be!), so, get your longjohns and fleeces out. Of course, there are other jobs too, it's not just for sturdy types!!

Sorry to hijack the Banque Alimentaire thread, I just got a little enthusiastic here![:)]

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Toujour Pret, moi and husband. We always volunteered for just about everything. And as was said, sometimes we had to 'join' and pay an association to help out. Never, thought that we might be accused of 'working' for money fdr ourselves.

Many things in our village wouldn't get done if it were not for volunteers.
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Do you have to have police checks, fill in forms etc before being accepted as a volunteer in France?

I used to do a few voluntary jobs in England before we came here, and they were just starting to tighten up the process there - put me off one job (helping in a charity shop.) And it's even stricter now, especially if you want to work with children. I think you have to pay for checks to be done, then have a sort of permit.

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[quote user="Patf"]Do you have to have police checks, fill in forms etc before being accepted as a volunteer in France?
[/quote]

Not unless they did them without telling me! It may well be different if you have direct dealings with children (e.g. Scouting) but Banque Alimentaire doesn't deal directly with the end beneficiaries and I'd have thought that even Restos du Coeur would be treated rather like commercial food outlets.

If I could draw better I'd like to do a cartoon about Benny Vole, the friendly, helpful, little chap who keeps the local charities going.

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No we never had any checks and I used to help out with kids groups and in fact we would often take them away for sports competitions and also end of the year outings.

The only thing that any check was done on was when we parents were going to accompany the kids school outings to the swimming pool. We all had to go to a local pool and rescue a dummy from the deep end. Now the thing that enraged me was that the teachers were not tested, they were teachers and consequently were 'able' to accompany kids to the pool even if they could not swim!!! If anyone can explain that to me in a way that will make any sense to me, then I would be very interested.
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