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The three main partners we support (Refugee Community Kitchen, Calais Appeal and Care4Calais) all display useful volunteering info on their websites, so it's a good idea to look at their current news. Dependent on which charity we have arranged to help out you could be helping to cook food, chop vegetables, bag up firewood, sort clothes donations, prepare 100’s of teas & coffees, prepare crates of groceries, or even drive the aid vehicles.

Once out in the areas where refugees shelter, you could be helping distribute shoes, blankets or even joining in a game of football.

The trips cost around £170. This covers a share of petrol, channel crossing and 3 nights of accommodation in a hostel or budget hotel. Breakfast and lunch are included on volunteer days. Bring a packed lunch or money for refreshments on the way to Dover, and budget around 20 Euros for supper in the evenings.
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Each volunteer pays a £50 deposit to secure a place on the trip. The balance is paid 1 week before travel, when the exact cost of hostel and channel crossing is finalised.

The drivers are paid £130 for petrol.

There are now no requirements for Covid vaccinations or testing in order to enter France. You do not need to prove you are vaccinated and no vaccination record app is required.
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You do need at least 3 months until the expiry date on your passport.
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The entry rules are changing frequently, so please check here for up-to-date rules.

We aim to leave Bath at 4.30pm, heading to Dover Ferry or Folkestone tunnel terminal. Both the aid warehouse and the hostel are about a 10-minute drive from the ferry port and tunnel terminal. We leave the charity site about 4pm on Sunday to return to Calais ferry port or tunnel. If everything is on time, we aim to arrive in Bath by 10pm Sunday evening.

You will meet other people just like you – people who simply want to help refugees. Our previous trip members have ranged from 17-80 years old from a wide range of nationalities. Students, parents, grandparents, nurses, builders, IT managers, opticians… anyone can come.

You will have an experienced Volunteer Leader from RefYouMe who will plan and attend the convoy trips along with anyone else who wishes to come.

The aid organisations require volunteers to be 17yrs and over. The volunteers we have met range from 17yrs to 80yrs of age.

Calais is as safe as any city. The warehouse environment is as safe as any other busy working warehouse. If you work in the Refugee Community Kitchen, you may be using sharp knives and there may be the odd forklift truck in the warehouse vicinity.  Some of the charities require help distributing aid directly to refugees, whilst others have safeguarding policies which mean short-term volunteers remain warehouse-based. Volunteers are not required to leave the confines of the warehouse if they do not wish to distribute aid to refugees in Calais, and many volunteers spend all of their time attending to all the much-needed tasks in the warehouse. Care4Calais charity encourages volunteers to spend time helping to hand out clothes, tea & coffee and chat with the refugees. The camaraderie is a special part of the day, which many refugees really appreciate.
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You are advised to get travel insurance as you would for any other foreign travel, however it is unlikely to cover you for distributing aid to refugees when you volunteer outside of the confines of the charity warehouses.

Please sign up right here. You can indicate which dates suit you or register an interest for a future visit. We will notify you about further trip dates

Calais is just like any other city. It has residential areas and busier, more central areas with shops, restaurants and bars. It also has beaches and a busy port area, which you’ll pass through if you arrive by ferry or LeShuttle.  

As a volunteer, you’ll spend most of your time with the charities you’re supporting. The warehouses and kitchens are based throughout Calais and Dunkirk, such as in industrial parks just a short distance from the city centre.  

In the evening you’ll have free time. You can use this time how you like, but you’ll always have the option to stay with the RefYouMe team. Your RefYouMe team leader will reserve a table at a local restaurant for each evening of the trip, so you won’t need to dine alone.

If you do decide to dine alone, you can choose to walk or take advantage of Calais’s transport links. There’s an extensive bus network and you can also order taxis via apps like Uber.  

No, you don’t need to drive to join a trip! We organise carshares from the UK to France and will make sure that you have a seat in someone else’s car. However, if you do own a car and would be happy to drive, we always appreciate the help. Having multiple cars makes it easier for us to get to and from Calais and to travel around the city.   

Driving in Calais is similar to driving in England, but you’ll be driving on the right-hand side of the road.  There are also a few requirements for driving in France that you’ll need to prepare to meet. For example, you’ll need a hi-vis jacket for every passenger in the car.

We’ll give you advice before the trip begins, but it’s worth reading this blog for a summary of the key requirements.

You may have the opportunity to go on a distribution while volunteering in Calais. This is where you’ll visit an outdoor location in either Calais or nearby Dunkirk to support with the distribution of supplies (e.g. clothing, hot drinks, food, and so on) and services (e.g. clothes mending, bike repairs, hair cutting, and so on) to displaced people. However, this is entirely optional. If you would prefer to continue volunteering at the NGO warehouse instead, this is absolutely fine. It is your decision, and the work you do will still have a hugely positive impact.

If you decide to join a distribution, you will be given a detailed briefing beforehand. This will include briefing you on your specific role and general safety. For instance, you will be briefed on what to do in the event of an emergency. You’ll also always have a team leader on site to guide you.

Depending on the charity, you may be given an NGO-branded Hi Vis vest to wear, so you’ll be easily identifiable to team members and other volunteers. You will never go on a distribution alone; you will always have fellow volunteers from both RefYouMe and our partner NGO.  

As a volunteer, you have a responsibility to protect the displaced people you meet. Therefore, you may be required to complete a short, online safeguarding course before you arrive.

You will also get a detailed briefing each day from the NGO that we’re volunteering with. These briefings will tell you everything you need to know, from the jobs that they need support with, to any health and safety measures.