Tell us a little about myfamilyabroad.com and your role at the company.
Myfamilyabroad.com provides English speaking volunteers the opportunity to take part in a fun and affordable volunteer program in Madrid, Spain. Volunteers are carefully placed with a welcoming Spanish family where they receive free food and accommodation in return for helping them with their English in a fun and interactive way. It gives the volunteer a great insight into Spanish culture and invaluable experience to enhance their CV.
I’m Francesca one of the co-founders of myfamilyabroad.com. I deal mainly with the Spanish families; I visit them at their home, build their profile, take some photos and videos and generally get to know them. I also take part in the Welcome Reception and Training with the Language Assistants. It’s great because I get to meet everyone taking part in the programs!
How did you get involved in the volunteer industry?
A six-month trip to Madrid turned into a life here! And during that time we came up with the idea of myfamilyabroad.com when we noticed that many Spanish families had a real drive and desire to learn English but they wanted to do it in a fun way with a native speaker.
We also wanted to share our passion for Spain with others and allow young volunteers to experience the real Spanish culture in a unique way. So we thought a great way to do this would be to set up an exchange program that exchanges food and accommodation for help with English.
What makes myfamilyabroad.com unique?
We offer the personal touch to our Language Assistants based on our own experiences in Madrid. We personally meet each Language Assistant upon arrival in the city at our Welcome Reception and Training. We provide them with key information to help them have the best time possible with their Spanish family and settle into life in Madrid. We offer support throughout the program and are driven to make sure that both our Language Assistants and Spanish families have a brilliant experience. We also take the time to personally meet each family in their home and get to know them before accepting them as a host family.
In your experience, what characteristics make a good international volunteer?
Someone who is pro-active, enthusiastic and brimming with ideas and energy! To be a volunteer abroad you need to be passionate about the project and willing to get involved in all aspects of it. Also a desire to learn about other cultures and a respect for cultural differences is a must.
What does the future hold for myfamilyabroad.com?
In the future we will be expanding to other cities in Spain. We believe that learning English through fun games and everyday activities with a native English speaker is the most effective way of learning the language. So our aim is to expand throughout the country to help families across Spain improve their English!
