There are a couple dog shelters in and around Tavira that need dog walkers.

• Cacela Dog Haven
  • Contact: Sharron
  • Website & Volunteering Form: Cacela Dog Haven
  • When: Monday, Wednesday & Friday mornings.
• The Frankie Foundation
  • This organization is looking for photographers, social media content creators and event coordinators as volunteers. You can find more information on their webpage.
• Street Cats of Tavira
  • This organization feeds, spays/neuters and healthcare. They also have cats to be adopted. They take monetary donations to assist with the cost of the upkeep of these beloved creatures.
• Santa Barbara Animal Help
  • This charity organizes fostering or pays for the doggies’ stay in a lovely local pet hotel. As with most dog charities, this one also adopts out, finds foster parents, takes monetary donations and accepting dog-walking volunteers.

• EA Cleanup
  • EA Cleanup is a group of volunteers that gather weekly to do extra cleanup in a designated area in the East Algarve. The group is on Facebook.
• H Sarah Trading
  • This is one of my favorite things in Portugal. H Sarah Trading has bins set up around Tavira & Portugal for you to easily donate clothes, shoes, toys and home textiles. Although, all my gently used clothes & shoes go to the charity shops; I put undergarments, old towels, sheets etc in these bins. They recycle & reuse everything they can before sending remaining items to the landfill.
• Charity Quizzes
  • Charity quizzes are very popular here. The Black Anchor hosts many of these quizzes, so check out their Facebook page for details. Occasionally, the Hippo Cocktail Bar & Murphy’s Irish Bar in Cabanas have quizzes for charity as well. Again, check out their Facebook pages. Sidenote: Hippo Cocktail Bar has a quiz every Friday at 2:30 just for fun!
• Red Cross
  • The Red Cross (Cruz Vermelha) has many volunteer opportunities at their main location or their social shop.
  • To Register as a Volunteer, follow these steps:
    • Obtain a Portuguese Criminal Record. This can be obtained at the Tavira Courthouse.
      • For the criminal record, be sure to take ID (Passport or Residency Card) & ask for a “Registo Criminal”. This will cost €5 and shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.
    • The, head to the main location to complete the registration form and bring the following:
      • Passport-sized Photo
      • Resident’s Card
      • NIF
      • Criminal Record
  • For fluent Portuguese speakers, you can inquire as to the various opportunities when you register.
  • For non-Portuguese speakers, there are opportunities to assist in the donations warehouse or the social store (charity shop). Once you have registered, contact Mary Collins on Whatsapp @ +1 407 342 4418 or via SMS @ +351 924 386 144.