Thank you for your interest in serving at LPO. Please read the notes below before you start your online application.
New for 2024: all aspects of LPO life are now run by Association Le Pas Opton. This is a French, member-based, non-profit organisation which all guests pay to join when they book a holiday. All on-site personnel are employed by the Association which engages both employees and volunteers to deliver holidays and run the site for the benefit of its members.
The main areas in which volunteers serve at LPO are:
• Running daily activities for children and teens, combining Christian content with plenty of fun
• Providing guest activities (animations) each day including sports, leisure and entertainment
• Assisting with food and drink service from the bar, café, takeaway and shop
• Maintaining, organising and hiring of bikes, kayaks and other items
• Driving the minibus service to and from Nantes airport, Challans train station and local shops
• The pre- and post-season erection and dismantling of tents, marquees and other equipment plus a host of tasks necessary to open and close the site each holiday season. This is known as montage and démontage
• Gardening and landscaping tasks including planting of borders and hanging baskets, watering and maintenance during the season, keeping the green areas clear and tidy
• Ad hoc administration, guest service and finance-related tasks are sometimes carried out by volunteers.
Volunteers whose role includes working with children or young people are called animateurs (feminine animatrices): they are usually young adults serving for five weeks or more. Volunteers whose primary role is practical, sometimes called bénévoles, are more likely to be mature/retired people and serving for a shorter period. Some folk join us ahead of the summer season purely for 'montage' (putting up tents, preparing the pitches and other tasks) and/or in the Autumn for 'demontage' (preparing the site for winter). The application process is different for these three roles and is outlined following the links below..
Volunteers who serve four weeks or more can apply for a grant of up to €150/week. To be considered for this, please tick the relevant box in the application. The grant is administered by Essential Christian, a registered UK charity of which Spring Harvest is a part.
Not all applications are successful. Competition for animateur places is particularly strong with only a limited number of applicants being shortlisted and even less being offered a role. However, we encourage you to apply if you're passionate about your Christian faith and keen to serve.