Volunteer

LIFE welcomes energetic and self-motivated volunteers to work on site in Bulgaria, jobs and hours vary by the season but can include:

Helping administer medical treatment to dogs, cats and horses.
Giving loving attention, including walks and grooming, to rescued dogs.
Exercising horses (if the volunteer has the required skills).
Assisting with Outreach Work in local communities.
Serving as a general support to Lucy in her daily duties.
General building and maintenance work.

Enjoy the photos of our fabulous volunteering couple Cory and Sofia in the summer of 2025 here at LIFE.

We need volunteers so if you could be tempted do read on and ….

Let’s pack a rucksack and together go to…

Lucy’s place (Castaway Lucy) in South East Bulgaria and volunteer with your best friend, partner or family… We're looking for fit, sensible, reliable couples, pairs of friends or lone independent traveler’s prepared to rough it at our Haven in the middle of great walking and riding countryside.

Volunteering in pairs is the most rewarding experience at LIFE’s Haven where there are umpteen friendly dogs absolutely craving for your touch and individual time. Walks in the local rolling countryside of rural timeless Bulgaria.

During the daytime LIFE’s resident horses are turned out at the Haven. Opportunities come to just be with these beautiful spirits who’ve seen desperate times in their earlier lives. Horses to groom, hoof pick and ride, even drive if you’ve the adequate equine knowledge … Just spending time together helps enormously with their well being and yours.

Accommodation can be the on-site caravan, bring a tent, drive and park up in your motorhome or stay in a local house.

It’s is preferable to come with your own transportation, car or motorhome though collection can be arranged from Sliven or another location… Food and on site basic caravan accommodation is provided…

In return you will have a memorable experience of time spent with the local indigenous people’s animals and learn much about animal welfare and give your so needed time to the dogs, cats and horses while they aspire to long term adoption.

The work also involves Outreach trips to local underprivileged areas as well as lots of hands on with resident rescues. This can be challenging because previously traumatised animals need patience and understanding. Build up your muscles too with a few barrow loads of manure to shift after the horses are turned out! Here everyday you’ll have the chance to do visible good and make a difference for the better every day. Good to know too that most volunteers return and talk of the experiences they gather at LIFE as up there with their lifetime greatest personal achievements in many ways!

Please message if you're interested and tell us about your experience with animals, your age and your level of fitness to put in some serious hours of work while having fun too.

Transport to Bulgaria not covered but some expenditure’s can be…Campervans are welcome too.

LIFE - Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe needs volunteers to help with our rescued dogs, horses and cats as soon as possible.

We look forward to hearing from you, please use the contact form to get in touch.

Thank you

Linda

Team LIFE

Accommodation options when you volunteer

Our nearest big town, Sliven, is around a 25 minute drive away. There are a range of accommodation options there, including Airbnb properties, as well as a selection of hotels, guest houses and apartments. Having your own transport is ideal as links between the Sliven and our site are infrequent. However Sliven does have a train station and it might be possible to travel from there to our local train station (about a ten minute trip) and arrange for one of our team to come and meet you.

There is also a more local accommodation available at times, so in any case, the first step is to get in touch to discuss options. We do have a caravan and a shepherds hut which are available to host volunteers but the conditions are very basic and may not suit everyone!

There are few options if you have transport and prefer a hotel or guest house during your stay. Airbnb, Rooms.bg and Booking.com

If you feel you would like to volunteer please contact us for further details.

Some quotes and stories from our volunteers...

Volunteer Gareth

Gareth, from England, spent a month at LIFE this summer 2025. He fabulously gave us his carpentry skills and most admirably of all passed on needed carpentry skills to some of our local Roma workforce.

A day in the life of a volunteer at LIFE

Having been a volunteer at Lucy's twice, still a part of me wants to return immediatly after I left. I never seem to be done learning, feeling, growing from the experience whilst giving the best of me to try and improve the lifes of all those little animal souls that need us so badly.

Horse volunteers Linda and Alex

"This trip of a lifetime started when sitting outside one hot Spanish evening listening to a clip of Lucy Irvine Radio 4 - Robinson Crusoe.. Alex my son came outside listened too and when I said I'd like to go there, where is it, Bulgaria, where? I'll come along, road trip, he's an HGV driver and driven horses nearby so we agreed yes, we'll drive..... This was to be a new adventure, I've had years of Pony Club Volunteering but we've never actually volunteered before!

Volunteers Dee and Andy

"We have been following Lucy's work for a while. After raising money for her by selling homemade biscuits, we wanted to give it to her in person so decided to do a weeks volunteering as it would give us an insight into Lucy's life and what she has accomplished so selflessly and of course we wanted to meet the animals we see on her Facebook page.

Our volunteer from Austria

"To be honest: I was quite nervous before my arrival at L.I.F.E. I didn’t know what was laying ahead of me. I didn’t know Lucy, I didn’t know the facilities and I didn’t know the animals. Additionally, I was going to spend Christmas and New Year’s in a different country, far away from my family and friends.

"If you love animals, you'll enjoy making new canine friends at LIFE. The only trouble is there are more than 40 of them, and they all need exercise, so the more volunteers - or the more time one has to volunteer - the better. Unfortunately mine was limited, but there are few things more rewarding than making these animals happy."

Christian

"Volunteering for Lucy at LIFE changed MY life.

The Bulgarian countryside is the beautiful setting for the important work undertaken by Lucy Irvine and her team. Over the course of the week, I undertook varied tasks including; dog walking, puppy socialising, administering treatments and medication, nursing tiny kittens, outreach work in the Roma ghettos and trips into the town for vet and food runs.

The experience I gained at LIFE, enabled me to pursue a career change. I now have my dream job, working at an animal rescue in the UK. Through LIFE, I’ve made friends for life in Bulgaria and plan to return asap 🙂"

Amy

‘’I had worked abroad before, for charities, as veterinary nurse, and knew the work might not always be pleasant, and could be both challenging and fulfilling, as it proved to be.

…I did basic health checks on the dogs and cats at the haven, helping Lucy decide who needed to go to the vet. Plus, I carried out treatments and gave prescribed medications.

...During Outreach work, I helped with preventative health care, such as deworming and de-fleaing animals. I was privileged also to visit the Bulgarian vet practice Lucy uses most. They recognised me as a vet nurse and were sympathetic to and supportive of Lucy’s work.

Yes, there were frustrations and dark moments, as animal welfare in Bulgaria is generally so far behind the UK, but it was so rewarding as a nurse to be able to help animals in real need, both practically and via giving advice.

To any nurse thinking of volunteering, go with an open mind, be flexible and adaptable and you will have a unique and valuable experience."

Anne-Marie

"We went round and said hello to the dogs cleaned, fed and watered them. I took them 2 at a time for walks in the beautiful countryside The dogs truly amazed me because even though they come from awful backgrounds, not one of them was threatening, it was all tails wagging. All they wanted was a kind hand and love. We took them to a vet if needed. Emotionally, seeing the state some of the dogs arrived in, I felt a deep sadness and shame that humans could be so cruel but then I felt joy the dogs are safe at the haven. It was a beautiful experience."

Gelly

"I did a stint with Lucy in 2017 and would recommend it to anyone.I really found the whole experience incredible. Walking the dogs was a pleasure - sitting with a traumatised animal was amazing - helping the dogs, in just a very small way, was incredibly rewarding.

My most memorable experience was this. Lucy and I went to the ghetto to meet a very poor family and help their horse. On the way back we came across a thin dog whose whole body jerked with uncontrollable movements. Lucy explained that this was most likely the result of the dog once having Distemper. That dog was in a bad state. It was Fate that I noticed her. Her name is Butter and she is now in Lucy`s care and doing very well.“

Paul

“We spent a wonderful few hours with Lucy in her horse and cart, visiting cases in need and sponsored animals, to check on their welfare and hand out food. Then we tried to socialise some of the rescued dogs at Lucy’s, and brush out their matted hair. I think we did a decent job, the nicer they got the messier we did, so we must have been doing something right!

Since our visit, we have both taken in Bulgarian dogs from the haven and we couldn’t be happier!"

Laura and Sarah

If you cannot visit, another voluntary but essential job you may be able to help with, is raising much needed funds. Could you organise a raffle, hold a coffee morning or run a marathon? Please visit our fundraising page to find out more.

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