Adult Spanish immersion and volunteering in Spain.

I’m sorry I can’t help specifically with volunteering opportunities in Spain. However, Global Volunteers is an organization that recently celebrated its 40th anniversary of sending thousands of short-term volunteers all over the world. They currently send teams to several Spanish-speaking locations - Peru, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Texas (at the border). They also have a long-standing program in Portugal - obviously not Spanish-speaking, but maybe you could combine a volunteer experience there with time in Spain.

I have served on 17 Global Volunteers teams in 10 countries. I will soon embark on another experience, this time in Malaysia. I very much enjoy a less touristy, more immersive travel experience. We meet and work with local people who are NOT employed in the tourism industry, often getting invited into homes or to local events. We hope to contribute just a bit towards peace as we create intercultural friendship and understanding.

I see that you live near me. If you’d like, I would be happy to discuss this further. Send me a PM. Here’s their website: https://globalvolunteers.org/

Hi, kris, your best bet is probably one of the many volunteer organizations that sponsor travel to various countries for travelers who wish to volunteer. There are quite a few, I believe, although I'm not familiar with any of them, so you may need to do some digging. Here is one organization that sponsors volunteer trips to Spain: https://www.volunteerhq.org/destinations/spain/

There is also Volunteer Match, which is a reputable organization that has been around for a long time. You might find something there: https://www.volunteermatch.org/

One other option might be to teach English as a foreign language (TEFL). My daughter and her husband did that about 18 years ago in Spain through ESL, spent a year there, and loved it. They were based in Valladolid, but had the opportunity to travel all over the country. I also know a couple who retired as teachers and now spend their retirement doing TEFL in various countries.

Good luck with your search! It sounds wonderful.

ETA: Ha, I think it's funny that all three of us live in Minnesota!

Hello, fellow Minnesotans. Thank you for your recommendations. Once I'm further in the planning process, I will reach out if I have any questions.

My apologies, I might not be very helpful this time, but here are some insights that might help you understand your options:

• Spain has several official languages depending on the area you visit. If your goal is to immerse yourself in Spanish, choosing an area where Spanish is the only official language might be best. In regions like Catalonia or the Basque Country, with several official languages, Spanish may not be the main language for a large chunk of locals, and therefore it's not their day-to-day language either. While you can still use Spanish, you'll find that responses are not necessarily in Spanish, which is normal and accepted -as these languages are all learnt at school. This practice respects everyone's preferred language choice, as all official languages are equally recognized in their regions per the Spanish Constitution. Note that visiting for a week is different from residing there for longer periods; as for a tourist who visits for a week and who might only speak Spanish, people may generally switch to Spanish (or English) to help you. However, if you plan to stay longer and want to integrate, you'll be expected to adapt (if you want to mingle, that is!).
• Volunteering is regulated by each regional government, similar to how states have their own regulations in the U.S. Once you decide on a region, search for volunteer opportunities on the regional government website. For example, in Catalonia, you can find information at https://connectat.voluntariat.gencat.cat/propostes However, considering your goal stated earlier, Catalonia might not be ideal for your purpose as it'd be more difficult to complete "immerse" in Spanish. But if you're open to learning Catalan, it could be a rewarding experience since Catalan shares many similarities with other Romance languages like French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian.
• Finding volunteering opportunities of all sorts might be challenging as, in certain regions in Spain, it's a long-lived and well-established practice with many available local volunteers. Your short stay might be a disadvantage for ongoing projects. While it's not impossible to find opportunities, be prepared for it to take some effort.

This is old but maybe it will help. There’s another link in the comments but it didn’t look back at it.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/diverbo-volunteering

Texastravelmom - Thank you for the link. I’ll check into that.

Enric - Thank you for the tip. When I was looking at elemetry schools that I could reach out to in Barcelona I did notice the main language was Catalan and figured it probably was not the best region to improve my Spanish. :)

Here is one article that recently appeared in the NYTimes about choosing a volunteer trip that might be helpful as well. No paywall.