The Salvation Army offers a formula for the most modest households in its holiday center in the Gard. Accommodation is free, provided you lend a hand to the charity, for painting or maintenance of green spaces.
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Patrick, his wife and their three children, from Hauts-de-France, have a holiday budget of 1,200 euros, all inclusive. When the father of the family called the Salvation Army holiday center in Chausse (Gard), in the heart of the Cévennes, a few weeks ago, this is what he was offered: “I call and I come across Antoine, the manager. A lovely person with whom we build the budget according to the number of days we want to stay, the accommodations we want. With in the end, a little bitterness because ‘we are almost a little over the allocated budget. And then Antoine offers us this activity where by having a small contribution to help with the maintenance of the center, we benefit from free accommodation for the period of ten days in the room. We allowed ourselves to have breakfasts all of a sudden.”
Patrick and his family are going to spend ten days in one of the 103 rooms in this large wooded park equipped with a swimming pool and save 800 euros in accommodation. In return, each member of the family will have to give one hour of solidarity work, explains Antoine Meurisse, the director of the Chausse center: “Patrick’s family told us that they were interested in painting, or maintaining green spaces. This is what we will offer them. The idea is not to replace a regular seasonal employee , but to really give us a hand since we remain a social and supportive structure. This allows us to offer the lowest possible prices.”
There are still places available in August, specifies Antoine Meurisse. Whether you are a single person, a family, or a group. If you are interested, you can join the center of the Salvation Army whose coordinates are indicated on this site.