Animal welfare
ADFH Animal Shelter
Located inside the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, this shelters houses hundreds of the capital’s strays.
Open Sun-Thu 8am-3pm; Sat 9am-1pm. Sweihan Road, Al Shamkha, www.abudhabianimalshelter.com (02 575 5155).
Feline Friends
Rescues and rehomes cats and kittens. Volunteers to help run the organisation and short-term fosterers are always welcome. Donations and adopters are greeted with open arms.
www.felinefriendsuae.com (050 582 2916).
Children
Future Centre For Special Needs
Committed to helping children reach their potential through stimulating education and rehabilitation.
Open Sun-Thu 8am-2pm. Mohammed Bin Zayed City, www.future-centre.org (02 553 3506).
Gulf 4 Good
Brings Gulf nationals and expats together for the purpose of raising funds to help orphanages and hospitals.
Open Sun-Thu 9am-6pm. International Humanitarian City, Dubai, www.gulf4good.org (04 368 0222).
Human Appeal International
Currently sponsors over 30,000 children, providing them with education, healthcare and social care through their comprehensive programme.
Open Sun-Thu 8am-1.30pm, 5pm-8pm. Ajman Khalifa Street, www.hai.ae/en (06 747 1777, 800 4599).
Operation Smile
Operation Smile UAE is a fundraising office which is engaging the community to raise funds and awareness of children born with cleft lip and/or cleft palate. The organisation works globally to provide free reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities.
For more info, please visit Operation Smile at www.operationsmile.org.ae Defence Road, Near Gaza Hotel. www.operationsmile.org.ae (050 6176746).
Special Care Centre
Helps children with physical and mental disabilities, relying on volunteers to assist the teachers. Currently looking for people to help with fundraising.
Villa 17, Behind the Union National Bank, Al Markaziyah (02 641 8418).
The Citizens’ Foundation
Promotes mass-scale quality education at primary and secondary levels in Pakistan, and is currently helping more than 40,000 children get the schooling they need.
www.thecitizensfoundation.org (02 602 3656).
Community development
INJAZ-UAE
Member of Junior Achievement Worldwide, INJAZ-UAE works to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy by sending corporate volunteers to classrooms across MENA to train youth in success skills, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
If you want to volunteer or get involved, contact Pierre Atallah, Programme Manager at INJAZ-UAE in Abu Dhabi at atallah@injaz-uae.org (050 657 1151).
Sougha
This is an enterprise development project by Khalifa Fund which is not only reviving the traditional Emirati arts but also helping Emirati women to start their own micro-businesses. Sougha runs a little kiosk at the Central Market Souk, which sells handicrafts that are handmade by local ladies. Next time you’re gift shopping, be sure to drop by, as all profit from sales go directly to the women who produced these fantastic crafts.
Contact Khalifa Fund at sougha@khalifafund.gov.ae (02 696 0000).
Environmental
Emirates Environmental Group
Dedicated to protecting the environment through education and action programmes. Free evening lectures are held monthly, covering issues including climate change and conservation.
Open Sun-Sat 8.30am-5.30pm; Thu 8.30am-1.30pm. www.eeg-uae.org (04 344 8622).
Emirates Natural History Group
Group focusing on the study and appreciation of the natural history of the UAE and the Middle Eastern region.
Meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm. Abu Dhabi Men’s College, www.enhg.net.
Emirates Wildlife Society
In association with the World Wide Fund for Nature, the EWS-WWF raises awareness of local and regional conservation issues.
Open Sun-Thu 9am-5pm. 8th Floor, Chamber of Commerce Tower, Corniche Road, Al Markaziyah, www.panda.org/uae (02 634 7117).
Takatof
Originally designed for young Emiratis, these days anyone can volunteer to help out with Takatof’s school and housing renovation projects, as well as beach clean-ups and hospital work.
Muroor Road, 4th Street, Al Nahyan, www.takatof.ae/english (02 698 8600, 800 825 2863).
Fundraising & volunteering
Médecins Sans Frontières
A private, non-profit humanitarian organisation that aims to provide emergency medical aid to the victims of conflict, epidemics and natural disasters.
Open Sun-Thu 9am-5pm. Behind ADCB Building, Madinat Zayed, www.msfuae.ae (02 631 7645).
Red Crescent Society
Provides sponsorship for orphans, medical and educational assistance and responds to aid appeals.
PO Box 3324, Abu Dhabi, www.rcuae.ae (02 641 9111).
The Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable & Humanitarian Foundation
The foundation provides humanitarian relief to areas that have suffered natural disasters, but also funds the restoration and building of mosques all over the world, as well as education projects.
Al Madina Al Riyadiya, www.zayedfoundation.com (02 681 4700).
United Nations Development Programme
The UN’s global development network with the goal of helping people build a better lives.
Open Sun-Thu 8am-3pm. Plot 26, Villa 12, East 19/2, Al Nahyan Camp, www.undp.org.ae (02 446 7600).
Volunteer in Abu Dhabi
A Facebook-based group of selfless do-gooders, who use the web to recruit people to help out around the city. Also raises funds to help the victims of overseas disasters.
www.volunteerinabudhabi.com (04 452 1106).
Online groups
Abu Dhabi Cause Connect
Social media-based community group who put out shouts about upcoming charity events, green initiatives and more. Those keen to volunteer should give them a follow right away.
twitter.com/ADCauseConnect, facebook.com/AbuDhabiCauseConnect.
Abu Dhabi Woman
An online forum that’s become one of the most active and popular in the capital. Holds regular member meetings and has plenty of interesting conversation.
Membership is free. www.abudhabiwoman.com.
Support groups
All 4 Down’s Syndrome
A support group for parents of children with Down’s syndrome. They also aim to raise awareness of Down’s in the city and meet on the last Wednesday of every month.
www.all4downsyndrome.com (050 880 9228).
Bosom Buddies
An Abu Dhabi-based cancer support group founded breast cancer survivors. They offer support to patients and work towards raising public awareness of breast cancer.
Gehan Wheeler (050 662 4716) or Melanie Gobert (050 668 7815).
Ewa’a
A shelter and support group set up to help women and children who have fallen victim to human trafficking. Needless to say, all cases are treated with the strictest confidentiality.
24 Hours. www.shwc.ae (02 558 4812, 800 7283).
OCD Support Group
Support group for sufferers of obsessive compulsive disorder, who hold meetings every first and third Monday of the month. Family and friends also welcome.
American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology, Al Khalidiyah, www.americancenteruae.com (02 666 4866).
Parent ADHD Support Group
A group for parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, with meetings held every second and fourth Monday of the month.
American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology, Al Khalidiyah, www.americancenteruae.com (02 666 4866).
