Donate 3 hours of your time for a united Ericeira
3horas is a platform where foreign (and Portuguese) citizens of Ericeira can donate 3 hours of their time to help local social and sustainable initiatives. By sharing your skills, knowledge and time you can help local initiatives to thrive, and bridge the gap between foreigners and the local community.

How you can help this week
Our projects this month
Our projects
Let's connect with the local elderly
We are thrilled to announce that we are launching some wonderful volunteering projects with the local elderly home, Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Ericeira! You can help with their weekly exercises, help serve lunch or dinner or just come and pay them a well earned visit Getting involved is super easy! Just sign up for the project you’d like to help with, and on the day of your activity, head over to the elderly home and let them know your name at the entrance. They’ll guide you on where to go from there.
Let’s make soup for homeless people
We're excited to team up with the Ericeira initiative Amigos do Coração to help homeless people in Lisbon. Every Wednesday afternoon, a small group of our volunteers will come together near Ericeira to make delicious soup for about 100 people in need. Every Wednesday from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM we assemble a group of 4/5 people, cook up some hearty soup and prepare 100 containers to deliver to Amigos do Coração headquarters.

Let's help families in need with FAROL
FAROL is a beautiful volunteer project helping local families in need, of which there are way more than you might think. Founded by the parishes of Ericeira and Carvoeira, they provide daily food distribution, hospital transport, tutoring, legal support, and even help people find jobs and homes. You can help them preparing the daily care boxes for the families, help out at their stand at supermarket Intermarché or help collect food from shops, restaurants and even schools in Ericeira.

Let’s give isolated people a great experience
Pedalar Sem Idade (Cycle without Age) is a nationwide initiative where old people and people with reduced mobility can enjoy a bike ride in a Trishaw: a special adapted bicycle with a comfy couch. They just opened in Mafra and are desperately looking for volunteers. As a volunteer, you’ll pick up a passenger from their home or a meeting point and take them for a ride of about an hour around the city, maybe even to a place full of memories.

Let's help shelter dogs with Ericeira Paws
Ericeira Paws is a dedicated group of volunteers working to improve the lives of the dogs and cats from the Mafra animal shelter. They are giving love and care to around 40 dogs and 10 cats who are living in stressful, caged environments. You can help them by walking the dogs, fostering a dog for a limited time, help them to organise fundraisers and create content for their social media.

Let's clean the beaches with Movimento ALP
We are excited to start our first collaboration with Movimento Ajude a Limpar a Praia. They organize beach clean-ups and teach environmental care in Ericiera. You can help them in various ways.
Join our mailinglist
Frequently asked questions
Local initiative needing help?
Are you a social or sustainable initiative from Ericeira or the Lisbon area and do you need a specific skill or help for free? Contact me and we'll get you in touch with our foreign citizens.
Hi there!
My name is Matthijs, and I’ve been living in Ericeira for two years now with my wife and our 13-year-old son. Even in this short time, I’ve noticed the impact of the growing number of foreigners moving here.
That’s why, together with a group of like-minded people, I created 3horas—to give foreigners an easy way to contribute to the community they live in and help them become a meaningful part of Ericeira.
My background is in advertising for sustainable brands, and I also run The Happy Activist, a Dutch-based platform where I share daily videos of inspiring grassroots sustainability initiatives.
Looking forward to making a difference together!
Our partners









