LIFESTYLE GAP YEAR CHARITY
wow
The of gap year giving
Working for a charity in your gap year offers valuable life experience and impresses employers and universities alike. Sara McDonnell explains how to get the WoW factor.
Above An i-to-i volunteer working with communities in Sri Lanka
have charitable status and offer the chance to volunteer, either in the UK or abroad. Projects vary from teaching to conservation to health care, and all provide volunteers with an opportunity to widen their horizons and gain useful experience when it comes to applying to university or beginning their career. “Carefully selected volunteer placements can be highly
W
RECOMMENDED VOLUNTEERING ORGANISATIONS
Compiled with thanks to John Vessey, director of
GapEnterprise.co.uk
Azafady works with over 80 communities in Madagascar and is a registered charity in England and Wales, partnered to a Malagasy NGO. Its Pioneer
effective in giving young people the WoW factor – experience of the ‘world of work’,” says John Vessey of Gap Enterprise. However, volunteering can offer more than regular work experience. “A volunteering role gives you the opportunity to get experience which you wouldn’t be able to get in any other way,” says John Maxwell, recruitment and welcome service manager at Community Service Volunteers (CSV). So which organisations should gappers consider
volunteering with? For those happy to stay within these shores, CSV has matched volunteers with worthy causes in the UK
Madagascar programme is designed as a 10- week scheme, although shorter periods (from five weeks) may be available. Volunteers are asked to raise a minimum donation of £2,000.
www.madagascar.co.uk
Community Service Volunteers (CSV) is a
full-time volunteering option which usually entails four months to
hile many see a gap year as a chance to explore the world, there are opportunities for it to be much more than just a holiday. Plenty of gap year organisations
for more than 50 years. The majority of its placements are within the areas of health and social care, from supporting someone with a disability to mentoring young offenders. The work is often challenging. “Certain roles require a slightly older volunteer but it depends on the project and the role,” says Maxwell. “Ultimately, it comes down to how mature the person is. That is where we make an assessment in an interview. It’s not a job interview, it’s just finding out what the right project is so that we can make a good match.” Outside of the UK, the opportunities to volunteer
abroad are well catered for by organisations that combine volunteering with international travel. Raleigh, Project Trust, i-to-i and VSO to name but a few (although it’s worth noting that VSO looks for those with professional experience and so is less suited to school leavers). Prince William’s work with Raleigh in Chile and Prince
Harry’s work with special needs children in Lesotho during their gap years enhanced the profile of overseas volunteering possibilities, raising the bar of what a gap year could entail. Raleigh volunteers join 10-week expeditions to build elephant trenches in India or work on community and
a year away away from home. Volunteers get free meals, accommodation, some travel expenses and a weekly allowance. Costs vary.
www.csv.org.
uk/volunteering/full-time
Lattitude Global Volunteering offers
a variety of volunteer placements in the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, South
America and Canada. Fees range from £1,750 up to £2,400. There are bursaries available.
www.lattitude.org.uk
Project Trust sends
approximately 200 volunteers each year to 24 countries around the world for the opportunity to live, work and travel. Participants need to fundraise £4,660.
www.projecttrust.org.uk
Raleigh sends
approximately 700 volunteers around the world, most of whom take part in the 10- week expedition. This costs £3,995. www.
raleighinternational.org
Other volunteering organisations: in brief
Africa and Asia Venture
offers mainly teaching projects in Africa,
70 FIRST ELEVEN SUMMER 2010
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