Gap year volunteering: things you should know

Posted by PAUL HODA on October 1st, 2018

Do I need any qualifications for gap year volunteering?

There are many different volunteering programs and organizations out there so you should always pick the one that best suits your personality and life experience. It’s always better to step out of your comfort zone, however you should always keep a balance between what you want and what you can actually deliver. No one wants to do more harm than actual good and stand in the way of others only because they signed up to a volunteering program that does not fit them at all. In turn, give your attention to volunteering organizations that provide training before the actual work is being done so regardless of your experience, you can learn new things that will help you in your endeavor.

Useful ways to spend your gap year

Many experts agree that before actually giving your time to someone else, you should first give yourself some accommodation time, especially if you are travelling in a totally different culture than you are used to. Once you’ve arrived, make sure that you spend you first couple of weeks trying to accommodate and learn the local ways and cultural habits before actually doing any work. This will help you at an psychological level and will also make you better prepared when giving out some of your time, because you will be able to handle particular situations better than you would have if you weren’t familiarized with the local area.

Secondly, never volunteer only to “kill some time”, instead, always commit to what you sign up to do and give your one hundred percent. Everyone else will be happy that you are committed on helping others in your gap year volunteering and most importantly, you will feel much better inside. The before mentioned includes fitting your schedule in the organization’s time, instead of vice-versa and once you’ve taken up a responsibility, make sure that you are aware of it and try to give your best version of yourself for completing the task at hand.

How much money should I spend?

Whenever choosing to work with an organization, make sure that you compare the projects offered, because more than one time you’ll find similar projects at different price tags. So, before committing to a project from a certain organization, make sure that no other organization offers the same gap year volunteering project at a cheaper price. When looking for agencies, always look for non-profit organization that you know are not in it for the many, so they will most like offer the volunteering project at its true costs, without raising the price tag for making profits. One particular agency that is worth being mentioned is Tru Experience Travel, a gap year volunteering company that offers volunteering projects abroad and that follows pretty much every advice mentioned above.

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PAUL HODA

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PAUL HODA
Joined: May 14th, 2018
Articles Posted: 19

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