How to volunteer in America

It's convenient to find volunteer service opportunities in America. Online volunteer recruitment platform, volunteer matching and idealist, publishing recruitment information from all over the country, you only need to register for free to view the information or search online. In addition, many social work organizations have special websites, just click on the volunteer link on the home page. That's how I found the volunteer opportunity in the center. Someone asked me how to know which social work agencies are there in the local area, especially in a place where volunteer recruitment information is underdeveloped and not connected to the Internet. I have tried to pay attention to the recruitment information of social workers, and naturally I know some local social work organizations. In addition, my graduate student's internship tutor once suggested that I make a resource book to collect information from social work institutions. The contents of the manual are gradually accumulated in the course of class and internship. The original intention is to help me serve the case owner faster and better, but it also provides clues for me to find volunteer service opportunities. According to other social worker interns, American professors often use resource manuals as course assignments.

Volunteer selection:

Volunteers are recruited only to find those who are willing to pay for it, while volunteers are selected to find people with appropriate skills, motivation and passion to match the needs of institutions. The selection process of volunteers who come into direct contact with children in the center is complicated and strict, and it takes a month or even months to complete all the required contents. If any link fails to meet the standard or is not completed, it is impossible to formally become a volunteer and finally obtain the service qualification.

The first step is to apply for a thesis.

Eight parts, up to 12 pages. (1) List of volunteer opportunities: the time required for volunteers and the principle requirements of the organization for volunteers (for example, the minimum age limit for volunteers is 16). (2) Formal application form: name, age, contact information, education, work experience, hobbies, service interests, etc. It is worth mentioning that most forms in the United States include emergency contact columns to get in touch with the family or friends of the parties in time when something happens. (3) Self-report of no criminal history: Answer a series of true and false questions such as whether there is a crime or not, signed by notary Xu. (4) The applicant signs and agrees that the institution will conduct a background check on him: social security number or fingerprint is required. According to the regulations of the child protection department of the United States government, employees and volunteers who apply for direct contact with children must pass background checks. 5) Two referees: non-family members are required. (6) 18 The following applicant's parents or guardians signed the consent form. (7) Student volunteer internship contract: The center stipulates that students can only get internship certificates after volunteering for at least 40 hours. (eight) the contents and requirements of voluntary service.

The second step, positioning (before the introduction meeting)

There are only two opportunities for briefings every month, Monday night and Wednesday morning. The one-hour meeting is the first meeting between the director of the volunteer department (hereinafter referred to as the director) and the new applicant. The director has a bachelor's degree in social work, and the deputy director is engaged in helping. The director first released a short film introducing the center, with words, photos and speeches of children who lived in the center in the past and now, expressing their feelings about living here and their gratitude and nostalgia for the staff and volunteers, which was quite touching. The director then introduced the history and present situation of the organization, and reiterated several important requirements of the organization for volunteers written in the application form. After the meeting, everyone submitted a paper application form and chose the interview time.

Step three, one-on-one interview

The interview will be held in the director's office for half an hour to an hour. The director asked a lot of questions, took notes while listening, and finally gave me a chance to ask questions. Questions include self-introduction, why you want to volunteer in the center, what kind of service you want to do most, whether you have been abused, when you plan to serve in the future, whether you can guarantee the minimum years of volunteer service required by the organization and how to guarantee it, and how to balance volunteer service with other things. The director is amiable and has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, but I believe these questions are the key for the director to judge whether to accept new volunteers.

The fourth step, special training

There is only one opportunity for special training every month, from 9: 00 a.m. to 12 on a Saturday, for three hours. The director gave an oral explanation with slides and distributed a self-made training manual. The front page is full of famous sayings and proverbs about children. The inner page includes the correspondence of children at different ages and performances, the slow development performance, the details of the services provided by the organization for children, the timetable of children's life in the organization, the process of voluntary service, how to ensure the safety and health of both parties, how to deal with crisis events, the specific provisions of different units and rooms, how to communicate with children, and the embodiment of the importance of volunteers to children. The last page summarizes and affirms the importance of volunteers. The training covers all the contents of the manual, including question-and-answer sessions, role-playing, skill exercises and group activities, in addition to the director's explanation. Lunch is not included in the training, but mineral water and biscuits are provided.

In short, the application process is complicated and long, which tests patience. Repeated meetings take up a lot of applicants' time, including working days, evenings and even weekends. In my opinion, this is a natural screening process. People who are too busy and have a bad schedule often give up halfway in the early application process and are naturally eliminated. Therefore, most of the volunteers who are finally admitted to the center have achieved the promised service of two hours a week plus one year, and the reason for leaving is often forced by reality, such as moving.

There are two kinds of international volunteers in China society, one is recruited through official channels, and the other is the activities organized by commercial organizations or other non-profit organizations. The most essential difference between these two types is that one needs to pay its own expenses completely, and the other is borne by the institution in full, or the institution bears part of the expenses. The former has limited recruitment places and is a senior talent with professional skills in the professional field. Of course, there are also volunteers who carry out various commercial industries, all of which are paid by organizations. What I need to say is the latter, a volunteer project that requires individuals to pay their own expenses. This kind of project has no special requirements for the applicant's requirements, conditions, work experience and education. As long as there are no language problems (mostly English) and a certain fee is prepared, you can participate in volunteer projects in various countries without special requirements. In my opinion, this kind of volunteer project is more of a cultural experience and a social practice. According to the activities arranged by the organizers, you can learn some relevant cultural knowledge and meet some like-minded international friends. Of course, you can also take this volunteer project as a trip, a deep trip, or a gap year trip, and participate in local volunteer projects to realize your gap year. There are also some volunteer projects in between, by working for accommodation, language or a small amount of compensation. This kind of teaching is mainly in the professional field, especially in the education industry. For example, the number of volunteers who teach Chinese as a foreign language is the largest.

All applicants for international volunteer programs need to decide what kind of volunteer programs they want to participate in according to their abilities or purposes. If you are very professional, you need to contact a professional volunteer organization, such as vso. If you want to focus on social practice such as cultural experience and some volunteer services, you can contact Jun International Volunteers Association. We suggest that you should be rational when choosing volunteer projects or organizations, especially those who participate in the latter. Many people think like this: why pay for it yourself? To understand this question, you have to ask yourself, what do you want?

A true international volunteer needs to pay a lot of time, energy and money, not just blood. We suggest that young people take part in a volunteer project, of course, a social experience project, which is easier or more realistic. First, simply understand the volunteer program, understand whether the cultures of different regions and countries can be accepted by you, and understand their real needs.