This program is set up to better the lives of the youth in Tanzania by advocating for the rights of the young, create awareness about HIV/AIDS and  also provide vocational training to the children who dropped out of School and for young teen mothers.  A Broader View Volunteers partners
with Youth In Action by supporting their programs, and our volunteers work side by side in their community based projects.

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September 11, 2009
The September 11 expo will be an excellent opportunity to showcase the important work of local non-profit and community organizations and for these groups to recruit volunteers. Our first civic engagement expo was held as part of last January’s Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service. The expo kicked off our MLK365 program to promote sustainable civic engagement and year-round volunteer opportunities.

more info: http://www.globalcitizen.us.com/mediacenter/headlines.asp?id=68

National Constitution Center

October 12, 2009
Do you need community service hours or ideas for your senior project?
Are you looking for activities to strengthen your resume or college transcript?
Have you considered an internship, volunteer position or a part-time job?

If working to improve your community appeals to you, come to Philadelphia’s first community engagement expo! Spend your Columbus Day learning about opportunities for teens at area organizations and businesses.

more info: http://www.penncord.org/events/civic-opportunities-fair-for-students/

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It is a question many volunteer sending agencies in the US are asked time and time again. There is no hard and fast rule, and each potential volunteer should consider it their own responsibility to ask organisations questions such as: where their money goes, whether the organisation is profit or non-profit, whether the host organisation overseas is being charged and how much of the volunteer’s money is actually sent overseas. But in theory it is a relatively simple question to answer. If the volunteer themselves doesn’t pay, then who does?

Many volunteer-sending agencies are run as non-profit organisations, so volunteers can rest assured that money paid to these organisations is not lining anyone’s pocket. However the reality of the situation is this – it costs money to run any organisation and running costs must be covered by someone. Wages, office space, international phone calls, training courses, materials must all be paid for.

Although some organisations rely on external funding to cover such costs and therefore are able to charge a lower fee to an individual volunteer, increasingly organisations are recognising the sustainable benefit of running as a ‘social enterprise’. This means less reliance on funding and instead costs are covered by the organisation generating its own revenue.

So the US volunteer-sending agency charges individuals a fee prior to a volunteer departing the US. In return the agency provides volunteers with an organised and supported volunteering placement overseas. For any professional US agency the service they provide will most probably cover training prior to departure, support throughout the placement as well as (in some cases) the provision of insurance, food and accommodation whilst overseas.

So its not all give, give, give for the volunteer. Although paying for a volunteering experience by no means ‘guarantees’ a successful placement overseas, there are many benefits of working through a US volunteer-sending agency. You are given access to a wealth of advice, experience and support (both logistical and emotional) from those who work in and with the sending agency. Pre-departure preparation is generally an integral part of the service any professional volunteer-sending agency provides – covering important issues such as culture, language, your work environment, accommodation, what to pack, what to do if something goes wrong. Managing everyone’s expectations is also a key part of the service a good volunteer-sending agency provides.

Admittedly, there are a multitude of issues to consider when arranging an international volunteering experience and this article is by no means exhaustive; however do consider this before altogether disregarding a US volunteer-sending agency and trying to go it alone. If you sit and actually work out how much it would cost you in time and money (and peace of mind!) to find an organisation overseas, communicate with them to co-ordinate a role for yourself, phone and email them to develop a strong relationship, set up accommodation, arrange specialist volunteer insurance cover, organise transfers from the airport when you arrive…the list goes on…you might actually be surprised by how little the difference is between travelling to a country on your own and the cost of participating in a programme through a US volunteer-sending agency.

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Australian photographer Paul Allen, his wife, and his sister were driving through the Rift Valley at the time and were told by locals that they’d be able to make it to the border. Over the next day, however, they crashed their Land Rover through several roadblocks manned by armed thugs. “If we knew what we know now, we would have done things differently,” Allen says. “Given the advice we had at the time, we did what we could.” Do your homework

Educate yourself about where you’ll be going. The State Department’s website has information on the security situation in every country, including specific regions to avoid, the dangers you might encounter, and how you will be viewed as an American (travel.state.gov/travel). In addition, read up on the latest news about the country, as this will give you a more comprehensive picture of the place. If you’re going on a tour, make sure your operator has an emergency contingency plan and find out what the company will do to protect you. Some operators hired armed guards to take tourists to the airport during the turmoil in Kenya, and others changed itineraries, at no extra cost, to avoid trouble spots. “Any reputable tour company will go above and beyond to make sure that its travelers are taken care of,” says Sarah Fazendin, head of the Fazendin Portfolio, which represents African tour operators in the U.S.

Consider getting insurance

When traveling to a country where political disturbances are possible, look into buying travel insurance. Companies like AIG Travel Guard (travelguard.com) and Travelex Insurance Services (travelexinsurance.com) have policies that offer partial or full reimbursement of your trip if it’s interrupted or canceled—just make sure that terrorism and political unrest are covered. Both companies will also change your flights for you and arrange to have you transported to the airport in case of an emergency. You can buy insurance directly from the agencies or through a brokerage firm such as Travel Insurance Center, which will help you select a plan from 14 companies—and it doesn’t charge a fee (travelinsurancecenter.com).

Keep your distance

Even if a demonstration looks peaceful, stay far away. In some countries, the police respond to protesters with water cannons, tear gas, and violence. And there’s always the chance that an angry crowd could turn on you simply because you’re a foreigner. The last thing you want to do if dramatic events are unfolding around you is to snap a few photos with your camera. During the clashes between soldiers and Buddhist monks in Myanmar last year, a Japanese journalist who was filming the action with his video camera was shot and killed by police in Yangon.

Don’t bet on an evacuation

U.S. embassies will evacuate tourists only if commercial flights have stopped running, and that usually takes a war or a major terrorist attack. (Tourists were not evacuated during the worst of the strife in Kenya, for instance.) And even if an evacuation is ordered, you shouldn’t expect to leave the country right away. When war between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israel broke out in Lebanon in 2006, the U.S. government didn’t evacuate the first large group of Americans until a full week after the conflict started. “The biggest mistake people make is thinking that the embassy will get them out of the country immediately,” says Robert Young Pelton, author of The World’s Most Dangerous Places. “But the embassy works on its own schedule.” The flight will also cost you—the government bases the amount on the going rate for a commercial plane ticket. Most travel insurance policies cover evacuation flights, but some companies, such as Travelex, will not reimburse you if there was a State Department travel warning for the country when you booked your ticket.

Find a spot to wait

“My advice is just to stay put—it usually takes about a week for these things to blow over,” says Pelton. The best hotel in town is often the safest place to be in a crisis. Major hotels have ample supplies of food and water, and generators in case the power fails. American-brand hotels will also likely be in constant contact with the U.S. Embassy, so you’ll be quickly apprised of changes in the country’s security situation, and you’ll be in a good location if there’s an evacuation. During the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, the airport was shut down after it was bombed, and many tourists holed up at their hotels in Beirut. “Most of them were just sitting on the hotel balcony with a drink,” says Pelton.

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