TELL THE WORLD

TELL YOUR STORY WITH ALL YOUR HEART

  • Don’t let financial barriers keep you from participating in such a meaningful adventure
  • Connect with your network and ask for support regularly
  • Share your motivations with your friends and family and the details of the project 
  • Every little helps and past volunteers who have smashed their targets

 

Volunteering abroad or a career break is a fantastic way to travel and see the world while using your skills and time to help a community in need. It can also be a source of personal transformation while providing positive benefits to a community.

How to write your story

Connect the reader to the project you are volunteering with by making it relevant and timely. 

Tell the reader a little about the children’s lives you hope to be a part of. Share with the readers and your network the reasons you want to go and how you hope this experience will shape you and your future. 

Indicate the need of international volunteering, explain and be honest about the costs and how this helps the organisation you are volunteering with. Have a look here for setting a budget and target amount. 

Explain why you have chosen the particular Vocational Impact placement, how it speaks to you, what you are hoping to achieve. Explain the overall costs and how these help the communities you are serving with the donation fees and the international development goals. 

Tell your audience about the problems facing the communities you will be a part of, illustrate how you will spend your time. 

The more emotive, the more engaging your story will be. Think about the sentence: “I will care for kids,” versus the sentence, “I will care for young vulnerable children in a local village games, play and love.”

Write about what your Plans, your motivations and the support you need

Creating your own website or blog is the ideal way to share photos and stories of your experiences, it also becomes a useful reference for many years to come, and holds the smaller details of your trip that you might forget over the years. Many of our volunteers have used their blog or diary . Use your blog section to tell the full story of your volunteer abroad trip and keep everyone updated on progress.

A blog or website lets everyone who supports you financially take part in your adventures and could motivate others to donate.

Online fundraising platforms all allow hopeful volunteers the ability to create unique campaigns. Supporters can donate easily, receive thank you messages and exciting updates and view progress. Be aware that these sites can charge up to 7% fees if using online donation platforms. 

Be sure to use other social media channels as well like Facebook and Instagram to remind people about your campaign. 

Local newspapers and online communities are a great way to gain momentum for your project. Engage with any groups that you are a part of, gyms, sports clubs, hobbies. 

Why have you decided to engage in this form of meaningful travel and what will donations contribute to?

People respond to stories, so make sure yours is engaging, which is likely pretty easy considering you are hoping to volunteer internationally. It’s equally important to communicate in your fundraising campaign description.

The more enthusiastic you are about your trip the more likely it is to get others excited.

Encourage your network to support you with your fundraising, organise events together, bake or sign up to organised events. 

We will send you examples of fundraising pages, and background info and imagery you can use in your fundraising efforts after you commit to a project and know which placement you will complete.

Fundraising Timeline

Creating a campaign is often about how much energy you put into it. It’s true what they say, you get out what you put in. If you put out a message at the start, then nothing for weeks, then post something, this will NOT work. You will need to be regularly communicating with your audience, sharing the message and your drive as often as you can. Holding an event will allow you to create your own deadline, and give people something to work towards. Simply setting up an online fundraising page, and sharing this twice on your Facebook will not be enough. 

Think about the different networks you have. You might have your university or office to start engaging with. Your family and friends, who might not all be on social media, then you might need to also send out emails, and even make phone calls. If you can link in with an event, like an organised 10km or Tough Mudder type challenge, then this gives people a focus. 

You will need to remind people of your goal, and often. People are busy, and things slip people’s minds all the time. You need to see your efforts as gentle reminders and remain in people’s minds. It might be something you are thinking about often, but everyone is juggling many things, so ensure your project is kept in people’s minds as often as you can.

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