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Fundraising Grant Through VGPServ Available
US citizens who have at least three yeares of work experience may be eligible to receive a matching grant for up to $1,000 for international service between now and Dec 30, 2008 through a new program with Volunteers for Prosperity (VFP), an agency of USAID. If you're interested in fundraising a portion of your service program fee and transportation costs, contact us for details on the program. VFPServ is a presidential initiative to promote greater international volunteer service by skilled Americans, and is supported by the GlobalGiving Foundation and the USA Freedom Corps. VFPServ helps address the financial needs of skilled Americans interested in volunteering abroad. During the past year, the VFP Office worked with volunteer organizations to help mobilize 34,000 skilled American volunteers in support of international development projects.
VFPServ grants (ranging from $500 to $1,000) are individual, non-renewable and are designated to offset travel, insurance and local living costs of short-term international volunteer assignments. The volunteer raises half of their volunteering costs from sources other than themselves, and receives a matching grant up to $1,000 from VFPServ. Funding ends on Sept. 30, so time is limited for this grant program. Call now for details: 800-487-1074.
As an approved "sender" for this program, all Global Volunteers international service programs are eligible to volunteers who meet the following criteria:
- United States citizen with at least three years professional work experience
- Educational/professional training relevant to a volunteer assignment abroad
- A demonstrated capacity for volunteering abroad
- A commitment to sharing the volunteer experience within the local community
- A need for financial assistance for the volunteer assignment abroad.
Contact a volunteer coordinator to apply for a service program
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"Green Living" Natural in Host Communities Worldwide.
While North Americans and Europeans are jumping on the "green" bandwagon at home and work, living simply is natural for people in our host communities. Making the most of what they have is routine -- not a choice -- for impoverished families. Yet, living closer to the earth is necessary for all humanity to ensure the long-term health of our planet. What can we learn about eco-friendly practices from local people worldwide?
- Laundry dries well on outside clothes lines, and absorbs nature's freshness
- Door keys operating automatic light and applicance switches ensure energy savings when rooms are vacated
- Dried wild herbs such as sage and sweet grasses make effective room deordorizers
- Fabric scraps, empty plastic soda bottles, used paper rolls make free craft materials
- Outdoor dining reduces the need for indoor lighting and room cooling
- Recycled materials in hand-made gifts is economical and environmentally respectful
What conservation practices have you observed in -- or adoped from -- host communities? Write us and we'll share with readers in future issues.
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New Costa Rica Service Project Provides Special Care
Our first team to work with APAPNEM - Asociacion Pro Ayuda a las Personas con Necesidades Especiales de Monteverde (The Association for People with Special Needs of Monteverde) started a new, exciting service partnership. In working with Global Volunteers, APAPNEM's goals include expanding these facilities for residents with special needs:
1) A recreational and training room with sanitary services; 2) A kitchen and dining room; 3) An indoor heated swimming pool; 4) Vehicles adapted for transporting handicapped persons (as well as many other services for community members with special needs).
APAPNEM also welcomed the Costa Rica Program's first exclusive family team. A ten-member team, representing three generations of the same family, came together (from MN and the UK) for a one week, side-by-side service program with APAPNEM members and supporters. The volunteers and their local partners built tables and benches for the new facility, and thereby came together to celebrate their own families, as well as the human family!
Our second team helped build storage cabinets, and sewed dance costumes for "mature" members of APAPNEM. These dancers will perform locally, to keep the music and dance of Costa Rica alive. Some even hope and dream of competing nationwide, wearing these brightly-colored and expertly-made costumes. This team also visited the homes of senior citizens and people with disabilities to photograph and interview them to gather information about the elderly and disabled populations in the Monteverde area. Learn more about our exciting Costa Rica Program here.
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Waging Peace Through Service: Money Isn't Enough
Americans are a generous people, evidenced by how volunteerism is institutionalized in our society. Organizations such as the Red Cross, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and public television survive exclusively on the generosity of donors, and enrich the lives of thousands of people every year. Largely because of the enormous success of these institutions, we are conditioned to believe that most any problem can be solved with just enough money. And, in many cases, that's nearly the truth. We write our yearly donation check and feel the satisfaction that we've done our part to make the world a better place.
But, we know it's not the whole truth. We often undervalue our personal investment in solving social issues because we see only the enormity of the problems. Our own efforts look feeble compared to what assistance a few thousand dollars can buy. As a wealthy society, we are tempted to define our "financial worth" as our "personal worth."
Global Volunteers believes that our personal efforts, not our dollars, make the difference in the long run. Our founding philosophy emphasizes that to truly enable self-sufficiency, we must demonstrate our confidence in everyone's ability to solve their own problems through the methods they have themselves devised.
Sometimes, team members struggle with their desire to write a check that would instantly improve the lives of children in our host communities. But money can be a dead end. Without our personal investment, we never spend days working alongside people we therefore come to know and respect. Working one-on-one with local people in host communities is a basic tenant of a Global Volunteers program, and through 25 years, is a practice that has yielded tremendous mutual respect and understanding between people of diverse cultures. In sharing ourselves in addition to our dollars, we express our belief that our worth is more than what money can buy. By modeling our volunteerism, we catalyze local volunteer efforts. And we recognize that in offering ourselves, we often receive more than we give.
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"We're links in a long chain of those who have come before
and will follow to help improve the lives of people around the world."
~ Bud Philbrook, Global Volunteers founder and president
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YOUR SUGGESTIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO US
Do you have specific topics you'd like to see in a future issue: Send us your ideas. Since 1984, we've worked alongside local people in every corner of the globe -- laying a foundation for peace through mutual international understanding. In mobilizing thousands of short-term volunteers, we've learned valuable lessons about honoring local customs, methods and perspectives. We hope to share what we've learned with you.
Please e-mail us: linkeditor@glovalvolunteers.org
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(c) Global Volunteers 2008 All content and images inclusive
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