Why Volunteer
- Giving back to society and making a difference are just two of the reasons why many people volunteer
- You will have the opportunity to lend a hand to our Changemakers who are working to improve the lives of people living in poverty
- Through your daily work and interactions with Changemakers, you’ll gain a better understanding of the culture, as well as the issues that affect that segment of society
- You’ll also learn a lot about yourself, as you take on the challenge of living and working in a completely new environment
- Volunteering experiences mark the beginning of a lifelong commitment to ending poverty and hunger
Why should Changemakers have volunteers support their organisations?
Volunteers come from varied experiences and possess different skillsets. Above all, they come with the expectation of adding value to the society and intend to do so through the Changemaker’s organisation. Changemakers can have volunteers engage with them and fill a gap in their organization and provide an opportunity for many individuals to learn and connect with them. This can be done in various ways;
1. By bringing in volunteers, Changemakers get the opportunity to build the capacity of their organisation beyond what they alone can accomplish. This can be achieved by matching their organisation’s needs with the skills and talents of the volunteers.
2. Changemakers can have volunteers support them in various activities within the organisation (e.g. build a centre, create the training material, engage with the community) or have specific projects for them to accomplish, which leverages their expertise and skills (e.g. marketing plan, legal processes, HR strategy).
3. Volunteers can come from varied areas student community, individuals, entrepreuners and company employees having some or no experience but with a strong intention to give their time or specific experience and expertise for the good of society. Both types of volunteers can support a Changemaker’s organization and further its objectives.
Giving back to society and making a difference are just two of the reasons why many people volunteer.
Guidelines for GAP Changemakers and Volunteers
Program Structure
Volunteers will be assigned to our Changemaker based on the interest area mentioned by both Volunteer and Changemaker.
The alignment will be done by GAP team based on the details mentioned in the volunteer interest form and volunteer request form.
The time period of the volunteering program will be finalized between volunteer and the Changemaker based on the project requirement and availability of the volunteer. This could vary from a period of 3 months to one year as a fulltime or part-time role.
General Guidelines for Volunteers
As a volunteer to the GAP Changemakers, we request you to kindly consider the following points to make the program successful and build a strong relationship that can really support them in their journeys.
- As a volunteer to the Changemakers (CMs), we would appreciate and encourage you to be empathetic to their project and cause they have taken
- Spend time in understanding the project and what kind of support they need
- Build a very cordial relation with the Changemaker and their team.
- Respect the commitment that has been given to the Changemaker in terms of time and work
- Add value to the project based on your skill and experience in the best possible way
- Understand the goals and vision of the Changemaker and give inputs to help them grow through your support
- Maintain a professional and friendly relationship with the Changemaker, and follow the ethos set by the Changemaker for their project
- Maintain the confidentiality of your engagement with the Changemaker as per their guidelines and do not let third parties assess the Changemaker’s progress
- Finally, at GAP, our ethos of Excellence, Connection, Warmth and Empathy pervades all that we do and we would like to encourage you to adopt it wherever possible
General Guidelines for Changemakers
As a Changemaker taking up the volunteering program, we would request you to follow few basic guidelines to be able to get the maximum from your engagement with the Volunteers:
- Welcome the helping hand with gratitude and be committed to your development and volunteers’ development by improving skills and sharing knowledge
- During the engagement, be honest and open about your expectations, goals, challenges and concerns
- Respect your volunteers time and commitment
- Take responsibility for the work detail that you assign to your volunteer
- Prepare in detail which are of work you would like to assign to the volunteer and what is your expectation from the volunteer in the assigned time
- Understand the capacity of the volunteer so that the engagement can be fruitful and enjoyable for both you and the volunteer
- Be supportive and provide environment that is enjoyable for volunteer to work
- Make the engagement very interactive and be open to feedback or suggestions given by the volunteer
- Give feedback to your Volunteer on what is working or not working in the engagement and keep the GAP team informed about the same
- Utilize the experience and skill of the volunteer in the best possible way to grow your project
We would like to thank the Volunteers for taking the time to support GAP Changemakers in their journeys and helping them have a greater impact on our society.
We wish all our Volunteer and Changemakers fruitful associations.
