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JANUARY 2010 NEWSLETTER
January is always our busiest time of the year as we find potential applicants begin to fix their mind on the New Year ahead. As a result we are inundated with enquiries for further information - the trend is like right the way through to Easter when things do start to slow down as exam season approaches. It's the same every year and 2010 is no exception.
Together with the increase in traffic asking for information we are sending people away as well. By this time everyone is briefed and ready for their adventure.
This year we sent people to South Africa, Kenya, India, New Zealand and Argentina - I'm getting to know London Heathrow very well as I bid fond farewells to each and everyone!
As you will read later in this newsletter everyone is having fun and enjoying their first few weeks...
GERMANY
Joanne Jeffs contacted Changing Worlds at the beginning of this month to ask us if we could help. A leading GAP year organisation had been providing their school with volunteers from the UK and Australia over the last few years. The model had worked well for the school - unfortunately however, through no fault of the school, the organisation stopped sending volunteers. Could we help?
Whilst we can never promise anything we have now started to look for volunteers for her school. The school is a special needs school near the town of Heidelberg in South West Germany - not an area of the World that I am too familiar with.
Joanne explained that the volunteers will be supporting local staff in the school to work with the children and adults in its care. We think it is a cause worth helping.
To find out more about the school and our volunteer programme then do look at our website at:
BRENDA
Changing Worlds is delighted to introduce Brenda to our growing number of representatives around the World.
Brenda lives and works in Gansbaai in South Africa and will be supporting all our volunteers going to the Marine Conservation Project.
See: http://www.changingworlds.co.uk/Content/Destinations/SouthAfrica/WhatWillIDoResearch.aspx for further details.
Brenda is the public relations and office manager for the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, a project closely linked and supported by visitors to Marine Dynamics and Dyer Island Cruises.
Originally from Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Brenda moved to Cape Town in 2004 and lived in a special place called Smitswinkel Bay, next to Cape Point, for a year.
Living on solar power and spring water out of the mountain, she got fit walking the 1,5kms to her car a few times a week for supplies. A life of living on the beach nurtured her love and respect for nature.
After leaving this paradise, 3 months were spent on the road touring Southern and East Africa going as far as Uganda and Rwanda with the privilege of seeing the gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Park as well as time in the Serengeti plains.
Coming back to a life in Cape Town city was energizing yet the corporate world was no longer for her and the opportunity to work in conservation led to her moving to Gansbaai in 2009.
In her spare time, she is also a freelance journalist and loves hiking, photography, reading and staying fit.
More on the work of the Trust can be viewed at www.dict.org.za
Brenda is really looking forward to her new role as part of the Changing Worlds team. We welcome her on board!
FUNDRAISING
We are always being asked for fund raising advice and we are alwys pleased to provide a fund raising pack of information to those who wish to take a placement with us.
Fundraising is tough and there are some do's and don'ts that we have learned along the way.
Sergio Gallego-Schmid, who did not go away with Changing Worlds has very kindly written some useful advice that we think is extremely useful.
Sergio writes:
Let me start by saying that, no matter how daunting the prospect of fundraising might seem, once you get started it gets easier and easier, to the point where you'll really enjoy doing it. Once it is all over, you will look back and consider this stage an integral part of your volunteering project.
My partner and I are originally from Spain, where the concept of individuals fundraising for their own cause/charity is virtually non-existent. So you can imagine how we faced the prospect of "having to ask for money". Even so more considering we were only two and a half months away from starting our stay in Cambodia, and both of us worked full time. "But, hey, even if it is a few quid, it'll help" we thought. In the end, out of our £5.400 target we managed, in 2 months, to raise... over £7.600!! Never in our wildest dreams could we've dreamt such a response...
How did we do it?
Let me start from the basics. After attending a fundraising workshop and reading a couple of books on the subject, my absolute top two tips would be the following:
Taking into account these premises, what follows is a set of more or less random thoughts and ideas for fundraising based on our experience.
1) THE BLOG.
First thing, set up a blog, you don't need any specific web design knowledge for this (I started from scratch, didn't actually have a clue of what a blog was before giving it a go). However, it pays to spend sometime thinking of the layout and the information you want to include, and to experiment with different add-ons and widgets (a portable chunk of code that can be copy-pasted and executed by you, the end user). It took me a good three weeks before I was happy with the result. Once this is done, the blog is a very easy way of conveying your message, it can become quite interactive and adding/removing information is relatively simple.
The blog serves 3 purposes:
• Before leaving, it helps raising awareness and supports your fundraising efforts.
• During the project, it allows you to stay in touch with friends, family & sponsors back at home, hence also showing that you are delivering on your promises. Keep the blog up-to-date, with a couple of postings a week and lots of pics (internet connectivity in Cambodia was awful, so if we managed, anyone can!) For the photographs, we used links from the blog to picasa web albums. I'd recommend that people take an old laptop with them to their host countries - this way, you can write the postings at your leisure, and leave the laptop to upload them alongside the pics at the cyber-café while you savour the local delicacies!
Picasa web albums: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/
Google Documents: http://docs.google.com/
• When you come back, the information on your blog will help you putting together a presentation with the highlights of your experience. You can then deliver this presentation to friends, family or institutions (Rotary, Lions Club, Round Table, Women's International...) to thank them for their donations/support, and maybe raise further funds.
Tips for your blog
• Think of a catchy name that people can remember and associate with you. In our case, we named it "ESC-APE!!" which stood for "Elena & Sergio in Cambodia - A Project's Experiences!!" It just so happens that "to escape" is the same word and has the same meaning in English and in Spanish: "to remove oneself from a familiar environment".
• Start populating the blog with a section explaining the who, when, what and how. You can do this as a PowerPoint presentation, upload it through Google Documents and then embed it into the blog.
• We imported a widget to show photographs of ourselves, and another to leave a recorded a voice message- all this helped to make the blog more personal, especially towards people who didn't know us.
• Create a block with links to past and future fundraising events.
• Be clear about the target amount you want raise, what it is for and what will cover. Show your progress: a simple "fundraising thermometer" updated every couple of days is a very visual and effective way of doing this.
• Include a widget that offers the possibility of subscribing to the blog by email or RSS. This way, people will receive one email per day with links to updates / new postings (and only one per day; no postings/ updates, no email)
• We had a "donate directly" through PayPal widget, but I don't think anyone used it. Most people would transfer money directly into our account, or give it to us in cash.
• It helps if you have a friend who can design a nice banner for the blog's main header (the first thing visitors to your blog will see!)
• Include a link to your blog in the signature block of all your email accounts, and your social networks.
For our blog, we used "blogger" (formerly known as "blogspot"):
https://www.blogger.com/start
Blog ESC-APE!!: http://elena-sergio-in-cambodia.blogspot.com/
2) THE EMAIL ACCOUNT.
It helps a lot keeping separate your private email from your "project's" email, especially if you are going to ask professional institutions / business for sponsorship.
Hence open a specific email account for your project - keep it consistent with your blog's name/theme.
3) THE BUSINESS CARDS.
Get some business cards printed, and hand them out to everyone!! I can't stress this enough... EVERYONE!! Include your name, email address, blog address and, if you want, your mobile/phone number.
Keep some of them to hand out in your host country.
You can get 250 business cards for free from VistaPrint (you pay only for postage and processing and any product upgrades you select)
VistaPrint : http://www.vistaprint.co.uk/
4) THE LEAFLETS.
Produce a simple leaflet briefly describing the who, what, how, when. Include your contact and bank details. You can then hand them out at your fundraising events / presentations.
5) FUNDRAISING EVENTS.
• As said above, sit down and brainstorm for half an hour about things you enjoy doing, your hobbies: Sports? Dancing? Walking? Photography? Cinema?... Then try to link them together. "Can I organize a sponsored walk, take some photos and then hire a room somewhere to exhibit them, sell them, have a raffle and maybe a wine tasting event?"
• On your list, don't forget to organize events where people get something in return for their money. It is OK for you to train and run a10km race, but it is much better to have a salsa night.
• Keep up-to-date records of the amounts fundraised (a simple spreadsheet would do) - the more transparent you can be about it, the more people will trust you.
• Use the media! Go to your local newspaper, explain your project, hand them out your business card and your leaflets and ask them to write an article about you.
• You can always have a raffle, anywhere! Go to your local corner-shops, explain your project, hand them out your business card and your leaflets and ask them to contribute with something: a bottle of wine, some cheese, a pair of socks... Tell them you'll be publicising their business in the upcoming article that the local newspaper is going to write about you, and at the raffle itself.
• Talk to people, explain your project, hand them out your business card and your leaflets... (spot a recurring theme here?). You'll be surprised how imaginative people can be, and the amount of useful advice they could give, usually from the most unexpected individuals!. Most of our fundraising ideas where shaped by contributions from others. For example, since we play squash, we thought of organizing a squash competition. When we discussed the idea with the board of our local squash club (after handing them out our business cards and leaflets) they agreed to let us use two courts on a Saturday free of charge. Not only that, but they suggested that rather than a competition, we organized a "24 hr squash marathon": have 2 courts for 12 hours, divide the time into 15min slots, at £2 per slot and person. This way, more players could take part and we wouldn't have to buy prizes!!
5) FUNDRAISING WHEN YOU COME BACK.
As mentioned above, once you are back from your project it might be worth contacting some of the local institutions that sponsored you and ask them if they'd be interested in a presentation about your project at their monthly meeting. This is a nice way of thanking them, as you can show where they contribution has gone.
But you should also target institutions that haven't sponsored you. We, for example, delivered a presentation about our experiences to our local Rotary Club, just with the intention of raising awareness. Two days later we received from them a £500 cheque in the post, which we donated to the NGO we worked for in Cambodia.
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Hope this helps!!
Good luck with your fundraising.
If you have any queries, don't hesitate to ask. I'm only one email away!!
Kind regards,
Sergio Gallego-Schmid
sergio.gallego.schmid@gmail.com
I want to thank Sergio for taking the time to provide us with a wonderful insight in to the World of Fundraising.
For our part we are keen to do our bit - if any one wants a letter of introduction to potential sponsors then we can provide this on our letter head.
We have a number of useful templates that former volunteers have used to create funds - and they have worked! We can supply you with this information.
We can supply images of our placements that have impact to potential donors.
As Sergio says ‘it is a question of ‘perseverance'...let us help where we can.
BURSARIES
Changing Worlds does offer bursaries to those applicants who feel they need financial help.
To find out more do look at this link:
http://www.changingworlds.co.uk/default.aspx?qlink=bursaries
QUOTES
As I said in my introduction this month January is a busy time for departures:
Jon in South Africa writes:
Iv settled very well thank you, the weather has been.....unpredictable but its still warmer that in England! just lots of rain and thunderstorms, which is fine as im teaching in the pool 90% of the time,
ill add some photos i have taken for you,
Lauren in Kenya has got back to say:
heya
ye things are really brilliant over here - everyone is lovely - we all get on really well too
i have to admit i am struggling - just really home sick because i haven't seen mum in so long but everything's going well -we start teaching tomorrow and i cant wait
thanks speak soon
(The first month is always tough with homesickness - we call it the ‘three week syndrome' and I am sure psychologists have a technical name for it. Not something any of us can take lightly believe me! _ I have spoken to Lauren and her Mum since we received this mail and we are monitoring the situation closely!)
The three girls in Masterton, New Zealand write:
We all had a good Christmas thank you and Happy New Year to you.
We are extremely busy as we are off to sales on Sunday! Well Marise is, me and Emily are off on Wednesday.
We are all preparing for our travels, Marise has booked most of hers now and so we are looking for places were we can all meet up. We are intending to all go skydiving in Taupo together, and also meet up with one of the girls we currently work with, who goes to university in Dunedin.
We are all doing really well, and things have just got better and easier at the stud as time has gone on.
Regards
Hayley, Marise, Emily
Kevin on a farm in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand says:
Things are good. I'm being kept busy on the farm. Haven't got out and about Kerikeri much as of yet but hopefully that will change shortly as I can sense that I would start to feel a little trapped and want to get out exploring. Am on a lookout for a car so hopefully with a bit of luck get one shortly.
Think I'm making a good impression with the family - I think your wife met them a year or two ago!
Anyways I'll keep you posted.
Iwan in Kenya says:
Hello David!
thank you for the birthday wishes. Karanja wasn't to special the morning after, I think that was the day he put his t shirt on inside out! everything is great. weather is crazy warm.
(I have been in contact with Karanja - he made no comment on the T-shirt!)
Claire about to start her teaching placement in Kenya writes:
Hello!
Things are going great, been a little bit ill with a temperature a few days ago but im fine now!.. just visited a really nice outdoor pool. And we are all starting to get to know the town really well now.
I am starting work at the school on monday, so am very nervous / excited!
Catch up again soon
Claire
Lyndsey on a horse farm in the Bay of Islands says:
Good to hear from you. Everything here is going great thanks! The season has been really busy, lots of holiday-makers coming for treks. Having long working days and usually in bed by 9pm, absolutely exhausted!
Haven't done any more skydiving just yet but been on some fishing trips (spent in the loo as I apparently don't have sea legs!) and rented some jet skis to explore the islands, great fun.
My dad and little sister are planning on coming over at the end of April for a few weeks to visit so will be taking them around to see the sights. Quite excited about seeing them although I fear that I may not want them to leave when the two weeks are up!
Everything else is going well. Started to plan my travels for when I finish work, hoping to fit in a few all black games along the way.
Say hello to everyone in the office for me, hope the weather has picked up a bit in the UK....still lovely here, shorts and t-shirts every day!
Claire sends her regards and was asking after you.
Thanks again for the email,
Darren came to our most recent interview day and was keen to find out more:
Hi David
Let me just start of by thanking you and your team for a great weekend. I learn't alot about myself this Saturday. I appreciate that you may be busy around 10 o'clock so I thought I would send you an email.
Also due to the fact that I am working this morning I may not be able to call untill later.
I am desperate to know if I have been successfull and that you feel I would be able to bring something to the table.
Again please forward my thanks to all your team, and look forward to hearing from you
Many thanks
Darren
CHRISTMAS PHOTO COMPETITION
Changing Worlds is proud to announce the winner of our Christmas photos competition was Michael Coupar.
We will be contacting Michael via e-mail to confirm what travel guide he would like to select.
Michael answered the question: ‘Where is Claire spending her Christmas?'
See:
http://www.changingworlds.co.uk/Home.aspx?vurl=%2f%2fRoot%2fContent%2fCompetitions%2fCompetitionEnding for further details.
A big thank you to all those who entered our competition - there will be another competition following shortly.
Have a good month!
Regards
David
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