Gap Years, Retirement and Volunteering? Where?

English: Looking northeast as volunteers with new push brooms sweep the boardwalk on a sunny midday.
Date	11 November 2012, 12:29:57
Source	Own work
Author	Jim.henderson

Camera location	40° 34′ 23.64″ N, 73° 58′ 43.26″ W	View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap

You might want to help other people.  Or you might want to help clean up your city. 

Why volunteer? Because you are unemployed and want work experience and as a student you want to fill up your c.v. 

As a senior citizen, because  you wish to give back, take up part time work with short hours. 

You can volunteer in many countries for local activities and volunteer to go and be sent abroad. Here are a few organizations and ideas for you. For example

Israel

In the 1960s it was popular for students to go to work on a kibbutz or Ulpan. A kibbutz is more like a boarding school with shared accommodation. Shared eating facilities. Everything is provided. From soup to soap. 

Language

You may be given Hebrew language lessons. Or you might choose or be sent to a place where the first language is English, or another language. 

Time Commitment and Holidays

You had to sign up for a minimum length of time, which could be 6 weeks or 3 months. At the end, you might be given a free tour of Israel, in a bus, staying at youth hostels and other kibbutzim.

Singapore

Volunteers are co-ordinated. Seniors have an association. Helpers are required at vaccination centres and get paid.

UK

You can volunteer to work serving customers in charity shops. 

You can teach English to immigrants. Refunet prioritizes helping and matching students and teachers in the UK because they are on the same time zone and the pupils want to learn a British accent. However, they also accept teachers and pupils in other parts of the world.

USA

Students in the USA are used to working their way through college and earning money by working part time in fast food outlets such as McDonalds. The Americans also have systems for school volunteers to help their own organization and others.

Useful Websites

Israel

https://www.gooverseas.com/volunteer-abroad/israel

Singapore

https://www.volunteer.gov.sg/

UK

https://knowhow.ncvo.org.uk/campaigns

https://www.ncvo.org.uk/ncvo-volunteering/i-want-to-volunteer

https://www.refunet.co.uk/start-teaching

https://mitzvahday.org.uk/

USA

https://go.givecampus.com/schedule-a-volunteer-management-system-demo

https://nytedu.com/gap-year/online/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign

Gap Year adventures and writing programs

https://highdesertcenter.org/

About the Author

Angela Lansbury, is a semi-retired travel writer still researching bucket list countries and seeking out the special, unusual, people, places,  landmarks, hotels, museums and trails, fabulous foods, recipes, clothes and online souvenir shopping.

Angela Lansbury is a member of Toastmasters International.

About the Author Angela Lansbury

The Author - Quick Quotations

Angela Lansbury B A Hons  is the author of ten books by regular publishers plus another ten self-published books. 

About Angela The Speaker & Trainer

Angela Lansbury is a teacher of English and other languages to Toastmasters clubs and businesses.

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Vice President  Public Relations, Immediate Past President. VPPR

Former Area Director S3. Club Coach for Nee Soon South Toastmasters Club.

Also Member of: TCA Toastmasters Club; Singapore Online Dynamic; Harrovians UK

BHA

Past meetings have included Garen Tee on using story telling in business, on 

bha.learncool.sg/meet/bha . 

Recent meetings of BHA included an educational session on using Powerpoint for posters.

Next BHA meetings, always first Wednesday evening, 7 pm Singapore time. Next meeting is  the third Saturday afternoon, June 19th 2pm Singapore time.  Inauguration of the new committee was by the incoming Director of S, plus a lively speech on teamwork.

Next meetings will be on these dates (unless a national holiday in Singapore or worldwide)

Themes and word of the day are tentative

2021

JULY - JUBILANT JULY

Theme/WOD Jubilant

WORKSHOPS & EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS (based on level one of Pathways)

1 Your first speech or role EASY ENGLISH LANGUAGE (Articles A and The, Plurals, Tenses, Pronunciation, Singlish)

2 CHOOSE YOUR PATH

Wed July 7th What Your Committee Can Do For You

Saturday 17th

July 4th American Independence Day.

2021 AUGUST - AWESOME AUGUST

1 Pathway Level 1 Introductory Speeches

2 Evaluations

Wed 4th

Sat 21

2021 SEPT - SUPER SEPTEMBER

Wed 1st

Sat 18th SPEECH CONTESTS

Humorous Speech Contest

Table Topics Contest

2021 OCT - ODD OCTOBER

Wed 6th

Sat 16th

2021 NOV - NOVELTY NOVEMBER

Wed 3rd

Sat 20th Wed

Diwali Hindu Festival of lights Nov 4th.

Nov 25th American Thanksgiving.

Hanukah starts 28 Dec 8 days until Dec 6. Jewish Festival of lights, celebrated by Jesus.

2021 DEC - DARLING DECEMBER

Wed  1st (Hanukah if not previous month. Festival foods.)

Sat 18th

Speech on 

JAN 2022 - JOYFUL JANUARY

Wed Jan 5th New beginning - forget the past

Sat 15 Long-term plans = for the future/Chinese New Year (CNY for short)

2022 FEB FUN FEBRUARY

Theme Love and romance - Chinese New Year

Feb 1st and 2nd are holidays - do we move this Feb 2nd meeting date?)

Wed 2nd (Valentine's Day Mon Feb 14)

Sat 19th

2022 MAR - MARVELLOUS MARCH

Theme

Wed 2nd

Sat 19

March 1st is Christian Pancake day. 

2022 APR - APRIL'S AIMS

Wed 6th

Sat 16th

Muslim Ramadan 1-30 April.

Jewish Passover (Seder meal=Last supper) April

 16

2022 MAY - MODERNISING MAY

Wed 4th

Sat 21

2022 JUN - JUBILANT JUNE

Wed 1st

Sat 18th

Jul 6, Jul 16, Aug 3, Aug 20, Sept 7, Sept 17, Oct 5, Oct 15, Nov 2, Nov 19, Dec 7, Dec 17.

Angela The Blogger 

Angela has several blogs speeches, comedy and song writing and organizing, writing intermittently, but writes almost daily on these three:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

See many varied posts such as the post on sculptor Tom Harvey.

Please share links to your favourite posts. 

Volunteering and Working Abroad: Giving Is Good for You - but face these challenges

5 Ways Giving Is Good for You: Jason Marsh and Jill Suttie offer added incentives to get into the holiday spirit.

Harvard Business school in Boston Massachusetts, USA, found that subjects who thought they would be happier spending money on themselves, rather than helping others, actually gained physical and mental health advantages when they gave.

This finding was reproduced by at least two more studies. If you are young working as a volunteer for no pay or low pay looks good on your cv and makes you appear a generous person. If you are older, you bring experience to the workplace and overcome fears and doubts and homesickness with determination and resilience.

You need to consider:
Do you have qualifications or wish to gain qualifications?
Do you have savings or need board and lodging - and the return airfare.

Are you willing to go overseas and then look for a job once you are there?

You may visas, health insurance, emergency cash. In the short term you need paperwork and medical clearance.

Singapore
In Singapore teaching English with a pass I need to provide my university degree certificate and to take a chest x ray to show I did not have communicable TB.

Once I had these, the school which needed me simply sent me to the employment pass office. The school asked their secretary to type a two line letter. I asked if I could see what it said. Yes. It said: 'This lady is a native English speaker and we have a class of pupils urgently needing a teacher to start today. Please supply the relevant pass. Signed, head teacher ....'

I showed my passport and letter and paperwork. Stamp, stamp, stamp, sign, sign sign. I was back in a taxi and into my first class.

Getting the job was easy.

Challenges
Teaching was more of a challenge. A class ranging in age from 12 to 35! I wanted to teach Advanced. My class was intermediate. This meant we used the Intermediate textbook and anybody who wanted to start this Monday went into my class.

The first lesson I asked them: 'Say what you like about Singapore."
A girl from China admitted, "I am homesick. I hate everything about it!" She burst into tears.

What do do? One of her friends was quicker off the mark than I was. She said, "I'll fetch the head teacher."

The head teacher came rushing down the corridor to fetch the troublemaker. Miss Hysterics was removed by the beaming, reassuring head teacher, for tea and sympathy.

Next day the building lights once went out. I was left conducting a three hour lesson in complete darkness. The interior room had no windows.

One pupil used his phone to read aloud from the book. He looked like a ghost in the corner of the room. Then his phone died.

He decided to go back to work. Most of the class deserted me.

 I told the last three about life in London, answering their questions. The lights came back on.

Lessons were full of unexpected moments.

At Christmas, a man who I presumed was a pupil's father, asked if he could come in and show me something. He demonstrated a tissue box cover which turned inside out to make a teddy bear.

I bought one. So did one of my pupils.

Afterwards one of the pupils said he had thought I was in collusion with a salesman.

I could not believe that a salesman for a Christmas toy had sailed past security and had the temerity to try selling to a class in the middle of an English lesson.

At the end of the term, four pupils cheated (gave identical wrong answers) in the end of term exam.

Luckily one of the more experienced teachers had befriended me. She advised, nonchalantly, "Just take the papers to the head of the school - and let her decide what to do."

I am glad I had that experience.

When can you go to give and receive on a holiday?

 

ISRAEL
One idea is to work on a kibbutz. The kibbutzim might speak English or another language. For example, you might choose a French speaking kibbutz if you wish to improve or retain your French.
Many schemes take you on a free tour of the country after you have worked a certain number of weeks.

What are the challenges? On a collective farm you could be bored in the first week picking oranges all day or object to cleaning showers and toilets and it is not using your your uni skills. You have to stop fretting and look around for other jobs you would prefer.

Who has a better job? When are they leaving?

Then ask politely if and when you can be moved to another job such as teaching English in a school or babysitting and helping with homework.

Do you have an international driving license? Would you prefer driving a bus or school bus? Or doing deliveries? Or learning a new skill operating a tractor? Could you go on the next free travel trip, even though you have not completed the minimum one month of work, if you drive the tour bus?

Socially you might notice that it's like a school and soap and shampoo and food is provided. Very good. But you still feel outraged when other people use your shampoo or eat your chocolates without asking.  It is the same as milk and sandwiches in the office fridge. Keep everything covered, labelled with your name and phone number. Warn that is specialised and must not be thrown away but returned to you for safe disposal. Attach a find my item tag.

There are many more countries with many more projects, each with its own challenges and cheering moments.










 In the UK you can help the National Trust.

English language teachers are required all over the world including China.

My instinct is to choose a place where English is spoken. But the fastest way to pick up a language is to go to a place where you need to pick up their language.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.