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Volunteering Safety
Volunteering safety is the single most important issue to Volunteer Alliance.
When a lot of people think about volunteering, they are concerned whether it is dangerous to travel to a new country, to start a new job, or to stay with someone that they have never met. These are all reasonable concerns and at Volunteer Alliance we believe the best way to protect you is through full transparency.
Volunteer Alliance has taken all possible measures to protect our members from the potential dangers of traveling and volunteering abroad.
Volunteer Alliance is an international community of people working together to achieve our vision. As a community, each member is completely accountable to both himself and to the wider Volunteer Alliance community. Members help protect one another by sharing information. We value the open and honest sharing of information that makes informed decision-making possible. That's why Volunteer Alliance gives you a lot more information about other volunteers and organizations than you would normally have. When you connect with a volunteer or an organization on Volunteer Alliance, you have a profile’s worth of information about who they are, and what they do. You can see who they are friends with. And, you have the ability to contact them and speak to them as much as you want before you make your decision.
Please read about all the safety features we've incorporated into our community along with our general tips on travel safety. If you think of something that is missing, please don't hesitate to contact one of our team members and we'll add it to this page. Also be sure to check out our community forum on volunteering safety.
Safety Features
Here are some of the ways Volunteer Alliance gives you the information you need to make informed decisions:
Reviews
Reviews are first and foremost ratings of one member by other members against the most important criteria for a volunteer. Reviews also include feedback provided by members on their experience with other members. A member cannot delete or change any reviews left for them. Reviews give you an insight into the member’s actions within the Volunteer Alliance community.
We encourage all members to write reviews for one another to build trust within the community.
Affiliations
Affiliations listed on each members profile are people and organizations that they have met in real life. For volunteers, affiliations show the volunteers friends and the organizations where they have volunteered. For organizations, affiliations show which volunteers they have hosted and which organizations they are partnered with. Affiliations should be thought of a personal and professional references for members.
We encourage all members to contact affiliations to learn more about their experiences with other members.
FAQs
We have compiled a list of tips and frequently asked questions by our members on all things volunteering. This includes how to choose where to volunteer, pre-departure advice, and links to other online resources. Please read our Tips & FAQ’s to learn more.
Forums
The potential dangers of volunteering do change. This is why we have developed the Volunteer Alliance forum. The Volunteer Alliance forum has threads dedicated to volunteering safety. Our members share information that helps spot potential dangers, and teach you how to avoid them.
For the most up to date information we recommend you read what other members have posted about volunteering safely.
Flag as Inappropriate
Volunteer Alliance is an organic community. If a member is using Volunteer Alliance in a way that is not consistent with our vision, mission and values, that is website abuse.
Please click "flag as inappropriate" all kind of abuse to keep the Volunteer Alliance community clean and safe.
By reading messages carefully, looking at profiles thoroughly, contacting affiliations, and communicating clearly about guidelines and expectations, individual members can interact according to their own personal comfort level.
Travel Safety Tips
Most of the world is peaceful, though this can be hard to tell from the media. Nevertheless, it is very important to determine if a place you are going to is actually dangerous, how to take precautions as you go, how to avoid some basic scams and what to do if things actually do go wrong.
Health
The things you should concern yourself with as a volunteer are quite basic: get your pre trip health details in order before you leave (including a pre departure check up and all necessary immunizations); take some fundamental precautions while you’re on the road; keep an eye out for some specific symptoms and get yourself to a doctor if you encounter any of them.
To determine what vaccinations you need, visit the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) and select the places your visiting.
Destination
To find out if your destination is safe, start by getting the official position of the state department. But keep in mind, a country can be safe but for a single, remote border dispute.
UK Foreign Office (www.fco.gov.uk)
Canada’s Consular Affair Department (www.voyage.gc.ca)
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs (www.dfat.gov.au)
US State Department (www.travel.state.gov)
If the political climate changes we recommend you do not travel to this location, or if you are already there you should leave immediately. The best way to do this is contact the local national embassy. The Australian embassy, Canadian embassy, New Zealand embassy, UK embassy and others should be fine – even for American citizens.
How to Avoid Being a Target
The basic trick here is to blend in, keep out of areas where you’re likely to be a target (ask a local to mark the ‘dangerous’ areas on a map), stay alert, carry your valuables securely and provide yourself with a quick exit when you need one.
Each country and city has their own common scams. The best trick is to learn some of the most common scams from a local so you know what to avoid.
If You Have Everything Stolen
This doesn't happen as much as your friends and family who haven't traveled much are going to try to convince you, but if it does act immediately and you could have everything you need within 10 days.
The first job is to file a police report and ask for a copy of the report. You will then need to present this copy at your local embassy to get a new passport.
You should call your travel insurance (reverse charge/collect call if necessary). Most good insurers accept charges and keep you on the line while they cancel your credit cards and have new ones issued.
Another option is to have a friend back home wire you money to sustain you while you get back on your feet. This will cost around $40, but money is your best friend in this scenario so it's worth it.
This should be enough to get you back on your feet as you plan your next move.
Travel Insurance
It's always a good idea to travel with insurance so we've listed a few reputable insurance comparison sites here: