ICS Assessment- Part 3: Acceptance!

Exactly 2 weeks after the assessment day, I received an email saying I had been accepted onto a programme  in Burkina Faso! I was so so happy to read this and also nervous that I now need to follow through with my seemingly great ideas.

The email required that I send back 4 documents with personal info like health, code of conduct, etc, along with my official acceptance. Mine may have been a bit gushy and excitable.

I also had to set up a JustGiving page which is here:

http://www.justgiving.com/CallyStrowbridgeICS

And come up with a fundraising plan to raise the necessary minimum of £800 that I need to go on the trip.

I have a lot of ideas for this, the only problem being that I live in a small community that while cohesive at one time (probably before I was born) is now only united against tourists and Camp Bestival. 

So stay up to date as I try to plan events that will both hopefully raise awareness as well as funds, as well as bring my community together as it once was.

ICS Assessment- Part 2

I got into York 20 minutes late due to a delayed train, but thankfully still found the International Service building with time to spare. I handed in my documents (driving licence, passport, etc) and was shown into a seminar-style room to meet the others. Initially all girls, the last male member of our group joined us after myself. Everyone seemed so lovely and welcoming, and the girls had all worn blazers! We seemed to all be thinking along the same lines and had the same worries, so I felt at ease straight away knowing I was in the same boat as everyone.

We were given a talk about the charity and shown some interesting videos which answered pretty much all the questions I had, and made me even more excited to possibly go on this programme. Then we were told it was time for our group exercise. This was simple enough, consisting of a sorting exercise where we had to put in order of importance some flashcards relating to volunteer placements. Even though we were given half an hour for this, our group did it in about 5 minutes, which I think impressed our assessors! 

Then we had about 30 mins for lunch, in which the potential volunteers and I chatted about the forthcoming interviews and got to know each other a bit better.

(Just a note to anyone reading this that is going to an assessment day at IS, food was not provided so bring a packed lunch!)

After that we were called one or two at a time for our informal interviews. I of course was left til last so I could panic for the longest time! I was a bit worried but the other potentials put my mind at ease. The actual interview was quite fun, just chatting about my strengths and weaknesses and any questions I had in general. It probably lasted about 45 mins but it didn't feel that long. After I was let out it was about 3:30pm and all but one of the others had left to wander around town. So we joined them and walked around York for a while, which was a nice bonus since I hadn't expected to see the town before I had to get my booked train back.

It transpired that 2 of the girls and I had booked the same train back to London, so we got to chat and get to know each other better too. There was also a strange 'small world' moment with one of the girls- she is also from Dorset and lives very near to where I do, but we had never met. It was the craziest moment!

ICS Assessment- Part 1

So I thought I'd give an update on my ICS journey, both for those who are interested about my gap year plans and those who may come across this post if you're searching for more info about ICS in general.

The application process was extremely quick and straightforward, you have to fill in a bit about yourself and why you want to be a part of the project, which for me was so easy to write due to the many, many reasons why it's such a great scheme. They basically are just looking for you to be able to demonstrate that you've got some interest in helping others, and the easiest way to do this is to write about any volunteering experience or fundraising experience you may have, such as from school or in your extracurricular activities. I think it's safe to say everyone gets involved with fundraising for some sort of cause in school, from cake sales to fancy dress days.

Also at this initial application stage you can state a preference for the charity you would want to work with. You could do this based on the work that they do, or if you're looking to go somewhere in particular, as the different charities opperate in different areas, from the Phillipines to West Africa. I personally didn't have a preference for the place, I just would rather not work for a Christian/religious-based charity for personal reasons. 

So I heard back within a week from this initial stage, inviting me to an assessment day with International Service, which is a charity working with disabled and disadvantaged individuals in 4 countries: Burkina Faso, Bolivia, Palestine, and Ghana. The email stated that the day would be from 10:30am to 5pm, and would include a group activity and an individual interview.

Because I booked my assessment day so far in advance, I kind of put it to the back of my mind until about a week before. I'd never done any kind of interview or assessment day before so I didn't know what to expect, but what I did know was that I'd have to get to York by 10:30am from Canterbury!

While I was on the train I wrote a bit of a journal for this blog:

06:25- On train from Canterbury to STP. Having woken up energised at 5:15am, I quickly gathered my things together that I had prepared the night before, and left for the train station. Normally I love being awake before 6am, seeing all the business owners preparing shops for the day and feeling part of a secret society. Canterbury is different though, it's already pretty busy at this time.

I buy my ticket which seems to have doubled in price since last time I got this train a few months ago, and go to do my makeup in the warm ladies loos..!

As there was no time for breakfast I'm hoping there will be food at coffee at International Service!

I'm feeling nervous but excited to meet the organisation, and hopefully convince them to take me abroad. I'm told the day will consist of a small group exercise and an interview with two members of staff. As I normally go bright red and forget everything I'm meant to say when I talk to people one-to-one, I'm nervous about this part but I know they just want to give me the opportunity and they're not trying to make me fail.

Since International Service works in 4 countries, given the choice my first instinct would be Bolivia, as South America is somewhere I have recently become fascinated with. Plus the Spanish language will help me with my plans for Mexico. Speaking of which, I hope I can fit in both ICS and Outreach International programmes. ICS requires an 'Action at Home' element that I'm hoping won't prevent me from travelling further.

I have prepared some information to summarise ICS and International Service so I can come across well at interview. I hope there aren't any of those clever people that know everything about international relations and development and have already volunteered for years at super relevant institutions! They would definitely make me look bad...

Slight Change of Plans...

Hi everyone,
So I've had a slight change of plans with my gap year travels.
As you know, so far I've only booked one trip, with Real Gap to Zambia and Botswana. Since then I've actually changed this trip to their Vietnam Experience, which is not a volunteering program but instead more of a cultural/sightseeing/trekking adventure. For this reason I've changed my sponsorship plea as it doesn't warrant asking you lovely people for money.

I've been through the initial phone interview stage with Outreach International for my Mexico volunteering placement, where they recommended that, funding depending, if I can stay longer, I'll be able to contribute much more in 12 weeks than I could in 10 weeks (as I had originally planned). While I think this is really a great idea, I'll have to see how my fundraising goes as they've also put their prices up in the new year!
    My application with them is suspended for a while until after I complete my ICS assessment day on the 5th of March up in York. I've booked my train tickets so I'm looking forward to the experience, and learning more about the work they do. The reason I've suspended the process for Outreach is because I'm not sure how the dates will mesh up yet.

My revised fundraising total is therefore £3500 for the two volunteering projects.
So please, if you would like to support my adventure please donate!

The other travelling plans I have include trekking in Vietnam with Real Gap, country/island hopping in Southeast Asia with my best friend Bella, a traditional New Years Eve trip to Belfast, a coast-to-coast trek across the USA and time travelling in Canada. As time goes by and summer gets closer I get more excited every day :)

First expedition...Booked!

I'm so excited to say that I put the deposit down for my first excursion a couple of days ago meaning as soon as I get confirmation it is all booked!
This trip is the one with RealGap to Zambia and Botswana, and I'm especially looking forward to this one as it's reminiscent of the trip my brother Glen made with Camps International to Tanzania a couple of years ago. At the time I was so jealous of him! I'd been researching and planning a big project trip like this for a while before he went- but it worked out well for me as he now has all the kit I'll be needing so I won't need to buy it! Although he doesn't know this yet..!

Donating made easy...

Here's a clever tool I found that allows your donations to come straight to me through PayPal. I hope through writing this blog I can inspire you to support my trips as you get to know me and my causes. Thanks!

http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/6f70f4f2092e82bc

Fundraising- harder than it sounds!

In my future career, I'd love to work for a charity.

 Teasing money out of working people's pockets for good causes is definitely a worthwhile way to spend your life, as far as I'm concerned. It benefits everyone- the charities through raising awareness and furthering their work, and it gives the sponsors something to feel good about.

However, people only like to give their hard-earned cash away to something they feel is a worthy cause, especially when economically times are hard. Which is why fundraising is having to become more dynamic and adventurous- people like to see that they are getting something for their money too, whether it is a fantastic event or concert, a world record breaking attempt or just something they haven't seen before. 

Everyone has sponsored a run or a cycle- so it's up to fundraisers to come up with something innovative and interesting.

I've always noticed that the charities that get the most attention in the media or at music festivals are actively giving something back to their supporters, whether this is with free stuff at stalls (stuff that people will actually find useful like a blanket or a hat, rather than a logo pen), or through actual human interaction on a personal level.

This is my challenge as I attempt to fundraise a large sum of money for my gap year. I need to get out there and get to know my supporters so they feel connected with my cause. After all, while this is my gap year and a great experience for me, I'll ultimately be helping vulnerable communities that need volunteers.

My ideas so far include getting my (rather small) local community involved in an event, such as a themed night at the local pub, as this will be a great way to emotionally connect my potential sponsors with the communities I'll be helping abroad. 

If you are feeling inspired to donate, send me a message and we can have a chat!