Volunteering for Rotary


Rotary projects provide a range of opportunities to volunteer overseas.

 

Volunteers

1) Rotarians and non-rotarians can volunteer on any number of Western Region projects begining by emailing the Project Manager of the Project. Interested persons can also volunteer on projects managed by other Regions and by Rotary International  for example National Immunization Days, supporting Polio Plus in India (Rotary International).To assist in this process, we have allocated Project Number WR103 to cover such projects.

2) Volunteers' expenses including air fares are tax-deductible, provided they are in accordance with RAWCS policy and the expenses are paid by funds passed through the RAWCS accounts.

 

Project Managers and Project Volunteers

As Project Manager you need to ensure;

1) That your Project is suitable for volunteers to attend

2) There are no country alerts that have been put out by the Australian Government that many impact on the safety of your volunteers and project

3) That you have provide a detailed list of where the project will be occuring, what activity your volunteers will be undertaking and the addresses, phone numbers of your proposed accomodation

4) That you have taken reasonable precautions in advising your volunteers of the conditions that they will experiencing.

5) All your volunteers have completed the volunteer forms below, and you have sent them to the RAWCS-Volunteer Coordinator to be lodged to ensure the indemnity and insurance for all your volunteers.

 

Application Forms

All RAWCS volunteers need to complete the forms listed below which are to be sent to your Regional Coordinator. They will ensure that the RAWCS insurance company is notified so that you have insurance cover for your trip. These forms also enable the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to be notified in case you need their services while overseas.

All volunteers are required to fill out 4 forms:

  1. Volunteer Application Form
  2. Volunteer Agreement Form
  3. Volunteer Waiver & Liability Release
  4. Volunteer Medical Form

These forms are available for download below.

 

Medical

You are responsible for having a travel medical consultation to ensure you have any necessary inoculations and obtain anti-Malaria medication if necessary.

 

Passport and Visa Requirements

You will be responsible for obtaining your own visas, if required, and ensuring your passports are valid for your trip and (usually) for a minimum of six months after your intended return date. Please be sure of this as there have been cases where travel was not permitted because of passport validity of less than six months past the intended return date.
Visa requirements can change so it is usually best to contact the embassy or consulate of the country concerned.

 

Excess Baggage

Many volunteer teams find that they need to carry baggage in excess of that permitted on their ticket. National carriers are usually cooperative in allowing an additional 10kg of excess baggage for Rotary volunteers. Contact the carrier concerned at the highest level. Embassies and Consulates can also be helpful in facilitating this. A letter from the RAWCS National Coordinator or local RAWCS chair for the project confirming the reason for travel may also be useful.

On the job work hard, produce professional results but above all else, HAVE FUN!

 

Downloads for Rotary Volunteers

Your project coordinator can arrange a brief to provide you and your volunteers with details of the procedures, rules and answer any questions that you or your volunteers may have pertaining to the volunteering process on   JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING .