VE Global

VE Global is committed to selecting candidates that are passionate and responsible, with a strong desire to change outcomes for children at social risk. To protect the children we support and ensure our volunteer program is run with integrity, we have a competitive selection process. The basic requirements to participate in our volunteer program are simple:

-Have your 18th birthday before the start date of the program to which you apply
-Commit to a minimum 4-month, full time volunteer commitment
-Commit to fundraising for VE Global in addition to covering your own personal costs and expenses throughout the duration of the volunteer program
-Participate in the 2-week Orientation Program prior to beginning work at the partner organization where you are placed
-Speak Spanish at an intermediate level, or agree to complete a minimum number of hours of Spanish language classes
-Submit a Criminal Background Check and Doctor Physical/Mental Health Waiver prior to arrival

Volunteers make their own travel arrangements to and from Santiago, Chile. The VE Global team is available to provide support and advice on making travel arrangements.

Given the serious and important considerations of working with children and youth at risk, VE Global has a detailed application and selection process, which includes an online application, essays, references and interviews.

Apply now to join our team in September, January or May!

Visa requirements vary depending on the length of volunteer stay and the country of origin of the volunteer. Volunteers are responsible for any visa costs and the process, but VE Global will help with the volunteer with the visa process if necessary for participation in the program.

VE Global (VE) recruits, trains and organizes international volunteers to support our mission of fostering the positive development of children at social risk in Chile. VE has successfully integrated over 450 full-time volunteers from more than 35 countries into our network of local partner organizations, including children's homes, community centers, schools and preschools in some of the most vulnerable areas of Santiago.

VE volunteers help implement our four educational programs: ¡Vamos a Leer!, Festival de Arte, Liga de Deportesand English in Motion. Each volunteer is placed in one of our partner social service organizations where they mentor children in a variety of ways, from assisting with homework to playing games to creating and running their own workshops and activities. Volunteers build strong relationships with the children for whom they provide support, friendship and the chance to just have fun and be a kid.

Our volunteers also form part of the VE Global administrative team, helping in Programs by working to improve our educational programs, or assisting with Development and Communications through outreach and fundraising efforts. This gives volunteers the opportunity not only to grow and learn professionally at an international NGO, but also to have a sustainable impact on VE Global as an organization. Because of the delicate nature of working with children who have been abused or neglected, we require that our volunteers join our team for a minimum of four months, with a full-time commitment.

VE charges NO program or application fees to volunteer, but volunteers commit to participating in fundraising to keep the program no-fee.

VE Global fosters the development of children at social risk in Chile by training and empowering volunteers to serve as positive role models, educators and advocates of social justice.

VE Global (VE) recruits, trains and organizes international volunteers to achieve our mission of fostering the positive development of children at social risk in Chile. VE has successfully integrated nearly 450 full-time volunteers from more than 35 countries into our network of six local social service organizations including children's shelters, community centers and schools in the most vulnerable neighborhoods of Santiago.

VE volunteers can have a truly transformational experience working with the children in our community. The work our volunteers do and the relationships they create develop valuable skills that serve them long after they leave VE. Our volunteers are more than just an extra set of hands at the organizations we serve--they actively and positively change the way that hundreds of children experience the world.

With an average on-the-ground presence of 15 full-time volunteers and two dedicated staff members, VE provides more than 40,000 hours of volunteer support each year and serves more than 200 children daily. Through this work, VE strives to contribute to a brighter future both for the children it serves and the volunteers that work with them, a goal achieved by training volunteers to become educators and role models that serve children both now and into the future.

VE Global is guided by a set of principles that our entire community follows to ensure we are able to help the children we serve here in Chile.

Vision

We envision a global community that ensures equality of opportunity for all children.

Mission

We foster the development of children at social risk in Chile by training and empowering volunteers to serve as positive role models, educators and advocates of social justice.

To achieve our mission, we:

Create and implement engaging education and recreation programs for children.

Develop leadership and mentoring skills in volunteers throughout their intensive, long-term service commitment.

Collaborate with child service organizations by providing complementary programming and support, introducing children to new opportunities, and garnering resources and social capital.

Motivate a global network of former volunteers to engage their local communities in support of social justice for children.

Values

Community: We build a pro-active, socially-minded global family through respect, support and inclusion.

Empowerment: We create opportunities for all within our community to learn, grow and challenge themselves. We provide tools and knowledge to foster skills and maximize potential.

Positivity: We cultivate change with foresight, optimism and encouragement.

Responsibility: We manage our resources efficiently to ensure sustainable social impact.

Integrity: We believe in the sincerity, honesty and power of our words and actions.

Founded as Voluntarios de la Esperanza in 2004, VE Global has grown from a few volunteers living and working in La Florida's Fundación Hogar Esperanza to an average on the ground community of 35 volunteers who work in 8 distinct children´s service organizations. Since its inception, VE Global has received more than 450 volunteers from 35 countries and five continents.

Volunteers began arriving at Hogar Esperanza in 1999. Seeing a profound mutual impact on the children and the volunteers, the home's director, Jorge Daveggio, accepted volunteers from the United States, France, Germany, England, and Canada. Each socially conscious young adult brought his or her experiences, talents and love to Santiago and thus contributed to the home's theme of esperanza, or hope, for its children. These volunteers initially found Hogar Esperanza through their own means, so there were gaps of time without a volunteer presence.

In September and October of 2003, however, several volunteers arrived with overlapping stays. With the larger group, the volunteers were able to better organize their work and even combine their efforts to initiate larger projects. As the director lacked time and English language ability, one of the new arrivals took charge of volunteer recruiting in order to maintain a more constant influx of valuable international help. Utilizing the internet, Luke Winston discovered a surprisingly large interest from foreign volunteers to work in children's service organizations, an interest much larger than Hogar Esperanza itself could support.

VE received its first volunteers, Jen Hendlisz and Ilana Osten, in 2004. These dedicated volunteers not only became part of the Hogar Esperanza family, but created a support base for subsequent volunteers. Winston, along with the founding group of Chilean volunteers known as "El Equipo," guided and supported incoming volunteers and provided a continuous presence in an organization that was constantly changing with new volunteers from around the world.

Through his time as a volunteer, Luke recognized that several other children's service organizations in Santiago had similar goals but much fewer resources. As a result of the disparity between these organizations, the idea of VE was born in the hope of using volunteers as a resource to bring equal opportunities to all children. In the world of social work, a foundation cannot be selfish; an excess resource should be shared whether it is food, money, or volunteer work. Therefore, VE searched for like-minded organizations that worked to form a family environment for the abandoned and abused children for which they cared.

VE Global provides a unique insider's road to a life-changing volunteer experience because it was created by and is currently run by volunteers who have all worked in a children's service organization. By working in a South American nation like Chile, the motivated young adults who compose this multi-national group of volunteers not only change the lives of the children they help but are themselves changed by an intense experience and new insights only an international adventure could provide. After their stay, volunteers remain a part of the new families they discover and return to their own countries to apply their new perspectives on life.

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Apply now to join our team in September, January or May!