By Calum Hawkes

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page!

Rest assured that donating through JustGiving is safe and completely secure. Your generosity will make a difference and these funds are guaranteed to be used responsibly to help change lives!

All money raised will be sent directly to the many Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) projects across the globe. These projects include promoting entrepreneurial enterprise, teaching language skills, educating impoverished communities, and encouraging good sanitation.

Relation to International Citizen Service (ICS)

I first became involved with VSO as an ICS youth volunteer. My upcoming VSO ICS placement begins January 2018, in Zambia's Samfya District.

A key part of demonstrating your commitment to VSO ICS is by helping to fundraise for this awesome charity. However, as ICS is backed by the British Government, all your generous donations will be going straight to these important projects and not to help pay for Visas or flight expenses.

A VSO ICS Youth Volunteer Journey

• Pre-Placement
  

Applicants attend a VSO ICS assessment day and if they're successful, are then matched to a placement country. Pre-placement training follows, as well as vaccinations and fundraising.

• On Placement
  

After touching down in our host country, we being in-country orientation. This includes meeting our overseas counterparts and settling in to our new host homes.

Once our three-month placement begins, we start a challenging overseas journey that includes Active Citizen Days and Community Action Days.

• Post Placement
  

Once we've returned back to the UK, we begin Action at Home.

Action at Home is a way of using what we have learned overseas to help benefit those in Britain. This is achieved by raising awareness and applying our newfound skills in the context of the UK. This could mean writing to our local MP about ideas we may have, or speaking at schools or universities about our experiences abroad.

• VSO ICS Alumni
  

Once we've finished our Action at Home, we report everything we have achieved to VSO, before completing our programme.

For more information, or to learn how to get involved, please visit:

ICS     www.volunteerics.org

VSO   www.vsointernational.org