What We Do
Volunteer Program Highlights
The skills our volunteers learn during their volunteer program help them become strong mentors and educators for the children. Our workshops and programs are hosted in the social service organizations we serve and are geared toward encouraging the children to learn while having fun.
Partner Organizations
Each VE Global volunteer is placed with one of our social service partners where they work an average of 30 hours per week. These hours are spent doing anything from cooking to playing, doing homework to teaching English. The day-to-day interactions with the children are truly at the core of what we do. VE volunteers are a smiling face, a listening ear and an extra set of hands to the institutions we serve.
Children’s Workshops
VE Global offers volunteers the opportunity to develop and submit workshop proposals based on the needs that volunteers see at their placements in the children’s homes, community centers and schools we serve. Volunteer workshops vary greatly based on interest and have ranged from introducing the children to synchronized swimming and career days to learning how to cook food from the volunteer’s home country.
Volunteer Training Sessions
Volunteers are taught by qualified social workers, educators and community leaders through a series of monthly training sessions on relevant topics such as Chile’s education and child protection systems, social work practices, related history of Chile and current events that affect the work we do.
Volunteer Program Projects
In addition to the work volunteers do with the children, they have the opportunity to work directly with the VE staff on operational or resource development projects. Administrative projects depend on the needs of the organization, but can include anything from implementing the children’s programming to helping with fundraising and public relations.
VE Global Children’s Programs
Our children´s programs are implemented year-round by our volunteers. These programs were developed to offer additional educational activites and motivational support for the children we serve.
Liga de Deportes
Our monthly health and wellness league offers children a safe outlet to engage in games and competitive sports, while building their self-esteem and knowledge about healthy living. Each Liga de Deportes focuses on a sport and health topic. After the main lesson, we have stations for other activities like dance, table tennis, and soccer.
¡Vamos a Leer!
During the summer, we host our literacy program to show the children the joy in reading. We encourage the children to select their own books and motivate them to finish the stories they choose, giving them a sense of individual achievement and helping improve their overall reading proficiency. We finish the program by throwing Carnaval, an exciting festival to celebrate their achievements.
Festival de Arte
To celebrate artwork that children and volunteers create together during ongoing art workshops, VE hosts an art festival twice a year, providing a supportive space to build children’s confidence and show off their creativity. The festival includes everything from paintings, poems, dance, and singing.
English in Motion
Chilean school children are required to learn English; our program provides a fun, interactive way to support what the kids learn in class. Practicing grammar might be a game of Simon Says, and learning vocabulary could have the children off on a scavenger hunt. English lessons vary depending on the volunteer, but they are always educational and entertaining.