Worldpackers Tips for Social Projects: Getting ready for the experiences

Aligning expectations in your Worldpackers profile

1. Having a long-term plan for your project can help you structure the volunteers' day-to-day activities, and choose well which groups of skills you'll ask from travelers on the platform. To help you with this plan, organize activities according to your priorities on a calendar: goals with a high degree of importance and urgency should be prioritized, not forgetting day-to-day activities (such as time for planning classes or activities).

2. Make a clear separation of what the volunteer's activities are and what "extra" activities are offered - such as courses, lectures, or even cleaning the volunteer's accommodation. This way, the traveler will know that some daily activities are not included in the collaboration hours proposed in the platform. Don't forget to let the traveler know this information in advance.

3. If possible, share the activity schedule with travelers via inbox on the platform even before the experience begins. This way volunteers will have an idea of the type of activity they will be asked to do and can better prepare themselves.

4. If the volunteers' accommodation and the place of activities are in different locations, provide this information clearly on your profile and give travelers support to come and go safely. Also consider the volunteers transportation time when planning activities.

5. If you require payment of any fees to help you on a day-to-day basis, always present clear reasons and tell how much you'll charge in your profile. Make sure travelers are aware of the fee before confirming the trip through the platform.

6. If there's any specific clothing requirement for volunteers due to cultural reasons, please write this information clearly on your profile.

7. If you prefer, get help from the first volunteers you welcome to structure clearer activity planning.

Training

1. Book the volunteer's first day to provide all necessary guidelines regarding the activities, rules and objectives of the project, as well as cultural issues and the daily life of the city. This organization helps with travelers' engagement throughout the experience.

2. Always keep in mind that the experiences should be positive for you and the volunteers. During the training, look for activities that match the volunteer interests and abilities. This will allow you to better target activities within your volunteer team.

3. Make some time during training to allow volunteers to feel comfortable and ask questions if they have any.

4. Have some materials and activity models on hand for volunteers to use. It's also possible to ask the first volunteers to create these materials and leave them as templates for future volunteers.

5. Explain the methodology used by your organization with details so that travelers feel they're part of the project, thus offering the best experiences.

6. Introduce the volunteers to the environment and convey any important information about the neighborhood.

During the experiences

1. Make activity schedules available in an easy-to-reach location for all volunteers to ask any questions: it can be an online tool such as Google Calendar or even a paper worksheet.

2. Always have someone available in person to guide the volunteers during the experience.

3. Include a few moments in the week/fortnight planning to be able to meet with volunteers and discuss positive and negative aspects of the experience.

4. Show travelers the outcomes of their actions on a day-to-day and long-term basis: this tends to make them even more motivated!

We hope these techniques help you create a complete plan so you can offer incredible experiences! Don't forget to share your planning techniques with our community in the comment field below! =)