About GFF HELPS

The Glenn Family Foundation empowers vulnerable communities by providing them with sustainable access to their most basic needs. This support includes providing access to clean water and power, as well as improved sanitation and living conditions.

The Foundation was formed in the 1980s by entrepreneur and renowned philanthropist, Sir Owen G. Glenn. The philosophy of its founder is in offering a hand up, not a handout, you can build communities that are empowered, self-sufficient and proud.

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Through our HELPS program, we recruit volunteers both locally and internationally to enrich these communities through education programs, skill sharing and technical expertise. Our volunteers spend at least six months in these communities to ensure they have a meaningful impact. Since it began in 2018, the HELPS program has become an essential part of the foundation and ensures that our wider goals are realised on a local and community level, making sure that those in need receive meaningful and empowering support.

The HELPS program currently works within underprivileged communities in six Asian countries. You can read about some of our recent projects to help uplift these communities on our blog.

Locations

Our Representatives

GFF HELPS primarily recruits from the locations we work in, to ensure that our interventions have longevity and local skills remain within the community. We also recruit international volunteers, who bring with them new perspectives and skills. Recruitment is ongoing and dependent on the needs of each program.

Representatives work in small teams and often in collaboration with a local partner NGO. We conduct our own research and learn from NGOs and local experts what the unique needs and strengths are within the community before developing a series of projects that will help to address those needs. By being immersed in the local community, our Representatives are able to build good relationships and design thoughtful projects that speak to the need and can be sustained. Each new Representative we send builds on the work of the previous and helps us to learn and strengthen our projects.

This is not your typical volunteer program. Our Representatives play a key role in the planning, implementation and evaluation of projects in collaboration with local committees. Our Representatives therefore have to show a certain level of initiative, maturity, sensitivity and courage, and be able to work closely with the local community throughout the process to ensure they are part of the decision making process.

Our Work

This is not your typical volunteer program. Our Representatives play a key role in the planning, implementation and evaluation of projects in collaboration with local committees. Our Representatives therefore have to show a certain level of initiative, maturity, sensitivity and courage, and be able to work closely with the local community throughout the process to ensure they are part of the decision making process.

As a GFF Representative, you will be expected to:

  • Show initiative by meeting with local NGOs, identifying needs, and researching new project ideas
  • Take ownership of your projects: this means designing them, or being responsible for continuing existing projects, putting together budgets and making all the necessary arrangements. You will execute them as planned and report back to GFF
  • You will work in a team of two, however you will have regular contact with NGOs and local beneficiaries and you will have supervision call from GFF staff each week to discuss your progress and any concerns.

To be eligible for the programme, you should:

  • Be between the ages of 20 and 35
  • Have a current passport with 6 months validity
  • Relevant education or experience relating to our projects (being able to speak the local language is an advantage)
  • Experience in the non-profit sector or with specific project areas
  • Availability to commit to a 6 month programme
  • Comfortable working in a small team of two
  • Good communication skills and cultural sensitivity
  • Mature and able to take own initiative without detailed instructions
  • Comfortable being out of your comfort zone and dealing with challenging situations
  • Comfortable living and working in basic environments without modern comforts
  • Healthy and fit enough to undertake some physical work if required
  • A good sense of humour
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