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   Why Pay to Volunteer? Volunteers are surprised to learn that many programs or organizations charge their volunteers a fee to participate. At first, this may seem ridiculous. Why should you pay money to work for free? Are you not already giving up an income that you could be making? Listed below are a few things to keep in mind while trying to understand why the majority of programs charge international volunteers a fee: - The local organizations, such as NGO's, community based organizations, private and public programs in Kenya in which you volunteer have limited resources and are seldom able to subsidize your trip or cover the costs of hosting you. The costs include housing, meals and transportation, 24 hour support and safety at all times.
- Identifying appropriate host organizations in Kenya and working with them is time-consuming, takes resources, and requires an experienced and professional staff. Securing proper and safe home stay families are important to our organization and we strive to give you only the best and most accommodating placements. In order to assist those in Kenya our organization does give the host family a stipend to care for the volunteer. The project program that the volunteer is working on also receives a monthly stipend to assist them to maintain what volunteers come to do.
- The process of preparing, training, transporting, housing, feeding, and supervising volunteers is not cheap. Additional services such as supplying detailed information, aligning the volunteer with the proper program and project all adds to the expense of a volunteer program.
- The costs of recruiting volunteers, producing literature, answering the phones, sending mailings, developing a website, and interviewing potential volunteers, professional staffing in Kenya and the US are significant.
Hearts For Love Worldwide is a non-profit 501(c)3 with no religious or political affiliations. A personal note from the founder of Hearts For Love Worldwide: It is with great appreciation that I am able to offer a volunteer program. Hearts For Love Worldwide was developed in 2008 after making my volunteer trip to Kenya. My life dramatically changed, I could not turn my back on so many in need. Funds that HFLW receives are from private contributors, fund raisers, and the volunteer programs offered in this website. It is important for me to share with you that 100% of funds received are used to help those in Kenya and operate the organization. Everything that we are doing is for the benefit of others. I hope to see you in Kenya! Sincerely, Lory Jacobs President/Founder Hearts For Love Worldwide
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