Volunteers’ handbook
Join our family at
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the leading Palestinian charity, Interpal At Interpal we strongly value our volunteers and your contribution to the Palestinian cause. This handbook will ensure that your volunteering experiences are as informative as possible and will hopefully answer any questions.
This information pack contains: •
Types of volunteer roles that are available
•
Potential benefits to volunteering
•
Our expectations of volunteers
•
Find out about the application process
•
Read policies relating to recruitment
Founded in 1994, we are a British charity set up to empower Palestinians to face their challenges and hardships in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and in the refugee camps of Jordan and Lebanon. Since 2011, we have been working with partners in Syria to provide assistance to those caught in the conflict. We pride ourselves on finding solutions that not only provide immediate relief to Palestinians in need, but also pave the way for long-term development prospects. We have worked tirelessly for over 20 years, ensuring that Interpal is a wellestablished and trusted development agency working with and for the people of Palestine.
Our main interventions are in 5 key areas:
Our Humanitarian Aid programmes provide water, shelter and emergency aid to thousands of Palestinian refugees. Our Social Welfare programme provides food & financial assistance to families unable to meet their daily basic needs; as well as supporting over 8,000 children through sponsorships.
Our Medical Aid Fund helps poor patients to get much-needed treatment, allowing them to return to work or studies and improve their quality of life. The work of the Fund has also improved the health sector in general, providing experience to health staff and income for struggling hospitals and clinics.
Our Education Aid programmes provide thousands of disadvantaged children and students with the means to succeed. We provide school kits, fees and uniforms for Palestinian students, while supporting schools with computers, generators and scientific equipment.
Our Community Development programmes aim to prioritise the longterm development of Palestinian society by focusing on increasing economic independence, the quality of local infrastructure, freedom of movement, access to housing and psychological well-being.
We are at the heart of raising awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people, by supporting a variety of Advocacy & Awareness projects such as campaigns tackling human rights abuses, school competitions and delegations to the West Bank, Gaza and the refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan.
There are over 5 million Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
We empower Palestinians to face their challenges and hardships in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and in the refugee camps of Jordan and Lebanon. And at home in the UK, you empower us.
Where we work
Join the effort to help Palestinians in need At Interpal, we empower our volunteers to make changes to people’s lives through their actions; to take control of when and how they contribute; and to lead on any fundraising project they are passionate about. In order to make your experience with us fruitful, please think carefully and ensure that you have enough information about what is involved before you decide to volunteer. Some of the questions below will help you decide: •
Think about what you want from volunteering – Do you want to build new skills, enhance your CV or just want a chance to contribute to a cause?
•
Think about what you have to offer - enthusiasm, work skills, life skills?
•
Work out roughly how much time you have to give, and how many times a week or month that you can dedicate to your given tasks.
•
Remember that everyone can volunteer - whatever your skills, experience or background, you should be able to find an opportunity that suits you.
•
Ask questions, like “who will I be responsible to?”, “what support will I be given?” - don’t be shy about asking questions as you go through the process of applying for an opportunity.
And if you still can’t make up your mind, just try it! Often the most difficult part of volunteering is making the first move.
What do you want to do? Here at Interpal, we want you to have a productive and cherished volunteering experience, whilst gaining crucial skills and qualities that can help with work, studies or any other aspect of your life. We have several areas where we require your help, primarily divided into two main categories: Administration and Fundraising. Which will you choose?
Administration Sponsorship Team: Regular Sponsors help us support over 8000 children and their families in Palestine every year, so corresponding with them is of the utmost importance to us. Working with the Sponsorship Team will involve reading, writing and editing paperwork that will be sent to donors; sending out Sponsorship Welcome Packs to new donors; and regular correspondence with these donors.
“It is extremely rewarding working in the sponsorship department and seeing the difference that is made to the lives of children and their families by complete strangers. We deal with summaries of the child and their current living situation, what they require to improve, and their progress. We then inform the sponsors if there is a dire need for an essential item, and the most humbling experience is to see them put money aside to help aid someone they have never met. It makes you realise what an effect this charity has.� Donations Team: This is quite possibly the most important team in our UK offices – members of the Donations Team are the first contact for new and existing donors. They accept donations through the phone, web, post & cash, processing them and ensuring that the money is allocated to the correct area.
“Volunteering in the donations department is enjoyable, most of our work is Donor focused. In campaign times the work is fast paced and rewarding. Our donors are really lovely and it is heart-warming to deal with them. We are the first point of contact for people with Interpal; we get to hear from all the different personalities that want to support Palestinians. It’s always humbling to hear so much positivity and encouragement from the wider community.” GAD Team: The Gift Aid Scheme allows us to reclaim an extra 25% of every £1 tax-paying donors give us. And as you can imagine, this is a substantial amount. Working with this team, you will be processing Gift Aid declaration forms, liaising with HMRC and responding to donor queries. While the work might be tedious, it is what keeps the lights on!
“I’m really glad I joined the Gift Aid team as a volunteer for three months. The work and time was enriching and it feels good to have contributed.”
Fundraising Communications Team: This team is at the forefront of getting the word out – both about Interpal and more importantly, about the continued plight of the 5 million Palestinian refugees. Working with this team, you will help manage our social media pages; promote fundraising events and campaigns; engage with our donors and supporters; help write our blogs, news and monthly newsletters; and even help plan fundraising campaigns.
“I really enjoyed working in the communications department due to the vast array of work available. I was involved in social media by raising awareness and promoting campaigns to an audience of over 60,000 people. I could also use my creative skills in writing monthly newsletters and helping plan campaigns which will eventually help those in Palestine, and knowing that my few hours a week were reaching such a wide audience provided me with a lot of confidence. My time at Interpal was extremely rewarding.” Fundraising Team: Work at this team is extremely tough & challenging, yet at the same time, it’s also the most fun & rewarding work you could do! You will help organise fundraising events & campaigns; take a lead of advertising fundraising events; assist with event-related administrative tasks; attend and represent Interpal at dozens of events every year; and sometimes, go abroad with fundraisers doing crazy challenges! But most importantly, you will be talking to people – persuading them to support Palestinians – and as such, you have to be confident, articulate and ideally, an outgoing and adventurous person.
“Fundraising with Interpal was a great experience, seeing a large number of people donate towards the cause so selflessly makes you appreciate humanity.”
What’s in it for you? The work we have been doing on the ground since 1994 would not have been possible without the valuable support of our donors and volunteers. While we appreciate that most people want to volunteer because they want to make a difference, we feel that volunteering is a two way experience and that there should be benefits in return for your time.
•
Meet and work with interesting people
•
Volunteer flexibly, around all your other commitments
•
Add value to your CV by gaining skills & experience
•
We can even provide references to future employers if you need
•
Have your out-of-pocket expenses paid
•
Free entrance to our events, and chance to attend dozens of other events
•
Free cab rides home whenever you volunteer for more than 4 hours at late-night appeals
•
Get invites to various recreational activities that our Fundraising Team organises
•
Be rewarded at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Evening
Annual Appreciation Evening Once a year, all our volunteers get together to celebrate you! The evening consists of great food and great company, hosted at an amazing location, with lots of fun, laughter and entertainment! All volunteers are invited and a variety of rewards, certificates and prizes are won. We also honour a Volunteer of the Year, who receives a special award for their dedication to Interpal and the Palestinian cause.
Your Rights and Responsibilities While we value the contribution you will no doubt make to our work, it is best for us to be clear on what we expect from you and what you can expect from us. Since you will be representing Interpal and the Palestinian cause to the general public, we of course expect a certain level of professionalism of you.
Support You will receive support, training, guidance and recognition for your contribution. In return, you must agree to actively perform your duties to the best of your ability, be accountable and remain faithful to the philosophies, policies and procedures at Interpal.
Image Volunteers must be aware that their image in public, on social media and in the community must remain at a certain level of integrity. You must be polite and courteous, and have a willingness to challenge discriminatory and offensive language and behaviour.
Respect At all times, you must respect other volunteers, staff members, donors, supporters and members of the public. You must respect any confidential information you come across, and handle sensitive documents and data in-line with our Data Protection procedures.
Resources As a charity, our resources for administrative tasks are scarce. As such, you must not abuse any resources you have access to, whether it’s a computer, internet access, printer, stationery or our brand paraphernalia (t-shirts, pens, key chains, etc).
Tasks Any changes to work or tasks must be discussed and agreed to with the Volunteers Coordinator who will note it down.
Punctuality You must be available at the agreed times, and contact us as soon as possible if you will be absent or late. You must also let us know when you are sick or will be going on holiday, if it will affect your contributions with us.
The process of becoming an Interpalian Find out about what’s involved Read our Volunteers’ Handbook to find out what you can do to help the Palestinian cause, and how you might benefit from volunteering with Interpal.
Complete and return the Volunteer Form Answer some routine questions, telling us who you are and how you want to help. The form can be requested by emailing volunteers@ interpal.org. If your desired areas / departments of volunteering aren’t available, we will request that you work in areas that are available.
Phone Interview This will just be a quick call to gain a better understanding of you and your decision to volunteer with Interpal. We want you to feel comfortable and make sure that you are working in the right department suited to your skills. These will be routine questions and provide you with a brief insight into volunteering with Interpal, no pressure!
Induction To ensure you are comfortable when you volunteer with Interpal, we will invite you for a 30-45 minute induction. We will talk you through the work you will be doing, our expectation from you, show you around the office and introduce you to all staff.
The Admin Work On the Induction day, or on your first day of volunteering with us, we will require you to bring a photo ID that we can copy for our records (either a passport, or a full/provisional driving licence). We will also require you to complete an emergency contact information sheet, and to read and agree to our Code of Conduct. For volunteers who might be dealing with money, we will require someone to write you a short reference - just a few lines to ensure that you are trustworthy!
Congratulations! You are now officially an Interpalian!
Frequently Asked Questions Am I eligible to volunteer? Anyone can volunteer with us, so long as you are above the age of 16. However on some occasions depending on the tasks and responsibilities, we may require volunteers to be 18 years of age or older. If you have any criminal record or pending court trials please inform the Volunteers Coordinator. We undertake to not discriminate unfairly against any subject of disclosure, but of course certain convictions, especially those related to hate speech or violence, will affect your relationship with us.
Will I be paid? As it is a volunteering role, you will not receive weekly or monthly wages. However, we will pay for your out-of-pocket expenses for travel and other authorised spending. Of course your expenses must be reasonable and you must provide us with appropriate receipts. On days that you volunteer with us, we will also reimburse lunch costs, up to a maximum of ÂŁ5 per day. Out-of-pocket expenses and lunch costs need to be reclaimed using an Expenses form, which will be provided to you when you start volunteering with us. This form will need to be completed and returned to the Volunteer Coordinator with all receipts by the end of each week. Further information will be explained on the induction.
How am I monitored as a volunteer? At the moment it is essential that you use the ‘Sign in book’ at the front of the office to record your arrival and departure times. In the near future ID Cards will be made for you, so that you may “log in and out” of the office. You must take the card with you when coming to the office or attending any activity or event on our behalf. You must also have your card scanned at the beginning and end of every event, and it is your responsibility to make sure this is done in order to calculate your worked hours (which contributes to the Annual Appreciation Evening’s awards).
What do I do if I’m late or unable to attend any more? You must contact either your Line Manager or the Volunteer Coordinator via phone or email, as soon as possible, so that other arrangements can be made. You can call 020 8961 9993 or email: volunteers@interpal.org
What do I do if I have a complaint? You must refer to the Volunteers Coordinator to discuss any issues or matter of complaints. The Volunteers Coordinator will then provide you with a complaints form. In the absence of the Volunteers Coordinator, you should refer to your Line Manager or the head of the department you are working in.
did you know? 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza & the West Bank are food insecure UN OCHA: Humanitarian Needs Overview; November 2014
In Lebanese refugee camps,
a doctor sees up to 117 patients per day Harmonised UNRWA-Donor Report, 2011.
Over 90% of the water in Gaza is undrinkable UN Environment Programme; 2010
There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. John Holmes
GET IN TOUCH Interpal PO Box 53389 London NW10 6WT Tel: +44 (0)20 8961 9993 Fax: +44 (0)20 8965 6065 Email: volunteers@interpal.org Web: www.interpal.org Keep up to date with Interpal and subscribe to our newsletter. facebook.com/InterpalUK twitter.com/InterpalUK interpaluk.tumblr.com instagram.com/Interpal_UK youtube.com/InterpalMedia
Interpal is a charity registered in England & Wales: 1040094