Lattitude Global Volunteering is an international youth development charity with nearly 40 years experience in sending volunteers away on structured, educational and rewarding placements. The work carried out by our volunteers is needed and appreciated by the communities they aid. Lattitude Global Volunteering ensures volunteers do not take jobs from the local populace but contribute in a positive and rewarding way, ensuring full immersion into the host culture while benefitting those in need. Lattitude Global Volunteering is the original gap year organisation. We offer:
An experience as unique as you are
With placements available in a large number of different countries, lasting between 3 and 12 months and departing at various times of the year, there is a Lattitude Global Volunteering gap year experience just right for you!
Personalised service
Every Lattitude applicant is interviewed by an experienced panel of Returned Volunteers and Lattitude Supporters. During this process applicants are given a chance to share their ambitions, personality, unique attributes and motivations in applying for Lattitude so that they can be matched to a placement that suits their particular strengths.
Safety
We take your safety very seriously. Throughout the pre-departure process, the pre-departure briefing and the orientation we make sure that each volunteer has the information they need to keep themselves safe. We can advise on equipment to take, inoculations required, places to visit or avoid, cultural sensitivity and how to stay out of trouble. Every placement is vetted by our Programme Managers before volunteers are sent and we have excellent relationships with our hosts. Lattitude Global Volunteering has strong links with Embassies and High Commissions around the world, and we are well aware of the various political, social and economic situations in each of our host countries. Our network of in-country Local Representatives (who are employed by us, not 3rd party agents) and the 24-hour emergency phone line means that assistance is always quickly available wherever you are.
Support before you leave
No matter how big or small your query, Lattitude Global Volunteering staff are always on hand to help. You will be assigned a dedicated Project Coordinator based in our Reading office who will guide you through organising all aspects of your experience and any training you may need. You will be invited to attend a pre-departure briefing where you’ll have the opportunity to meet fellow volunteers and recently returned volunteers, hear safety and travel tips and much more. . There is also a dedicated Team at STA Travel who can assist with all your travel arrangements. This can include organising a group flight to your placement, helping with further travel plans you may have, assisting family members planning to visit you and arranging travel insurance.
Support upon arrival
In most cases you will be met upon arrival by the Lattitude Global Volunteering Local Representative and taken to an in-country orientation. At the orientation you will learn about your new environment, the culture and be assisted in settling in. Depending on the country you might also have a language or teaching course as part of your orientation.
Support at your placement
At your placement you will be appointed a dedicated Mentor who will provide guidance and assistance with your duties as a volunteer. To ensure you have settled in well your in-country Local Representative will be in touch with you at your placement shortly after arrival, and will be your first point of contact throughout your placement for any matters that may arise. Your dedicated Project Coordinator in the Reading office will also be on hand at any stage to answer questions you or your family may have. Just in case anything does happen, our 24-hour emergency phone line which is staffed by our experienced team, is available if needed by you or your family.
Placements that assist others
Volunteers become a real part of their host community, and are given the privilege of experiencing a new culture from within while doing valuable work that enriches the lives of others. Our Programme Managers work hard to find placements where volunteers can make a difference, where your skills, aptitudes and abilities will enable you to leave a lasting legacy and where you will be able to safely integrate into a welcoming, supportive community.
Access to the worldwide Lattitude Global Volunteering network
The Lattitude Global Volunteering network encompasses decades of Returned Volunteers, hundreds of Supporters and over 1500 fellow volunteers internationally every year – an instant directory of friends and mentors to call upon along your journey. We keep in touch through regular newsletters, Facebook, Twitter and alumni events and we understand how much your placements mean to you and always seek to keep you involved and up to date.
Value for money
As a charity, we aim to keep the costs involved in volunteering as low as possible without compromising on the quality and safety of your experience. Once you have paid the upfront costs before departure, there is no need to take large amounts of money to spend during your placement. All placements include food and accommodation and, in some cases, a small amount of weekly pocket money. There is a Lattitude Global Volunteering experience to accommodate any budget.
The Lattitude Global Volunteering Bursary Scheme
For British nationals we have funds available to help people who could not otherwise afford to volunteer. We want volunteering to be available to as many people as possible and thanks to the generous donations we receive from charitable trusts and foundations we are able to grant bursaries to around 70 people per year to enable them to volunteer with us. Bursary awards vary from several hundred pounds to the full fee depending on the volunteer’s particular circumstances.
To find out more about our Bursary Scheme click here
