Why Volunteer With O2E

With so many pressing social issues on the agendas of governments around the world today, saving our animals and the environment seems low on the priority list.  The result is that resources and funding for animal and environmental conservation activities throughout the world is limited and assistance is needed by caring individuals and groups to preserve this richly bio-diverse habitat and every life form in it. And it is certainly worth protecting. By definition, volunteering is;

“a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking.”

Volunteers offer their skills, time and expertise to causes they find worthy. In the case of O2E;

ANIMALS  /  ENVIRONMENT  /  WILDLIFE COMMUNITIES

Each goes hand in hand.

Through O2E, volunteers have the unique opportunity to be involved in meaningful projects from the grassroots level where they will contribute to the day to day running of their chosen cause. 

We believe in supporting local organisations that have identified a genuine need for intervention at a local level and are sustainable and effective in their approaches. 

Your decision to volunteer with an O2E supported project impacts more than you realise; that is until you see the project for itself.  When you experience firsthand the contribution that these organisations make in the rescue, intervention, conservation, rehabilitation, release and management of wildlife, domestic animals and the environment, while supporting and educating local wildlife communities, you become acutely aware of the need for volunteers such as yourself, to provide assistance. The work the volunteer undertakes through to the sharing of these experiences with friends and family, resulting in project donations and animal adoptions makes an enormous difference to each project, the animals in its care, the local people and the environment.

Volunteers can create lifelong friendships with other volunteers they meet, and through shared interests and experiences, they take home with them new outlooks and ideas, often changing careers or developing new interests such as fundraising, campaigning, wildlife photography or sustainable living.  That is how O2E got started! You can even become a member of our organisation and support our various campaigns and fundraising activities.  These can include starting up an elephant dung paper operation in Thailand, sponsoring wildlife sanctuary land or building an animal rescue centre in Africa. 

O2E volunteers gain first-hand knowledge of how non-profit organisations work for a cause. Whether you help save an animal from extinction, undertake research or provide care for the injured, homeless or disabled wildlife, or educate the local people, your eyes open up to many of the environmental challenges our world is facing and how many organisations are tackling these serious environmental issues head on.  Upon leaving your placement, you take with you improved habits and a changed way of thinking. And in the long run, we hope that you share your experiences with others and join forces with like minded people to continue the fight for our precious animals and the environment they live in. 

Whichever O2E project you embark upon, you will be exposed to what will be one of the most enjoyable, challenging, memorable and life-changing experiences you will ever undertake. The hardest part will be leaving the animals you have worked so closely with and saying goodbye with the new friends you’ve made! 

 

The Benefits of Volunteering with O2E:

  • Assist in caring for animals and the environment
  • Contribute to a worthy cause
  • Exchange skills and knowledge with the local people
  • Experience an adventure of a lifetime
  • Make new friends from all around the world
  • Gain valuable new job and life skills 
  • Become more independent 
  • Live and work in a foreign country
  • Discover a different culture & lifestyle 
  • Experience new food
  • Learn a new language 
  • Broaden your horizons 
  • Widen your comfort zone Build your CV 
Participants gain a wide range of life skills when they undertake a volunteering project with O2E. These skills are often the ones employers identify as lacking in new recruits but are highly valued. Life skills such as initiative, effective communication, decision making skills, confidence, patience, understanding and the achievement of goals.
 
A survey among 200 of Britain’s top businesses, carried out by TimeBank, a national campaign inspiring and connecting people to give time, found: 
• 73% of employers would employ candidates with volunteering experience, more readily than those without.
• 94% of employers believed that volunteering could enhance skills.
 

The Bigger Picture

If you are passionate about the welfare of animals and the environment, and would like to ensure that you are not supporting a commercial venture that may exploit animals, you can be assured that O2E partner organisations are vetted to meet strict Ethical Standards, ensuring each project has the best interests of each individual animal, the wildlife community and the environment at heart. 
 

O2E in the Global Economy

O2E assists in creating local employment in the global regions where we provide volunteers. Your presence creates jobs including builders, cooks, labourers, transporters, tour guides, cleaners, maintenance, administration and support staff.  Your contribution creates opportunities for speciality or qualified staff including wildlife carers, specialists and veterinarian staff to work permanently within an organisation. O2E takes measures to ensure that we do not reduce employment opportunities for local people.
 
We welcome approaches from potential partners such as rescue and rehabilitation centres, animal orphanages and sanctuaries as O2E seeks to broaden our own partnerships and to make contributions to those worthwhile projects needing our help.  

We believe in supporting local organisations that have identified a genuine need for intervention at a local level and are sustainable and effective in their approaches.

Your decision to supported project impacts more than you realise; that is until you see the project for itself. When you experience firsthand the contribution that these organisations make in the rescue, intervention, conservation, rehabilitation, release and management of wildlife, domestic animals and the environment, while supporting and educating local wildlife communities, you become acutely aware of the need for volunteers such as yourself, to provide assistance. The work the volunteer undertakes through to the sharing of these experiences with friends and family, resulting in project donations and animal adoptions makes an enormous difference to each project, the animals in its care, the local people and the environment.

If you’d like to get involved in a project or find out more about volunteering, we would love to hear from you!
 
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