Volunteer

Thank you for your interest in volunteering.  Volunteers are at the heart of the work we do at TWC2. Our fantastic volunteers have helped make a tremendous difference to the lives of migrant workers.  In the light grey tabbed section is a list of our current volunteering opportunities for entry level, listed in alphabetical order.

At TWC2, we have a structured program for those interested in volunteering. It begins with Heartbeat, which is a monthly introductory session for prospective volunteers who are interested in helping TWC2. The online session is led by a senior volunteer who will provide information about the organisation, explain the volunteer roles and answer any questions you may have. All volunteers are required to attend a Heartbeat session before they start volunteering. Please scroll down for more information about Heartbeat.

If you have special skills or ideas about additional ways you could help, please let us know at our Heartbeat session.

TWC2 volunteers are expected to commit for at least three months. We do not have roles for one-time volunteering.

At least 21 years old

TWC2 volunteers generally have to be at least 21 years old.

We regret we’ve had to implement this age threshold because we’ve noticed that some students, wanting to do school projects, were signing up as “volunteers”. The intention to show up just once to collect some information for an essay does not align with the objectives of volunteering.

Instead, teachers wanting to expose their classes to labour migration as a topic can write to our Public Engagement Team via [email protected] for a 2- or 3-hour Day School session to be organised. The rates that TWC2 charges for a Day School are very reasonable.

Volunteers’ Code of Conduct

Role: Casework volunteer
Skills needed: None in particular beyond good listening and social skills
Where: TWC2 office and meal stations in the Little India vicinity
When: Weekday mornings or afternoons, fitting your schedule — to be coordinated with the team leader. This role is generally not compatible with holding a nine-to-five job unless you have unusually flexible schedules
Expected frequency of volunteering: Once a week or once a fortnight

Roles: produce content for our website as (1) Text reporter/writer; (2) photo essayist; or (3) video maker
Skills needed: for (1) mastery of English, for (2) and (3) photography and videography including editing
Where: Meal stations
When: Weekday evenings 6:30 – 8:30pm fitting your schedule. This role is compatible with those holding a nine-to-five job
Expected frequency of volunteering: Once or twice a month

Role: Service support for meal programme
Skills needed: None in particular
Where: Meal stations in the Little India vicinity
When: Weekdays 6:30 – 8:30pm; you choose the days that fit your schedule
Expected frequency of volunteering: Once a week

Role: Assist in organising excursions and outings for workers
Skills needed: None in particular
Where: Home-based when pre-organising; then wherever excursions go
When: Saturdays or Sundays depending on excursion plans. This role is compatible with those holding a nine-to-five job
Expected frequency of volunteering: Once a month

Role: Meet workers, distribute flyers, conduct simple surveys
Skills needed: None in particular
Where: As coordinated by the Casework leaders, the outreach group will fan out from near a designated MRT station in areas where migrant workers congregate
When: Sunday afternoons. This role is compatible with those holding a nine-to-five job
Expected frequency of volunteering: Once a month

Role: Researcher and field data collector
Skills needed: None in particular but needs to be self-motivated
Where: Depending on the project as coordinated by the team leader, may involve interviews with workers and data collection at TWC2 meal stations or at public places where migrant workers congregate, plus data analysis and report writing done at home.
When: Weekday evenings or Sunday afternoons as coordinated by the team leader. This role is compatible with those who hold a nine-to-five job.
Expected frequency of volunteering: Depends on research project

Roles: (1) Verbal translation between TWC2 caseworkers or casework volunteers and migrant workers; (2) simple written translation to help keep TWC2 information materials up to date
Skills needed: For (1) speak Bengali, Tamil or Chinese; (2) write Bengali, Tamil, Chinese. Less often needed: speak/write Burmese, Punjabi, Hindi, Telugu, Thai, Vietnamese
Where: TWC2 office
When: For (1) weekdays mornings and/or afternoons, in coordination with caseworkers or casework volunteers; (2) at home for any written translation needed. This role is generally not compatible with those holding a nine-to-five job unless you have unusually flexible schedules
Expected frequency of volunteering: Once a week

A typical Heartbeat session starts at 7:30pm on a weekday evening.

HEARTBEAT

Here are the steps to become a TWC2 volunteer:

1. Look at volunteering roles
Have a look at the role descriptions in the light grey tabbed area to see what might suit your interests and availability.  If you have skills and ideas of how to help in a different way then please let us know at Heartbeat.

2. Email us! 
Please email us at [email protected] to express your interest in volunteering, and we will advise you how to sign up for the next heartbeat session.  TWC2 receives many emails so we request that you put your name in the subject :  “Would like to Volunteer – John Doe.”  This will allow us to better organise our emails.   You will receive an email reply providing you details about the next Heartbeat session.

3. Attend a Heartbeat session
At the end of the session, if you are still interested in helping out, you can complete an online form in which you provide your contact details and check off the role or roles you are interested in.

4. After Heartbeat: verify your email address
You will receive an email a few days after Heartbeat asking you to verify your email address by clicking a link.

5. After Heartbeat: wait for your username and password
About 24 – 48 hours after verifying your email address, you will get another email providing you with your username and password

6. Log into Bahamas
That email will give you a URL for Bahamas – TWC2’s cloud-based volunteer management system. Once logged in, you will be able to see the training programs available for novice volunteers. Sign up for the training program relevant to your area of interest.

7. Attend training
After you have completed your training, the team leader will open up more of Bahamas for you.

8. Sign up for volunteering events
Once Bahamas has been opened up for you, you will (on logging in again) be able to see a listing of volunteering events. You will be able to sign up for events that suit your time schedule.