About Us - Frequent Questions - Volunteering

How can I volunteer for Room to Read?

Our volunteers contribute to Room to Read's success by organizing fundraising events, spreading the word about Room to Read, and connecting us to individuals, corporations, foundations, and schools who might be interested in partnering with us to provide education to children in the developing world.

If you are interested in volunteering at Room to Read, please check out our volunteer opportunities page and complete a volunteer application.

Please note that we are unable to accept volunteers to help construct schools or work in our local programs offices. For more information, please see "Can I volunteer or teach in a country in which you work?"

As a volunteer, what kind of work would I do?

Throughout the world, volunteers for Room to Read help raise funds and spread the word about the incredible work we are doing. Our volunteers work both on their own and in partnership with other volunteers. Check out our volunteer opportunities page for a list of ways you can volunteer.

Do you need volunteers who help out with administrative tasks in your office in San Francisco?

Yes! Our headquarters volunteers help Room to Read keep costs low by helping to stuff envelopes, enter data, and any number of other administrative tasks. If you are interested in volunteering in our headquarters office, complete a Volunteer Application (Microsoft Word, 37kB) and send it to volunteer@roomtoread.org. Our volunteer coordinator will email the San Francisco volunteers when these opportunities come about.

What is a chapter?

Room to Read chapters are comprised of groups of individuals who have made a long-term volunteer commitment to promoting Room to Read within their networks and communities. On average each of our chapters chooses to organize 3-6 fundraising events per year in their area. Additionally, chapter members use their connections and influence to help spread the word about Room to Read to individuals, corporations, foundations, and schools who might be interested in partnering with us to provide education to children in the developing world.

Additionally, throughout the year, chapters work with our global office to maximize the impact in their locale.

What are the steps towards starting a chapter?

The first step towards starting a chapter is filling out the Volunteer Application (Microsoft Word, 37kB) and sending it to volunteer@roomtoread.org. Our volunteer coordinator will then contact you about your interest. We ask individuals to demonstrate a commitment towards volunteering for Room to Read by organizing a few fundraising events to help build support in their area before we launch a chapter.

How much time commitment is needed to be a chapter leader or a chapter member?

Our chapter leaders and chapter members have made long-term commitments to Room to Read. Typically, our chapter leaders dedicate 3-4 hours per week to Room to Read, and before a large event, they can be working up to 15 hours per week. Our chapter members spend an average of 1-2 hours per week promoting Room to Read, but before major fundraisers, they also can be investing up to 10 hours a week towards the success of the event.

Do you need volunteers to help out with administrative tasks within your chapters?

Since our chapters are made up solely of volunteers, we do not have offices for our chapters and therefore do not typically have a need for volunteers interested in helping with administrative tasks. However, our chapters do need help when they are organizing events within their area and will email the local Room to Read volunteers informing them of the opportunities. To join the Room to Read volunteer network, complete a Volunteer Application (Microsoft Word, 37kB) and send it to volunteer@roomtoread.org.

Can I host a fundraising event?

Absolutely! Many friends of Room to Read choose to host fundraisers, such as cocktail parties, read-a-thons, and dinner parties to benefit our programs. These fundraisers are an integral part of our success. In addition to helping to fund our programs, they also offer an excellent opportunity to share the story of Room to Read with new potential supporters. If you are interested in hosting a fundraising event, check out our volunteer opportunities page and download our Fundraising Event kit.

Can I volunteer or teach in a country in which you work?

Room to Read does not offer overseas volunteer opportunities. Our model is one of empowering the local people to work to create change. As much as we respect organizations like Habitat for Humanity, we do not rely on the model of people from outside the community coming in to help with the work. For instance, we ask the village residents to help build the schools, we rely on teachers who grew up in the countries where we work, and we hire local staff to implement our work in a given country.

We do have many volunteer fundraisers around the world in places such as Hong Kong, London and Singapore. If you are interested in fundraising for Room to Read and you do not live in the United States, please complete a volunteer application and send it to volunteer@roomtoread.org.

If you are interested in volunteering overseas, here are some websites that might be of interest:
Idealist: www.idealist.org
Escape Artist: www.escapeartist.com
Himalayan Explorers Club: www.hec.org