return to Home Page
Volunteering Donate Today Mayan Hope
One generation plants trees...

Since all of us here at Mayan Hope are volunteers, volunteering is obviously an important aspect of the organization. We will always gratefully welcome anyone willing to give of their time, labor, and knowledge in order to help the organization grow and develop.

Long-term full-time project volunteers - Guatemala Back to Top

Volunteer conducting training session

Full-time volunteers on-site in Guatemala generally work long, hard hours with minimal benefits except for the knowledge that you are doing an important job. Generally we expect these volunteers to be long-term -- meaning capable of spending a year or more with the project with 6 months usually being the minimum except in special cases such as medical personnel. In most cases it is essential that these volunteers are capable of communicating at least in a basic level of Spanish. It is necessary that these volunteers are self-starters capable of working with a minimum of supervision and under far less than ideal conditions and with minimal funding. You must have a driving desire to see the project succeed and a mature attitude in working with people whose life-style, needs, goals, desires, and values may be different than yours. This is a job that requires a high level of dedication and drive.

Unfortunately at present we have no facilities to house or feed volunteers on a long-term basis. We will assist volunteers to find some type of housing at minimal cost, usually with a local family but not necessarily. You can sometimes find a low cost rental as well. In the future we hope to construct or purchase some volunteer housing, but at present all long-term volunteers will need to be financially solvent in order to provide their own housing, meals, and transportation during their stay in Guatemala. We realize that for most people this may be impossible but at present there is not sufficient funding for any other option. If you are interested in becoming a long-term volunteer in Guatemala please submit a volunteer application form after reading the "General volunteering information."

Long-term volunteers with specific experience and knowledge in any of our project areas are always welcome. In addition we often have need for translators, English teachers, computer teachers, and people familiar with non-profit funding such as grant writers.

Short-term volunteers for specific action - Guatemala Back to Top

On occasion we have need for short-term volunteers for some specific action such as a construction project, project start-up, or training. Normally this would require anywhere from 1 week to 1 month of volunteer service. In most cases we would be able to provide dormitory type housing to such volunteers at a minimal charge.

Anyone interested in volunteering for short-term assignments should fill out our volunteer application and you will be notified any time one of these projects comes up and the specifics of the particular project. You can then let us know if your schedule would be such that you could participate.

Part-time fund-raising volunteers - Your Home Country Back to Top

At present this is our greatest need. If you are capable of spending a few hours a month helping us with raising funds and just talking to friends, neighbors, schools, or organizations to help with donations for Mayan Hope, we would love to hear from you. Mayan Hope is very much a grass-roots type of organization. We get no funding from any government or religious organization. We can only exist if individuals, clubs, schools, or fraternal organizations make donations and help spread the word by networking with others. Any part-time volunteers with experience in non-profit fund raising or grant writing are especially needed but, even if you are just willing to pass along emails or other information to your friends and neighbors, your efforts will be very much appreciated.

If you have any interest at all in becoming a part-time Mayan Hope fund-raising volunteer, please submit a volunteer application form.

General volunteering information and application Back to Top

All long-term or short-term volunteers coming to Guatemala must be a minimum of 18 years of age or be accompanied by a parent. There is no upper age limit and senior citizens are always welcome. We do recommend that you be in relatively good health as you will most likely be working at a fairly high altitude (approximately 6000 feet) and in rough mountainous terrain and living conditions can sometimes be very primitive at best.

Even if you are in primary, middle, or high school you are welcome to become a part-time volunteer assisting with fund raising in your community. All you need is the desire to help.

For any volunteers coming to or considering coming to Guatemala we strongly recommend practicing certain safety precautions and reading everything you can about visiting and/or living in Guatemala. For starters we recommend reading the U.S Department of State Consular Information Sheet. In addition we recommend that you check with your personal physician or local health service to be certain that you have proper vaccinations and any prescription medicines that you nay need while in Guatemala. We also advise that you consider the purchase of a traveler's health insurance policy to cover the period of time that you will be traveling.

Anyone interested in volunteering with Mayan Hope on any level or anyone even with questions about volunteering, please complete and submit the Mayan Hope Volunteer Application Form. Thank you for your interest in Mayan Hope.

Mayan Hope Volunteer Application Form Back to Top

Please complete all questions in the form

* Required Fields

Full Name*
Your Age*
Your Sex*
Nationality*
Email
Street Address
City
State/Province
Postal/Zip Code
Country
What level of Spanish do you speak?

Please give us a brief summary of your background, experience, and/or education. If you have specific experience in any of the projects of Mayan Hope, please let us know.

Please tell us any other information that you think may be pertinent to your volunteering at Mayan Hope such as when you might like to start, etc.

Do you wish to be a considered for a full-time volunteer position in Guatemala?

Would you like for us to notify you when short-term projects come up in Guatemala?

Are you interested in helping as a part-time fund raising volunteer in your home community?
Back to Top