Hello
I’m a previous JET looking to do JET a second time and I am looking for volunteering ideas to help with my application.
Some information, I’m 30+ and I work full time with weekends free, UK.
Would anyone have any suggestions for things I could fit in around the weekend or evenings?
There was a Japanese school I asked to volunteer at, though, they had no openings, which was a shame.
I could probably do some online English lessons though having applied to these in the past, many seem extremely sketchy.
I have a great application otherwise though the volunteering aspect is missing and having it would no doubt give me more “points”
Thanks for any info and advice.
10 comments
See if there’s a Japan-UK society. In the US the “Japan-America Society” has a lot of community volunteering opportunities.
Many city or larger town libraries run English conversation groups or language cafes. Start there or look for churches that do the same. It’s also a good way of getting a reference, seeing as a lot of employers don’t officially do character references.
Coaching sports for kids is good one. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Japan related. Working with children is a really important part of the job so having experience with that really helps.
I do tons of volunteering for festivals and at arts events, and one of my references was even written by the main volunteer coordinator for these festivals! Might be something to look into if that’s an option since it’s very doable for working full time if the events are nicely spread out/in the evenings.
I was a volunteer TA for a beginners Japanese course at my uni. Mind you I was still a student for most of the time. Not sure if there’s something like that near you, but may be worth emailing a Japanese language prof at your alumnus (assuming you speak some Japanese of course)
Teach English to your local immigrant community
Summer camps. They’re likely starting up soon.
I had tons of relevant teaching and volunteer experience in the Japanese community and elsewhere — my panel was most interested in my brief stint at a summer camp.
Also focus on well rounded volunteer experience. It doesn’t have to be just education; find something unique that you can make you stand out.
I found a learning center run by some Dominican nuns that needed volunteer ESL tutors. Maybe search for services like that in your area? If you have a population of people who have immigrated to the area, it’s possible something like that exists for you.
Why is this getting downvoted lol
Many thanks for the replies so far.
Maybe there is a nonprofit literacy program you can volunteer with near you? I did this in my US city so I could list some volunteer experience on my application, reading to children or helping them write outside of the classroom. I really enjoyed it!