AN OVERSEAS WORK OR VOLUNTEER ADVENTURE STARTS HERE!
New 2007/8 BUNAC Brochure now available
Young independent travellers looking to follow in the footsteps of more than a quarter of a million Britons who have explored the world with BUNAC, the work abroad specialists, can start planning their own trip of a lifetime for 2008. A brand new Overseas Work and Volunteer Programmes Brochure features information on all BUNAC’s work/travel programmes from the ever-popular summer camp placement programme in the USA to fun and flexible working holidays in North America and Australasia, plus volunteering opportunities in Africa, Asia and the Americas. BUNAC predicts that popular options for the coming year are likely to include winter resort work in Whistler, CV-enhancing Sydney-based training courses, teaching placements in China and game reserve conservation projects in South Africa’s Eastern Cape.
Since the sixties when it sent no more than a hundred male-only students to work in Ontario’s tobacco fields each summer, BUNAC has grown significantly to become a major player in the work abroad field. Today, the organisation offers an extensive portfolio of overseas work and volunteer opportunities for gappers and graduates, career-break and student travellers wishing to take time out from work or studies to gain a unique inside perspective on what it’s really like to live and work in another country. Director Callum Kennedy says, “Gone are the days when BUNAC was just for students and we are delighted to be able to offer a diverse choice of overseas opportunities to a wider range of individuals than ever in 2007/8.”
As well as providing the all-important work visa or permit (without which travellers simply would not be able to work in many of the featured destinations), BUNAC offers its participants unlimited support and advice at every stage of the application process and, while abroad, as little or as much hand-holding as required through its overseas partner organisations. Experiencing new challenges, learning valuable life skills and forging new friendships are also part of the BUNAC experience.
Interested enquirers can now download the new brochure from www.bunac.org or call (020) 7251 3472 for a copy. For more information on a programme, they can attend, at no cost or commitment, one of BUNAC’s presentations which are now taking place all over the UK. To apply to a programme, a completed application form – or online application – plus initial programme fee or deposit is required. As a not-for-profit organisation, BUNAC continues to offer excellent value for money: registration fees vary according to destination and length of stay and start at an affordable £141 for US summer camp programmes and £250 for volunteer placements. In most cases, applicants also need to budget for flights, insurance, spending money and the visa. Early application is advised for all programmes, in particular, those to the USA and Canada.
Ends
9th October 2007
Press: for further information or photography, or to interview Callum Kennedy, contact Sarah Leavesley or Haydn Parks @ BUNAC.
Tel: (020) 7251 0662 (please quote 020 7251 3472 in articles). E-mail: sarah.leavesley@bunac.org.uk or haydn.parks@bunac.org.uk.
To view all of BUNAC’s press releases, please visit: www.bunac.org/press
Questions & Answers
Q. What is BUNAC?
A. A not-for-profit, members’ Club founded in 1962 and a market leader in overseas work and travel programmes for 18 year-olds and over. BUNAC is a founder member of IAEWEP (International Association of Educational and Work Exchange Programmes) and the Year Out Group in the UK.
Q. What does BUNAC do?
A. BUNAC runs a wide range of work and volunteer programmes in countries around the world.
Q. What else does BUNAC offer apart from summer camp programmes?
A. Flexible work and travel programmes in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and volunteering/teaching projects in South Africa, Ghana, Costa Rica, Peru, China, Cambodia and the USA.
- Work America is the longest running summer work and travel programme for UK students.
- The Canadian 12-month Open Work Authorisation is only available through BUNAC.
Q. Are BUNAC programmes only open to students?
A. Applicants don’t need to be students to participate in most programmes. Specific eligibility criteria apply to each programme; some, but not all, have upper age limits. Programmes are open on an equal opportunities basis.
Q. Are all programmes open for applications now?
A. Most programmes are open year-round with the exception of the summer programmes to the USA (Summer Camp USA, KAMP USA and Work America) which usually open between October and November and close between April and May.
Q. How long do programmes last?
A. From five weeks (Volunteer South Africa) to two years (Work New Zealand).
Q. How many people take part in a BUNAC programme each year?
A. Numbers vary each year however typically 5k – 8k individuals travel overseas with BUNAC, with the vast majority heading for the USA and Canada.
Q. What is the typical male/female ratio?
A. Normally 40/60 in favour of females with the exception of the Canada programme which is weighted 60/40 towards males looking to experience the wide range of winter sports on offer.
Q. Where is BUNAC based?
A. The main office is in London and there are also full-time offices in Edinburgh, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Q. What does BUNAC stand for?
A. British Universities North America Club, reflecting the organisation’s original geographical focus. While the USA and Canada remain key destinations, BUNAC continues to identify and source new opportunities to consolidate its core programmes.
Press: for further information, contact Sarah Leavesley or Haydn Parks at BUNAC.
Tel: (020) 7251 0662, e-mail
sarah.leavesley@bunac.org.uk or
haydn.parks@bunac.org.ukPhotography is available on request.