Application procedure and form
From BeVolunteer Wiki
Dear volunteer,
We are very happy that you decided to join BeVolunteer. Your presence here means that you want to get more involved in Hospitality exchange rather than only enjoying it; that's really great.
BeWelcome is a volunteer-based project and BeVolunteer is the legal organization of the volunteers ensuring the best future for BeWelcome, from volunteers and by volunteers!
BeWelcome website is thought and designed to be the best tool for all our members; in the background, hundreds of volunteers make it possible.
In BeVolunteer (BV), the volunteers find an atmosphere of discussing freely any subjects and taking part in decisions to be made: all the BeVolunteer members are dedicated to hospitality exchange like you, and know it well. That "selection" allows a great working atmosphere where everything can be expressed and discussed freely with the other volunteers.
As a member of BeVolunteer you get the opportunity to contribute more to BeWelcome, giving ideas, offering help to running tasks, developping projects etc. For that exchange the wiki and forum of BV will be your main tools.
Being a member of BeVolunteer also means participating in a democratic structure which ensures that the dedicated BV volunteers are the ones who stay -forever- masters of our projects. What will BeVolunteer and BeWelcome be in 5 or 10 years? Hard to tell. But we want its idea to stay the same, and for that the General Assembly of the volunteers is the warranty.
You may find the application policy of BeVolunteer quite restrictive: well, it is the key to allow a great atmosphere of work in BeVolunteer and to make sure that the democratic system will not be abused. This can work only if the BeVolunteer members are really persons who know BeWelcome well and want only its best - BeVolunteer is not so easy to join by just filling an online form. Instead we tried to design a system which allows offering both security and efficiency - you are welcome to help us improve it.
We define the application process below – please, do not consider this in any way to be a source of frustration or a way to keep people out, it is all the contrary, BeVolunteer is thought on the basis of openness, transparency and discussion among the volunteers. We will be very happy if you complete it and welcome you as a "junior member" (it should take about one or maximum two weeks). If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact info@bevolunteer.org. And for more info about BeVolunteer, you can of course keep on reading on that site. Some of your questions may find an answer in the FAQ, and else the public forum is here for you. Before applying to BeVolunteer, you must have read its Statutes and its Internal rules - all that information can be found on the Main Page.
Last but not least: if you don't comply with the requirements to become a BeVolunteer member, don't see it as a problem! The normal way for any is to take the time to know how things work, are organized... and you can help BeWelcome in the same way as you would not be BV member, joining one of the numerous Teams.
1. Conditions for application
(extract from Article 7 of the Rules and regulations)
In order for a person to become a member of BeVolunteer, the following requirements must be met. The person must:
- have been an active BeWelcome member for 6 months. For the first year of the project BeWelcome (from 02.04.2007 till 31.03.08), this condition is extended to a membership of 6 months of another hospitality exchange network.
- have been an active volunteer of BeWelcome for at least 3 months. For the first year of the project BeWelcome (from 02.04.2007 till 31.03.08), this condition is extended to a volunteering period of 3 months in another hospitality exchange network.
- be vouched for by a BeVolunteer member
- Accept the Statutes and the Rules and regulations.
- agree to grant to BeVolunteer a right forever to use the work done for BeVolunteer during the membership of BeVolunteer. This covers work done for BeVolunteer and any and all projects of Bevolunteer, such as BeWelcome.
This is to define that the work of BeVolunteer volunteers is owned by BeVolunteer. You may wonder why we are talking about granting a right. We are using these words to make the things clear: The work you produce as a volunteer is a patrimony which is used. If BeVolunteer has a defined right on it, it means that BeVolunteer as the association of the BeWelcome volunteers will forever stay the master of the work you will have done while being an BeVolunteer member. The aim of BeVolunteer is to make sure that this work is used for the best of our ideas. Once you do not agree with that anymore, you can leave BeVolunteer and you are not bound by this agreement anymore. This means that from then on you can use your work (past and future) for whatever you alone decide, however, you will not be able to forbid BeVolunteer using what you have produced for BeVolunteer projects while being a member with BeVolunteer.
- You must send your application for membership by email to info@bevolunteer.org
Please attach to your application a copy of your passport or identity card if you do not have a passport, as attached document of your message, so we can check your data (this document won't be stored but deleted after having checked the name you wrote in your application).
We ask you, too, to write us a small text about your motivations for joining BeVolunteer and what they are for volunteering in BeWelcome, what you expect... Thanks a lot for making that effort.
2. Acceptation
If the conditions mentioned above are gathered, the next meeting of the Board of Volunteers of BeVolunteer will decide about your application. In case it confirms it is ok, it will send you a welcoming message within a week, and you'll be a "friend member". (to read about case of rejection check the Statutes)
It means that you will have access to BeVolunteer website, including the forum and wiki, to participate in the work and discussions among the BeVolunteer members.
If there are decisions which not everybody agree with - like tools to implement -, you will have a right to vote for them.
You will be able to attend the annual General Assembly, which defines core ideas for BeVolunteer work and elects the BoD, but for the first three months you will not have a vote in it: this system is to ensure that volunteers cannot come just for a short while and influence BeVolunteer future, on long term.
If you do not receive news after two weeks, write a message to info@bevolunteer.org to ask what is going on (maybe we did not receive your application).
3. Application form
Please copy that text and fill ALL the fields by the right content.
I, . . . (full names), born in . . . (birthplace) on . . . (date of birth) , whose BeWelcome username is . . . (BW username) . . ., herewith apply to be a member of the BeVolunteer organization, also called BV.
I certify that I have read and understood the official statutes of BeVolunteer Statutes, and its internal Rules and regulations.
If my application is accepted, I will forever grant a free right to BeVolunteer to use the work I will have done as an BeVolunteer member.
The BeVolunteer member vouching for me is: . . . . . . (full name). . . . . . . . . . .(BeWelcome username)
The copy of my passport or ID card is attached.
I write below a text of motivation of my membership.
Done in (city, country) . . . . . . . . . . . . . the (date) . . . . . . . . .
(name) . . . . . . . . . . . . .
My motivations:
.
