Global Action Awards

The ethos of the WOBS Voluntary Services Awards (VSA) which was established in 2000 as a bursary fund for Worthians continues on with the Worth Society Global Action Awards (GAAs).  The re-naming was encouraged by current pupils and Worthians who felt that ‘global action' has a closer affinity with the emphasis of the VSA Scheme today in the context of the global environment.  We are hoping that we might be able to entice a few more of you to leave your desks and take a truly worthwhile sabbatical for the benefit of others.  As we have said before, this is not just an Award for recent leavers taking a Gap Year, it would be great to see more mature Worthians taking advantage of them - as Rob Carson (G'94) has done, for instance.

To reiterate, Global Action Awards are available to any Worthian who is proposing to spend time in unpaid work for the good of people, the community or the environment, either at home or abroad.  The table listing those awarded GAAs and VSAs, clearly demonstrates the depth and breadth of projects considered, and over the last eight years we have awarded a total of £9,330.

Luke MacWilliam (R'07) successfully applied for a GAA in 2008 and spent four months undertaking voluntary work on two very different projects.  The first involved spending a month on South Africa's Eastern Cape - the Wild Coast - working for an Eco-Tourism Game Reserve.  The second project involved spending three months living in a rural village on the shores of Lake Malawi, coaching sport and teaching in two local schools.  You can read all about his experiences if you click here in his article titled The Warm Heart of Africa, which you will also find in the latest 08/09 issue of The Blue Paper. 

And we are much looking forward to hearing from our successful 2009 GAA applicants - Tristan Stutchbury (StB'01), who is currently volunteering for Africa Initiative for the Needy (AINU) in Uganda; and Benedict Wintour (B'09) who is currently working to raise funds to work as an Academeic and Sports Teaching Scheme in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya in 2010.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Global Action Awards, please click here to view the Terms and Conditions .  If you would like to apply for a GAA, donate to the GAA fund or find out about any projects in need of volunteers please contact the Olivia Henley, Worth Society Secretary, on admin@worthsociety.org.uk for more details.