You're Doing What?
(or, what to tell your family about volunteering)

Whether it's your parents, children, or a significant other, some people just don't get this volunteering thing. Here are some helpful hints on how to respond to your family and friends' questions about volunteering.

Seriously, you're working for free? Where are you going to live? How are you going to eat? How could you do this to us?
No one gets financially rich from volunteering, but being a CAP volunteer won't require you to sell your plasma either. All CAP volunteers who choose to live in a volunteer house receive room and board, and long-term volunteers (those serving nine months or longer) receive a monthly stipend to pay for "extras."

Will we ever see you again?
Volunteering certainly entails some level of detachment from family, but CAP understands volunteers' need to return home occassionally to visit parents or children. Long-term volunteers receive 10 vacation days per year also receive time off for all holidays CAP employees receive.

What if you get sick?
With the rising cost of health care, few people can afford to be uninsured, and many CAP volunteers are going off of their parents' insurance or losing insurance by leaving a job to volunteer. Long-term volunteers are eligible to receive health insurance benefits, and volunteers who already have insurance may also be able to receive assistance from CAP to pay their premiums. 

How are you going to pay for your loans/grad school? 
Most lenders allow those serving in a full-time volunteer program to defer their students loans during thier service time. Additonally, CAP partners with AmeriCorps to provide the Educational Award, which can be used to pay student loans or tuition. Depending on length of service, a volunteer can receive up to $9,452 to used for past or future education epenses, which is often more than a person working in a paid position could save in the same amount of time. AmeriCorps also pays interest on student loans during one's volunteer time.

To learn more about AmeriCorps and CAP's other volunteer benefits, visit our questions and answers page.

CAP summer camps are designed to provide campers (ages 6-17) with physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual challenges in a reacreational camp environment. For many children, their week of camp is their only vacation for the year.

Road Warriors

CAP representatives are back on the road after the holiday break. Check out our travel schedule to see if we'll be visiting your area.