On 1st February 2018 WWOOF UK made a significant change to the sign-up process for volunteers by reducing the minimum age for joining from 18 to 16. Given the recent decline in WWOOFer numbers we hope this will give our membership a much-needed boost.
To accompany this development, we are offering ten lucky young people bursaries to cover their membership fees and travel costs to their first host. Many thanks must go to Beccy Murrell, Regional Host Contact for the North West who secured this funding for us from her employer, THINK Consulting Solutions, as part of their charitable activities.
Bursary applications need to be submitted by 16th April 2018 and will be assessed by Beccy and a WWOOF UK staff member, with successful applicants being notified in May. More details can be found on our home page, www.wwoof.org.uk.
We are aware that for some members this change may raise questions about legal responsibilities, in particular child protection. We have thought about this innovation long and hard and consulted a number of professionals and organisations in the process. The advice we have received has been added to the FAQ section of our website, www.wwoof.org.uk/faq.
Please refer to the FAQs initially but if you don’t find the answers you need please contact us using: info@wwoof.org.uk
Having shared this news with hosts before the official launch on our website we have been buoyed by the response which has been overwhelmingly positive.