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International Volunteers Gather to Work in Small Oregon Town

During the month of August, Jefferson will be hosting two groups of volunteers of 12 people from other countries who will be helping our community complete a couple projects.



The first project will be at the Jefferson cemetery and will involve recording all detailed information about each burial site and digital photos of each headstone. This information will then be used to create an updated database of the cemetery plots, including posting the information on the internet for public access.



The second volunteer group will be creating a neighborhood park. The city has purchased playground equipment through a development grant, but assembly, placement and landscaping is still required.



Volunteers are traveling from Germany, France, Canada, South Korea and Japan to learn about our community while providing help on these 2 projects. The cost for a volunteer to travel here from overseas can cost nearly $1,400 - a cost each of them pay. Some require a visa to enter the U.S., which adds another $100. But visas are not guaranteed. Two volunteers have already been denied visas coming from Turkey and Romania.



A volunteer workcamp is a group of volunteers from four or more countries who come together to assist a local community with a project. Volunteers are 18 years old or older and prepared to live and work in a communal environment. They prepare meals, work, and relax together while learning about each others cultures.



Volunteers have different motivations for participating in a workcamp. Some reasons for volunteering internationally include:

* To do something useful during summer vacation

* To become acquainted with a different country and make new friends

* To learn about different cultures and history

* To improve their English language skills

* To participate in intercultural exchange

* To travel inexpensively in a different country

* To participate in a specific activity



Last year, Colby McCormick (Volunteer Project Coordinator) volunteered with an archeological and historical renovation project at the former Buchenwald concentration camp in preparation for the 60th anniversary of the camp liberation and holocaust memorial. He also spent two weeks performing renovation work at a youth centre in Belgium. Those experiences motivated the organization of the volunteer projects here in Jefferson.

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