International Volunteer Application: Apply To Volunteer Abroad

Application Process

Complete details about the Unite For Sight programs can be read at Program Requirements & Details and Dates & Locations. If you have further questions, please contact volunteers@uniteforsight.org

This application allows you to share your interests and motivation with Unite For Sight, and you will have an opportunity to watch several videos and films so that you can learn more about Unite For Sight's programs.

Unite For Sight accepts applications on a rolling application deadline. The first qualified applicants are accepted, so we advise that you apply as soon as you decide that you would like to participate. A decision on your application will be made within 3 days of receipt of your application and recommendations. Successful applicants to Unite For Sight submit thoughtful short essays that demonstrate dedication and commitment to the volunteer opportunity. Good letters of recommendation are also necessary for acceptance.

Submit the online application
Submit the $40 application fee (the fee and additional donations fund sight-restoring eye care in developing countries)
Two professional or academic recommendations must be sent directly from recommenders using our online form

Unite For Sight does not share nor sell personal information.

Application

Be sure to save your essay responses in a document on your computer to avoid losing your work.

Section I:

Application Type?
First Name and Last Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Country:
Telephone:
Email:
Birth Date:
Age:
Sex:
Title:
Current University Affiliation (if any):

Degrees Held (please list all):

Please list universities that you have attended as well as dates of enrollment:

How did you hear about Unite For Sight?

Languages spoken and level of fluency (English essential):

Please list any existing medical or health conditions, physical or mental.

Do you have any special eating restrictions? If you have food allergies, please discuss the severity.

Date(s) for which I am applying:

To which program location(s) are you applying? Hold CTRL button to select as many as apply.

Why have you chosen the specific program location(s) for which you are applying? What is your first choice program location?

What are/were your major fields of study during undergraduate and/or graduate school? Select as many as apply.

What is your primary reason for wanting to participate as a Unite For Sight volunteer?

Resume/CV filename to attach:

Section II: Short Answers

(please limit answers to 3 sentences)

1. Have you ever been to a developing country before? Please list all.

2. What was the goal of your time there? (i.e. travel, development work, etc.)

3. If you volunteered or were employed abroad, please provide a complete list of the organizations or employers with which you worked.

Section III: Short Essays

(please be thorough, but succinct. Recommended range of 2-4 paragraphs for each question)

1. Why would you like to be a Unite For Sight volunteer?

2. Please watch the Unite For Sight films listed and discuss how each film has influenced your interest in volunteering with Unite For Sight.

a) Unite For Sight Program Films

Providing Eye Care at Buduburam Refugee Camp (Run Time: 13 Minutes)
Eye Care Outreach Programs in Rural Villages (Run Time: 9 Minutes)
Local Eye Clinic and Volunteer Perspectives on Unite For Sight Programs (Run Time: 12 Minutes)

b) Unite For Sight Partner Eye Clinics Discuss Unite For Sight Programs and Volunteers

Discussion With Unite For Sight's Partner Indian and Ophthalmologists (Run Time: 20 Minutes)
CNN Feature: The Impact of Eye Disease Is Often Overlooked (Run Time: 2 Minutes)

c) Unite For Sight Volunteers Discuss Their Experiences and The Role and Impact of Volunteers

Dr. Rose Speaks About Volunteering Abroad (Run Time: 10 Minutes)
CNN Feature: Chiwing "Jessica" Qu Discusses Volunteering in India (Run Time: 2 Minutes)
CNN Feature: Vanessa Hux Speaks About Providing Eye Care For 2 Million People in Tamale, Ghana (Run Time: 2 Minutes)
Samantha Diamond Discusses Daily Experiences Volunteering in Ghana (Run Time: 8 Minutes)

3. Please watch the video by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, who is known as the world's leading expert on extreme poverty, and Special Advisor to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon. Discuss how the film influences your interest in becoming involved with improving international health by volunteering abroad.

Millennium Development Goals, and Eye Care (Run Time: 20 Minutes)

4. Describe all relevant health, teaching, leadership, travel, and cross-cultural experiences. How have your experiences impacted your interest in Unite For Sight's volunteer opportunities?

5. Unite For Sight's innovative volunteering model motivates and encourages volunteers to be proactive and entrepreneurial, which enables them to make real, lasting change. The diverse talents, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of Unite For Sight volunteers help to develop and hone new approaches to the urgent preventable and curable eye problems that afflict more than 36 million people worldwide.

Watch the three 2-minute segments listed below about Unite For Sight's high impact volunteering. How do you anticipate that volunteering with Unite For Sight will impact your interests and engagement in public health?

CNN Feature: Dr. Jeffrey Sachs Speaks About High Impact Volunteering (Run Time: 2 Minutes)
CNN Feature: Michael Nedelman And His Special Project With Unite For Sight in India (Run Time: 2 Minutes)
CNN Feature: The Impact Of Volunteering With Unite For Sight on Sue Gue's Future Plans (Run Time: 2 Minutes)

Section IV

Have you ever received disciplinary action from an academic institution or employer, whether related to academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct, that resulted in your probation, suspension, removal, dismissal, or expulsion from the institution or employer?
Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or other crime?

Instructions for Letter of Recommendation

When you submit your application, your recommenders will receive an automatic e-mail from Unite For Sight requesting them to complete their letter of recommendation through our online form.

Acceptable references include college instructors, academic advisers, former or current employers, work supervisors, volunteer supervisors, etc. Personal references (friends, family, coworkers, fellow students, and student leaders of a student organization) are not acceptable references and will be disregarded. College students should not submit a letter from a high school teacher or supervisor.

Recommender Name #1:
Recommender #1 Email:
Your Relationship to Recommender #1:
Recommender Name #2:
Recommender #2 Email:
Your Relationship to Recommender #2:

Special Section For Yale University and University of Pennsylvania Students

Unite For Sight welcomes volunteers from all countries and universities worldwide. This is a special section for Yale University undergraduate students and University of Pennsylvania medical students.

Are you a student at Yale University?

Are you a student at University of Pennsylvania?

Declaration

Application Process

By typing my name below, I certify that all information in my application is complete, factually true, honestly presented, and my own work. I understand and agree that an offer of admission may be rescinded at any time should Unite For Sight determine that I misrepresented or omitted material information from my application.
I hereby waive my right of access to the letters of recommendation.
I confirm that my recommenders are professional references, not personal references, as defined in the instructions above.
I understand that I will pay a $40 application fee that will help to fund eye care in developing countries. When I click submit, I will be directed to PayPal so that I can pay the application fee.
I understand that I will be notified about the decision on my application within 3 days of receipt of my application and letters of recommendation.
Upon submission of my application, I will immediately receive an email confirming receipt. The email will also have a copy of my application responses.
When I submit my application, my letter of recommendation writers will immediately receive an automatic email from Unite For Sight requesting them to complete their letter of recommendation through our online form.

Volunteer Process

I have read the Program Requirements & Details section of this website.
I have reviewed and accept all pre-travel and volunteer requirements discussed on the Program Requirements & Details section of this website.
I understand that Unite For Sight provides an easy-to-use personal volunteer login page so that I can keep track of my pre-departure requirements, and access all relevant program-specific details and materials, program manuals, my personalized fundraising webpage, program phone numbers, important links, as well as the email addresses of fellow volunteers and of alumni volunteers.
I know that it is obligatory to purchase security and medical assistance insurance coverage through International SOS.
I know that I am responsible for all travel arrangements, visa, and vaccine requirements.
I understand that I will be responsible for lodging, airfare, food, and any additional expenses. I have reviewed the estimated living, lodging, and food expenses for the program site(s). I understand that the lodging and food expenses are established by third parties who are not under contract with Unite For Sight, and Unite For Sight cannot control changes.
I understand that smoking, alcohol, and drugs are not allowed at the program site.

I have read and accept the above declarations.

Type Name (Signature):
Type Date:

If you would like to qualify for the UCS Unite For Sight-Yale internship, Yale requires that you volunteer for at least 8 weeks during the summer. If you select the 8 week option, you will be eligible for Yale's ISA funding. If you are a Yale student and prefer not to volunteer for 8 weeks, you can apply to be a standard Unite For Sight volunteer for 7 days or more.
Select volunteer type?