How to start a club, Step-by-step instructions

To ensure consistency, safety and the highest quality of service to our villages, we developed this Step-By-Step guide to empower you with all the information you need to coordinate the logistics of your trip. It is critical for every club leader to read completely and check for updates.

• Access Important PHB Files Here

• PHB Files

  
  Establishi ng a Club
  Sample Constitution
  Fundraising Website Manual for Club Presidents
  Check Donations Tracker
  Global Brigades W-9 Tax Form

  
  Travel
  Airfare FAQ
  Visa Requirements
  Visa Application
  List of Honduran Consulates
  
  Student Recruitment  
  Recruitment PowerPoint (*.ppt) (*.pptx)
  
  General Information - Honduras
  About Honduras
  In-Country Instructions  
  
  Follow-up
  Thank you letter to Sponsors and Medication Grant Organizations
  Sample Press Release for School Paper

Before You Begin


• Step 1: Contact Public Health Director
• Step 1: Contact Public Health Director
  
  Please reach out to Joy Bittner at joy@globalbrigades.org .
  
  Please provide your contact phone number and Joy will contact you to set up a conference call and answer general questions to guide you in starting your club.

• Step 1: Contact Public Health Director
• Step 1: Contact Public Health Director \
  
  Please reach out to Joy Bittner at joy@globalbrigades.org .
  
  Please provide your contact phone number and Joy will contact you to set up a conference call and answer general questions to guide you in starting your club.
  

• Step 2: Achieve Official Club Recognition
  
• Step 2: Achieve Official Club Recognition
  
  1)  Find a Faculty Advisor (Example: Dean of Public Health or Global Health Studies)
  
  2)  Construct a Sample Constitution
  
  3)  Once you've secured a club, you will receive:
      -  President E-mail Address (e.g. YourName@globalbrigades.org or YourSchool@globalbrigades.org)
      -  Access To Weekly Conference Calls To Learn From Other Groups
      -  Access To Our Health Professionals Listserv
      -  Freedom To Use the PH Logo To Promote Your Club
      -  More Sample Documents/Templates To Help With Each Step of Planning

• Step 3: Secure a Week For Your Brigade
• Step 3: Secure a Week For Your Brigade
• 1)  Pilot groups: Dates should correspond to the Medical or Water Brigades' arrival and departure dates.  Newly forming PH groups: View the Brigades Calendar for available dates (Must have no other PH groups at that time).
  
  2)  Contact Joy Bittner at joy@globalbrigades.org to schedule dates for your trip and add your institution to the Brigade Fundraising Site.

3-6 Months Before Your Brigade

• Step 4: Hold Information Session to Recruit Volunteers
  
• Step 4: Hold Information Session To Recruit Volunteers
  
  Before the meeting:
  1)  Find and secure a time and location for your info session.
  2)  Invite a PH regional advisor to help present.
  3)  Ask relevant department administrators to distribute emails to public health, global health, international relations, education, Spanish, and other potentially interested students using our Recruitment Email . Also consider contacting presidents of relivant clubs (spanish, service etc) and service-based sororities and fraternities.
  4)  Make announcements in classrooms, post flyers (example) , and advertise in any other effective method your university uses (student newspaper etc).
  
  
  At the meeting: 
  1)  Deliver a customized PH Introductory PowerPoint presentation.
  2)  Distribute PH One-Pagers and Student Interest Forms .
  3)  Communicate costs and commitment of the trip
  - At least 2 months prior to trip, a nonrefundable deposit (made out to your club) of $150 is needed reserve a spot on the trip.  This money will go towards airfare.
  -  Remainder of airfare: $500 – $1000 depending on airline quote (made out to your club). 
  -  Our minimum in-country costs per student: $750 .  Includes secured lodging, food, clean water, in-country transportation, brigade guides, and laundry service.  This cost per student allows Global Brigades to dedicate all of our resources towards empowering the Honduran people.
  -   We are also asking each club to set a goal for itself on how many families they would like to support with materials in addition to the families they directly impact during their Brigade. 
            -  To support additional families, the approximate material costs for each additional project are:
                          Stove - $75
                          Latrine - $250
                          Cement Floor - $100
                          Pila - $100
  
  All in-country expenses, airfare, and family support funds will be raised on the Brigade Fundraising Site
  

• Step 5: Club Members Register On Brigade Fundraising site
• Step 5: Club Members Register On Brigade Fundraising Site
  
  All volunteers must be entered into the Brigade Fundraising Site to be officially registered for a brigade.  The site serves four critical functions:
  
  Registration : Each volunteer signs up under the appropriate institution.Solicit donations : Each volunteer will have a personalized webpage to collect donations from their friends and family.  Brigaders can send emails from the platform using preexisting templates or create your own letter.  All major credit cards are accepted.  In addition, you will have a team page to collect funds as a group.
  
  For suggestions and best practices in fundraising, check out our Fundrasing Guide
  
  Waivers and Code of Conduct : To register for a brigade, all volunteers must agree to the waiver to release Global Brigades from liability and a conduct form.  Both are displayed on the site.
  
  Reporting : Club presidents can pull financial reports indicating who has registered for their brigade and determine how much each have fundraised.

• Step 6: Set Up University Club Checking Account to Collect Airfare Deposits  
• Step 6: Set Up University Club Checking Account to Collect Airfare Deposits
  
  Money collected in the club account should only go to travel. 
  
  

2-5 Months Before Your Brigade

• Step 7: Secure Airline Reservations
• Step 7: Secure Airline Reservations
  
  1)  When your leadership team is ready to book their flights, we ask that you contact our internal travel agents at travel@globalbrigades.org .  
  
  They only book travel, but work directly with our in-country staff to insure a smooth pick-up/drop-off of every volunteer. They also insure every student has signed the correct waivers, has SOS insurance and calls the appropriate foreign consulate offices so they know of our whereabouts in Central America.  Because of our high volume of volunteers it is LOGISTICALLY HAZARDOUS for our in-country staff to have to work with several different agents and airlines, so we assess a $100 in-country fee per brigader for any volunteer group that purchases outside of Global Brigades Travel. Please read our Airfare FAQ
  
  
  Contact Global Brigades Travel with the following information ready:
  Specify that you are a Public Health Brigades group
  Departure and return dates
  City Pairs
  Number of passengers
  Your contact information
  
  2)  Collect $150 deposits in your club name for volunteers to secure their airfare (Optimally 5 months before brigade, no later than 2 months prior).
  
  3)  Collect remaining flight costs and submit names and money to Global Brigades Travel to meet specified deadlines.
  
  4) Ensure all student passports do not expire WITHIN 3 MONTHS of arrival in Honduras.  If they do, the student must renew their passport before departure.
  
  5)  Students without US Passport will need a Visa.  Contact your advisor for questions regarding requirements to obtain a Honduran Visa.
  
       a) Read Requirements
       b) Fill out Application
       c) Return to Honduras Consulates

• Step 8: Vaccinations
• Step 8: Vaccinations 
  
  Every volunteer must be up-to-date on their a tetanus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Typhoid vaccines. 
  Begin taking an oral Malaria medication prior to departure as prescribed by your doctor. 
  
  Vaccinations are usually given at the school health clinic.

• Step 9: Gather Educational Materials for Public Health Workshop
  
• Step 9: Gather Educational Materials for Public Health Workshop 
  
  Contact Joy at joy@globalbrigades.org for ideas and resources regarding the educational workshops required on each Public Health Brigade.
  

Two Weeks Before Your Brigade

• Step 10: Acquire SOS Insurance For All Volunteers
• Step 10: Acquire Emergency SOS Insurance For All Volunteers
  
  All volunteers must show proof that they are covered for emergency SOS and international health coverage before travel.
  
  If not already covered by the school or their current provider,  APF Travel offers short-term coverage that is very reasonable.

• Step 11: Educate Volunteers About Honduras and Set Expectations
  
• Step 11: Educate Volunteers About Honduras and Set Expectations
  
  Provide all volunteers with the Public Health Pre-departure info packet .  This should be sent by email to each volunteer a minimum of three weeks before the departure date for your Brigade.
  
  If youre group is interested in learning some basic and useful Spanish words and phrases, check out these two resources developed by Global Medical Brigades:
  
  Spanish Workshop
  
  Spanish Workshop Powerpoint

• Step 12: HAVE FUN ON YOUR BRIGADE!
  
• Step 12: HAVE FUN ON YOUR BRIGADE!