VoRTCS - Volunteer Refugee Tutoring & Community Support Program

How do we get started?

Once you are provided with information about your family and the contact details of the referrer (person who will be introducing you to your family), it is up to you to contact the referrer. We will already have informed them that tutors have been assigned to the family and the first names of these tutors, however, they will not have your contact details until you contact them. For this reason, it is your responsibility to contact the referrer within two weeks of being provided with this information. Obviously, the sooner you make contact with the referrer, the sooner they can inform the family of the good news and get you started tutoring.

You should discuss with your referrer a mutually convenient time for them to introduce you to your family. It is important to be as flexible as possible about this time, as the referrers all have their own work and family obligations and are also taking this role on in a voluntary capacity. The day and time that you meet your family does not have to be the same day and time that you will tutor each week, although this is often the case.

Once you have identified a suitable time, the referrer will contact the family and tell them to expect you all to visit at this time. You will generally meet the referrer at the family’s house and go inside together – you should wait for the referrer to introduce you rather than going inside to meet your family alone. This is to ensure that your family feels comfortable with having you there.

The referrer will generally introduce you to all family members and stay usually for around 10 minutes to ensure that you are comfortable with the family. They will then leave, and you can get to know the family a bit more yourself.

< Previous		Next >