Make a Difference
Join TNKR’s Volunteer Leadership Academy
TNKR Volunteer Representatives and Leaders
Are you ready to commit to TNKR long-term? Would you like to be recognized as a representative on TNKR’s Leadership Team? You can also develop your own leadership plan within TNKR, so you can be recognized as someone who has helped develop an organization helping North Korean refugees.
TNKR Representative
We are lucky to have many volunteers join TNKR. Some have even gotten actively involved in activities beyond tutoring or coaching. We would now like to institutionalize this, so that volunteers can build their careers and skills while they help TNKR become a sustainable organization. To start on the path to becoming a TNKR representative, get involved with at least three main TNKR activities.
- Tutoring or coaching (or another activity such as translation, social media, graphic design)
- Fundraising
- Being an ambassador by regularly attending and publicizing meetings, sharing links on social media, recruiting other volunteers.
TNKR Team Leader
Take on a leadership role within TNKR, leading a team focused on a particular activity. These volunteers will engage in all of the activities expected of Representatives, plus they will take on long-term leadership of a TNKR project or activity.
TNKR needs energetic and ambitious volunteers who are willing to commit long-term to the organization, treating it as a priority rather than an option. If you are already volunteering with TNKR and want to get more deeply involved, then contact TNKR co-founder Casey Lartigue ([email protected]) to get on the TNKR Team Leadership path.
Apply here then contact TNKR co-founder Casey Lartigue for a discussion so we can develop your leadership plan in TNKR.
Examples of TNKR Volunteer Representatives and Leaders
Who are these magical people who become TNKR representatives and leaders?
Here are a few examples of TNKR Leaders
- Janice Kim, started as a TNKR tutor, is now Academic Coordinator managing all aspects of the Track 1 program and also handling recruitment for both Tracks 1 and 2.
- Karleta Peterson, started as a TNKR tutor, is now Coordinator of the Volunteer Leadership Academy.
- Dave Fry, initially a TNKR tutor, is now TNKR’s Assistant Director. He is one of TNKR’s most consistent donors and helps in many ways.
- Oliver Brown, a former TNKR coach, is now TNKR’s Development Manager. He makes a donation for every fundraiser set up by tutors and coaches and is now engaged in outreach to help TNKR develop new revenue streams.
- Youngmin Kwon, a human rights activist, is now Project Manager of the Bring My Father Home Campaign. Additionally, he translates speeches and documents by refugees and helps at almost every TNKR event.
Here are a few examples of TNKR Representatives
- Peter Daley, an Australian who has lived in Korea long-term, is TNKR’s Music Manager, a volunteer tutor and coach since late 2014, and organizer of several TNKR events.
- Eben Appleton, the nice grandma in the USA, who shares almost every TNKR post on Facebook, engages in fundraising and donates money from her monthly Social Security check, and is now even scheduled to give speeches in the USA.
- Jasmin Fosse, a teenager in Finland who translates TNKR documents into foreign languages, shares many TNKR posts, engages in fundraising, and informs others about TNKR.
- Michael Downey, an author and teacher who is now reaching out to people in South Korea to inform them about TNKR.
- Anna Martinson, a graduate student in the USA, is a TNKR tutor, graphic designer and fundraising manager.
- Minwoo Kim, a South Korean, who donates proceeds from his active events to TNKR.
Apply here, then contact TNKR co-founder Casey Lartigue for a discussion so we can develop your leadership plan in TNKR.
Get Started
Step 1: Join an Orientation session
To start this initiative, we held Orientation session on January 6, 2019 at the TNKR office. Based on feedback, we will plan a follow-up Orientation session.
Step 2: Email Your Resume
- You can submit a standard or your favorite resume to TNKR Co-Founder Casey Lartigue . Be sure to highlight the importance stuff on the first stuff, the rest is up to you.
- Be sure to include up to date contact information (such as, an email that you actually check).
Step 3: Meeting with Casey Lartigue
- At this meeting, we will discuss ways that you can get involved with TNKR. We would also like to receive your input about ways to develop our Volunteer Leadership Program and any particular skills or interests you have that we should consider.
Step 4: Finalize Your TNKR Leadership Plan (and put it into action!)
- This should be a more specific draft plan, highlighting activities you would like to get involved with. You will have opportunities to update this in the future, it will help us as we develop TNKR’s Volunteer Leadership Program.
Specialized Volunteering (Non-Tutoring)
Not ready to commit to the level of TNKR representative or leader?
Then become a specialized volunteer. Help us build TNKR into a sustainable organization so we can be even more effective at helping refugees. We are now forming planning teams and seeking new ideas. You can help with social media, translation, fundraising, editing, writing, networking, video, photography or skills.
Short-term volunteers
Dropping into Seoul for a short-term? You can still get involved with TNKR as part of a long-term connection with TNKR as a non-tutor.
Step 1: Apply here
Step 2: Set up an online fundraiser to support TNKR. We completely rely on private donations and expect short-term volunteers to also help us build the organization.
Step 3: Contact TNKR co-founder Casey Lartigue to discuss how you can start volunteering once you are available. We have had some volunteers who would arrive at our office without having any ideas how they could volunteer, then it would take them some time to catch up, then by the time they were ready to leave, they were finally starting to catch on. So we now expect volunteers to be in contact with us in advance, to start volunteering before they arrive to our office so they can hit the ground running, and to find a niche they can continue volunteering at after they have left our office.