Group Leaders Timeline

Registration Begins - September 1

Promotion Meeting

• Inform students and parents of project location and project dates your group will be attending.

  • Set deadlines for deposits: $100 each.

  • Set deadlines for balance of payments to be collected from students (no later than two weeks prior to February 1, for March projects and May 1, for summer projects).

  • Set a payment schedule for IWC fee and airfare payments.

  How to Register

• Registrations are taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. A deposit of $100/person is due with registration. The deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable. Registration ends December 15 for Spring Break projects and April 1, for summer projects.

• Registration can be done via www.thetask.org/youth/iwc from the tab marked “IWC Apply Now.”

• You will be asked to get a new user name and password and to use that information to access the rest of the registration form.

• Only complete Part 1 of the registration at this time. Part 2 will need to be completed by the final registration date.

4-7 Months Ahead:

Travel Arrangements
As soon as you are confirmed for a project, contact your assigned travel agent to verify the number of participants and to discuss domestic travel. Your travel agent will set deadline dates for deposits and final payments for your air travel.

4 Months Ahead:

Orientation Meeting
Conduct an orientation meeting to inform parents and students of more specific details. Pre-project materials will be sent to you by International World Changers that will include a Group Leader’s Notebook, Participant Forms and follow-up information about the project. T-Shirts will be distributed at a later date.

At this meeting:

• Remind participants about payment schedule.

• Talk about the pre-project study requirement for participation.

• Talk about the local ministry project requirement for participation.

• Discuss departure dates, return dates, extra meals not covered by cost, and other expenses not covered in IWC fee (i.e. vaccinations, passports, Visas).

• Remind participants about the need to obtain a passport and/or Visa. You can find website information for passports at www,travel.state.gov/passport_services.html or for Visas at www.travel.state.gov/foreignentryreqs.html. The travel agent will help with securing Visas.

• Remind participants about obtaining the proper vaccinations including the required Tetanus and Hepatitis A.

3 Months Ahead:

Project Coordinators Contact Group Leaders
After the Coordinators Retreats in January or February, Project Coordinators will be contacting you with information concerning your project.

• Complete the Ministry Skills Inventory for each participant and return to the Ministry Coordinator. This inventory is found in the Group Leader’s notebook in “Participant Information.”

• Encourage the adult participants in your group to consider being an Adult Volunteer. Responsibilities of these positions are found in the Group Leader’s Notebook. An application for this position is found at www.thetask.org/youth/IWC/group_leaders

• Contact your Project Coordinator concerning any special diets or physical needs for students you are bringing.

2 Months Ahead

Start Pre-Project Study

Group Information Form - Due December 15, for Spring Break projects
Due April 1, for summer projects
You need to return to https://secure.imb.org/IWCGroup/Default.asp and complete Part 2 of the Registration Application. You will need to use the same user name and password that you used in Part 1. There is a blank copy of the participant information sheet in the“Records and Resources” section of the Group Leader notebook. Have each participant fill in their information and enter this information into the form on the web page and submit the information when it is complete.

Final Payment-Project Fees-February 1,-Spring projects
May 1,-Summer projects
Your outstanding balance must be mailed with a postmark no later than the date above. If balance is postmarked after that date, a $25 per person penalty fee must be included. Remember that the balance is non-refundable and non-transferable.

1 Month Ahead

Parent/Student Meeting
The purpose of this meeting is to ensure that everyone understands the details of the project. The Project Coordinator will communicate most of the project details to you.

At this meeting:

• Discuss dress code for the project

• Collect Participant Forms found in the Group Leader Notebook. (Note: Have a notary public at this meeting to notarize forms.)

• Make a copy of the first two pages of everyone’s passport.

• Designate someone at the church to be the contact person in case of emergency.

• Discuss what to bring and what not bring to an IWC project.

• Discuss travel itinerary.

• Provide parents/students with emergency phone or fax numbers (i.e., IWC office) found in the “Communications” section of the Group Leaders notebook.

• Make sure everyone has primary insurance coverage and copies of their insurance cards.

• Discuss extra monies needed (e.g., free night, meals prior to and after the IWC week, IWC missions offering).

• Discuss issues addressed in the “Prepare to Go” section of your notebook.

• Discuss other items unique to your group.

• Ask parents to write several encouraging notes for their students. (You should distribute these during the project week in your student’s Encouragram envelopes.)

• Encourage participants to have a prayer partner that will pray for them during the project.

• Distribute IWC materials (i.e. t-shirts)

  Church Group Devotion Planning
  Begin planning the Church Group Devotions for use during the project. See “IWC Terminology” in the Group Leader notebook for the definition of Church Group Devotion.

1 Week Ahead

One Week :Prior to Your Project

• Contact the International World Changers office (1-800-999-3113, ext. 1355) to make any last-minute changes to your Group Information Form.

• Check Participant Forms to ensure all necessary information is complete and every form has been notarized.

  After Returning from the project

• Conduct a debriefing fellowship. Ideas for this fellowship can be found in the“After the Project” section of the Group Leader notebook

• Complete the Project Evaluation form located at http://www.thetask.org/youth/IWC/apply_now.htm (this link is at the bottom of the web page).

• Find and start developing possible adult leaders for next year.