Terms & Conditions

 

Please read the Love Volunteers (LV) Terms and Conditions of Service carefully before submitting your online application. By submitting your application, you certify that you agree to the following Terms and Conditions:

TRAVEL

  • Love Volunteers does not arrange flights or make any travel arrangements to the volunteering destination and this is the sole responsibility of the volunteer.
  • General advice concerning passport(s), visa(s) and health/vaccination requirements is available on the Love Volunteers site (www.lovevolunteers.org). Should Love Volunteers provide any suggestions and/or advice on these matters, this is purely indicative only and volunteers are responsible for conducting their own research.
  • Passport, visa, and health requirements are subject to change and the volunteer must check current requirements before departure. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to obtain all documents required for their trip to ensure that these are in proper order. Love Volunteers will not be liable if the volunteer fails to do so, and the volunteer will be responsible for meeting any additional cost(s) incurred by reason of such failure.
  • It is the responsibility of the volunteer, not Love Volunteers, to make sure that the relevant visas and/or permits are in place. Please check with the appropriate Embassy or Consulate well in advance before you travel outside your country.
  • The volunteer is responsible for carrying all necessary documents when traveling abroad, including, but not limited to, passport, visa, work/volunteer permit (where necessary), etc.
  • If the volunteer chooses to obtain a visa ‘on arrival’ for those countries that allow this process, Love Volunteers is not liable in any respect if, for whatever reason, the volunteer is refused a visa and cannot enter the country.
  • Love Volunteers shall not be responsible if entry is denied to a country due to incorrect visa or passport documentation.

INSURANCE

  • Love Volunteers does not provide the volunteer with insurance of any kind. Furthermore, all volunteer projects require valid travel insurance; this is mandatory for all volunteers, on all projects. Accordingly, the volunteer is solely responsible for deciding the type, extent, and level of any insurance they require during the planned travel period and is solely responsible for organizing and covering the costs of this insurance. 

IMMUNIZATIONS

  • While Love Volunteers pre-departure packages include information on immunizations, each volunteer is responsible for checking and confirming the immunizations required for their specific destination of travel. Should Love Volunteers make any suggestions and provide advice on immunizations this is for indicative purposes only. Volunteers are solely responsible for having the correct and necessary immunizations that they require for their travel. Love Volunteers strongly recommend that volunteers visit their health professional at least eight weeks before traveling outside their country.

FEES

  • Love Volunteers makes every effort for its fees to be affordable.
  • Love Volunteers programs operate with a two-fee structure: Registration Fees and Program Fees.

REGISTRATION FEES

  • All volunteers who have been accepted to participate in one of the Love Volunteers programs are required to first register with Love Volunteers.
  • A volunteer’s placement on a program cannot be confirmed until the registration fee has been paid in full.
  • The Registration Fee for the volunteers initial (first) project is: US$299.
  • All additional programs will incur a Registration Fee of: US$149.
  • All Registration fees are non-refundable once the placement booking has been confirmed by our local project partner.

PROGRAM FEES

  • Details of applicable program fees are outlined on each program page of the Love Volunteers Website and any fee revisions will be made public via that platform.
  • All incurred transaction costs pertaining to online, bank, or wire transfers must be covered by the volunteer.
  • Program fees may be subject to change, but will not affect volunteers who have already paid their registration fee.
  • Program fees are due eight weeks prior to the start of the volunteer’s placement. If the booking is made within eight weeks of the start date, payment is due immediately upon the date the volunteer's application has been accepted. Failure to make this payment may result in the loss of the volunteer's place on the program with no refund of the registration fee.
  • All program fees shall be divided, in which 90% shall be sent to the local organization hosting the volunteer, and 10% is used to cover bank forex fees and other transactional charges.
  • The volunteer acknowledges that Love Volunteers collects program fees on behalf of the local hosting organization and any dispute about program fees arising once the program has commenced must be made with the local organization.
  • The payment of program fees does not guarantee the exact program selected. As with all volunteering in developing countries it is important that volunteers remain flexible. Staff shortages, school and public holidays, etc may require the volunteer to take part in different projects offered by the same partner organization.

REFUNDS

  • Love Volunteers reserves the right to investigate any claim for a refund to determine its origin and if any refund is truly due to any fault of Love Volunteers. Should Love Volunteers determine that a refund is warranted due to a fault of LV and through no fault of the volunteer, then Love Volunteers will issue a refund, full or partial, in accordance with our Refund Policy Schedule (outlined below).
  • Program Fees are subject to the following refund policy schedule:
    • Cancellation more than 90 days from the booking start date = 100% refund
    • Cancellation made less than 90 days, but more than 30 days = 50% refund
    • Cancellation made less than 30 days = No refund
  • Once the program commences, there shall be no refunds, either full or partial, for any reason, except if deemed warranted by Love Volunteers and at Love Volunteers sole discretion.
  • The volunteer agrees that only LV shall make the sole and final determination if any refunds, either full or partial, are issued.

PAYMENT DEFAULT/REMEDIES

  • Volunteer agrees to be responsible for any payment made to Love Volunteers that becomes defaulted and in which any late charges or default fees become attached. In addition, if a payment made by a volunteer is in error and reversed, the volunteer shall be responsible to Love Volunteers for any error charges processing the bad payment. Furthermore, should a payment become defaulted at any time, Love Volunteers has the right to cease any volunteer service(s) on behalf of the volunteer and the volunteer shall then not be entitled to any refund.

BOOKING CHANGES

  • Changes prior to project confirmation can be made without charge. Once registered and before the program start date, the volunteer is entitled to change their start date and duration once at no additional cost. Any further changes to their start date, destination or duration after the initial free change requires payment of an administration fee of US$50 for each change. Program changes within fourteen days of the volunteer’s start date will incur a late change fee of US$150.
  • If the volunteer changes the program start date, then the date considered for refund purposes will be the earliest of the dates planned, unless agreed otherwise in writing with Love Volunteers.

LOCAL RULES

  • The volunteer agrees that Love Volunteers shall not be responsible or liable for any volunteer who contravenes any law or regulation of any country visited.
  • The volunteer must abide by the rules put in place by the Love Volunteers local partner organization, volunteer placement institution, and host family. Breaking these rules may result in dismissal from the program with no refund.
  • The volunteer agrees to comply with the Love Volunteers Code of Conduct. Volunteers must read this Code before taking part in a project (presented in the LV Dashboard). If the volunteer doesn’t follow the conditions outlined within the Code, they can be removed from the project at any time and without refund. 

DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE

  • The volunteer must abide by the rules put in place by the local host organization, volunteer placement institution, and the host family with regards to alcohol consumption. Drug use (other than those prescribed by a doctor) is strictly prohibited and will result in instant dismissal from the program with no refund.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

  • When volunteers visit Love Volunteers or send emails to us, they are communicating with us electronically. The volunteer therefore consents to receiving communications from us electronically. Love Volunteers will communicate with volunteers by email or by posting notices on the Love Volunteers website or social media channels. The volunteer agrees that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that Love Volunteers provides to them electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

PRIVACY

  • Like many websites, Love Volunteers automatically gather certain information about our site traffic and store it in log files. This information includes Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exiting pages, operating systems, date/time stamp, and clickstream data. Love Volunteers use this information, which does not identify individual volunteers, to analyze trends, to administer the site, to track volunteers’ movements around the site and to gather demographic information about our volunteer base.
  • A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a volunteer’s computer for record-keeping purposes. Love Volunteers use cookies on our site. As noted above, we do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information volunteers submit while on our site.
  • The security of personal information is important to us. Love Volunteers follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security nor will we be held liable for its misuse.
  • We know that volunteers care how sensitive information about themselves is used and shared, and we appreciate the volunteer trust that we will carefully and sensibly secure said information. All traffic is monitored and recorded to protect private company information. Love Volunteers agrees to keep all information submitted by the volunteer to Love Volunteers private and confidential.

VOLUNTEER CONTENT

  • “Volunteer Content” means any and all information and/or content that a volunteer submits to, or uses with, the Love Volunteers website or information (e.g., content about the volunteer, photographs, or other postings).
  • The volunteer acknowledges that as part of their participation on a Love Volunteers program they may, from time to time, submit photographs, audio testimonies, or blogs about their volunteer experiences with Love Volunteers. The volunteer hereby grants permission to Love Volunteers for the use of such photograph(s), audio recordings, print, videos, blogs, or electronic media in any presentation of any and all kind whatsoever. This may include, without limitation, quotes, photos, blogs, videos etc, on www.lovevolunteers.org as well as Love Volunteers social networking pages. The volunteer acknowledges that Love Volunteers will most likely use such recordings and images for advertising and marketing purposes and the volunteer gives permission to do so.
  • Love Volunteers reserves the right (but have no obligation) to review any content provided by the volunteer, and/or to take appropriate action against the volunteer in our sole discretion if the volunteer violates any provision of these terms or otherwise creates liability for us or any other person. Such acts may include removing or modifying the content and/or terminating the volunteers access to Love Volunteers website and/or any of our volunteer services. 

FORCE MAJEURE

  • The volunteer agrees that Love Volunteers shall not be responsible to pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of Love Volunteers or our partner’s contractual obligations is prevented or affected by reasons or circumstances amounting to ‘force majeure’.
  • Circumstances amounting to ‘force majeure’ include any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, avoid such as, without limitation, plane delays, war or threat of war, civil strife, government intervention, natural or nuclear disaster, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, adverse weather conditions, fire, and similar events.

INDEMNITY

  • The volunteer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Love Volunteers and the local host organization from any and all liability arising directly or indirectly out of, or in connection with, the volunteer’s travel, temporary residence in their chosen destination, and the undertaking of volunteering or tourism activities.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER, LIMITATIONS, AND EXCLUSIONS OF LIABILITY

  • Love Volunteers is an equal opportunity employer. Love Volunteers does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, age, disability, or marital status in its hiring, volunteering, or employment practices.
  • Volunteering often involves traveling to and working in parts of the world where there may be some personal risk. This includes physical injury, financial loss, mental/emotional trauma, and even death. The volunteer acknowledges and accepts sole responsibility for any such risks of whatever nature that may occur during the term of this volunteering agreement.
  • Volunteering placements are often in areas where the standards of accommodation, transport, safety, hygiene, telecommunication facilities, level of infrastructure development and medical facilities are not the same as the volunteer may be used to at home, or would find on a conventional holiday. Love Volunteers cannot accept any responsibility for accidents, injuries, loss of personnel effects, or death, which the volunteer agrees to fully assume. The volunteer understands that during the placement certain events may occur, including, but not limited to, accident or illness in remote places without medical facilities, political instability, criminal acts, and the forces of nature. The volunteer agrees to assume all risks associated with the journey to the maximum extent permitted by law.
  • The volunteer acknowledge that volunteering requires a degree of flexibility, and understands that the itinerary, accommodation, and modes of transport are subject to change without prior notice due to local circumstances. Love Volunteers shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by the volunteer which may include, without limitation, flight cancellations, hotel cancellations, taxi cancellations, etc.
  • The volunteer acknowledges that Love Volunteers contracts with a network of locally-based partners, companies, government agencies, charity groups and individuals throughout the country/s, to assist in hosting the volunteers locally during their placements. To the best of Love Volunteers knowledge, these third parties are qualified to perform the duties they are contracted to perform. However, Love Volunteers will not be held liable for any injury, damage, loss, delay or irregularity that may occur due to the behaviours of these third parties.
  • Furthermore, Love Volunteers disclaims any and all liability regarding any of the content provided by the volunteer. We have no way to verify that any of the information listed by the volunteer is accurate, up-to-date, or fraudulent. Should reliance on any of the volunteer information result in some kind of cause-of-action or injury to the volunteer, known or unknown, Love Volunteers shall have no liability or responsibility.
  • Being aware of the above, the volunteer takes any information from Love Volunteers at their own risk. By using any of the information, the volunteer agrees NOT TO SUE Love Volunteers, or any of its agents, employees, host families, or volunteers (hereinafter referred to as RELEASEES) from any and all liability, claims, demands, actions, and causes of action whatsoever arising out of or related to any loss, breach of contract, breach of warranty, damage, or injury that may be sustained by the volunteer, should there be any losses incurred by volunteer or reliance on any information, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH LOSS IS CAUSED BY THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASEES, or otherwise and regardless of whether such liability arises in tort, contract, strict liability, negligence, or otherwise, to the fullest extent allowed by law.
  • The volunteer agrees to irrevocably release, discharge, and agrees not to sue RELEASEES from any actions, suits, liability, claims, or other causes of action of any nature, known or unknown, which may hereafter arise from any cause whatsoever including, without limitation, those arising from the volunteer’s placement on a program.
  • Although the programs provided by Love Volunteers are intended help improve yourself and the world, Love Volunteers cannot guarantee that the results desired will necessarily occur.
  • The site, all information, content, materials and information related to the foregoing, are provided "as is" and “as available” and to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law, we and our affiliates disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, any warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, course of dealing, usage, trade practice, title, non-infringement, non-interference, and accuracy of data. We and our affiliates do not warrant that the volunteers use of the site will be uninterrupted, error-free or virus free. The submission of any volunteer content and the download or upload of any material through the Love Volunteers site is done at the volunteers own discretion and risk. The volunteer will be solely responsible for any damage to the volunteer’s computer system or loss of data that may result from the download or upload of any such material or from reliance upon the site or information, and you are advised to maintain offline backup copies of all volunteer content. We are not the provider of, and make no warranties with respect to, any third-party offerings. We do not guarantee the security of any information transmitted to or from the site or information; and the volunteer agrees to assume the security risk for any information you provide using the site or information.
  • Love Volunteers does not warrant or make any representations regarding the correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise of the materials in this site or the result of their use. No representation or warranty is made that the site or information provide comprehensive or accurate information. We reserve the right to filter, modify or remove content, media, information or any other material from the site or information and from the output of the site or information.
  • Love Volunteers reserves the right to discontinue or alter any aspect of the services provided at any time. Notwithstanding anything else contained in these Terms and Conditions, volunteer agrees that the liability of Love Volunteers to the volunteer shall not in aggregate exceed the amount of the registration fee paid by the volunteer.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

  • Modifications to Terms. Love Volunteers may change these Terms from time to time. If the volunteer objects to any such changes, the volunteer’s sole recourse will be to cease using the Site and reading any more of the Information. Continued use of the Site or the Information following posting of any such changes will indicate the volunteer’s acknowledgment of such changes and their agreement to be bound by the revised Terms, inclusive of such changes.
  • Modifications to Information. Love Volunteers reserve the right to modify the Site and/or Information at any time without notice. If the volunteer objects to any changes to the Site or Information, the volunteer’s sole recourse will be to cease using the Site and Information. Continued use of the Site or Information following posting of any such changes will indicate your acknowledgment of such changes and satisfaction with the Information as so modified. We also reserve the right to discontinue the Site and/or Information at any time without notice. We will not be liable to you or any third-party should we exercise our right to modify or discontinue the Site.
  • Severability. If any provision (or portion of thereof) of these Terms and Conditions or Legal Disclaimer is declared by an arbitrator, mediator, or court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and, as far as possible, the arbitrator, mediator, or court shall limit the scope or application of the affected clause to the least extent possible in order that it may be valid and enforceable.
  • Governing Law. The volunteer hereby further agrees that this Legal Disclaimer shall be construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand, and that any mediation, suit, or other proceeding must be filed only in that jurisdiction, even if the volunteer is outside that jurisdiction.
  • Injunctive Relief. A breach of this Agreement may cause irreparable and continuing damage to Love Volunteers for which money damages may be insufficient, and Love Volunteers shall be entitled to injunctive relief and/or a decree for specific performance, and such other relief as may be proper (including money damages if appropriate).
  • Remedies. Both parties agree that any controversy or claim arising out of or relating the Terms and Conditions shall be first settled by arbitration. Both parties agree that any arbitrator needs to be mutually agreed upon. Should arbitration fail, both parties agree to have their legal issue be heard before a mediator that both parties need to mutually agree upon. Should mediation fail, both parties agree that they may then have their legal issue resolved by the courts.
  • Legal Fees. In the event of any legal or equitable proceeding (arbitration or mediation) arising out of or in connection with the parties’ obligation under these Terms and Conditions, the prevailing party shall recover its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, including reasonable costs for experts. The prevailing party shall be the party who obtained substantially the same remedy requested, whether by judgment, appeal, settlement, or award.
  • Miscellaneous. The volunteer agrees not to directly contact any of Love Volunteers' partner organizations which have been disclosed to them by Love Volunteers and shall not directly enter into any arrangement with the partner organizations without Love Volunteer’s written approval except for the following:
    • confirming travel arrangements.
    • providing information requested by the partner organization including feedback.

BY USING THE SITE OR ANY OF ITS INFORMATION, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND REPRESENT THAT (i) YOU HAVE READ THESE TERMS FULLY, (ii) UNDERSTAND THEM, (iii) AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM, (iv) YOU ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD, and/or (v) IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OLD, YOUR LEGAL GUARDIAN HAS GIVEN YOU PERMISSION TO VIEW THE SITE AND YOUR GUARDIAN AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ANY OF THE TERMS BELOW, WE ARE UNWILLING TO GRANT YOU ACCESS TO THE SITE OR THE INFORMATION, AND IF YOU DO SO ANYWAY, YOU DO SO ON YOUR OWN ACCORD AND AT YOUR OWN RISK.