Wondering if anyone has used this group to get some experience or to "test the waters" before committing to teaching ESL here in Thailand... They advertise regularly in a couple papers here in BKK. They say they're near the Ploenchit BTS station.

Volunteer??

Are they christian?

Definitely check them out first.

We generally seek commitments of at least 3 months from our volunteers. Unfortunately, we are not in the position of being able to offer financial, work permit or visa procurement assistance for our volunteers.

http://www.goodwillbangkok.com/site/main.asp?page_id=87

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good luck....

I had some friends do some stuff with them a few years ago....they made a lot of promises they didn't keep so personally I'd avoid them....there's far better and deserving charities out there (let me know if you'd like a link?).

An interesting bit of irony there... They will only help non-Thais as students/clients if they have a work permit, but yet they don't provide a work permit for their own staff that work there...

FAQ

Question: Do you allow non-Thai disadvantaged women to enroll [as students/clients]?

Answer: Our policy is to accept any female who meets our means test and has a work permit, regardless of nationality or religious affiliation.

I'm suspicious of this outfit as well. On their website, about two years ago, they acknowledged they hadn't done a very good job of placing students in employment, and stated their goal for the coming year, was to place 10% of their best students.

Their goal is to place 10% of their students?! Meaning, today, they place fewer than 10%?!?

I notice that all discussion of placement has now been excised. If you read the student comments, you'll see that few of the students quoted, have actually found employment.

Something very odd about this group, indeed.

It appears they'd like you to work ( as a volunteer) while on a tourist visa ?

If one did have a work permit, it would be to permit work for some other organisation, would it not ?

I believe voluntary work requires a work permit, and this would be tied to the volunteer organisation.

Plus, as others have said, it just sounds fishy.