How Do I Recruit for My Brigade?

You’ve joined the largest student-led movement for global health and are ready to recruit. How can you get people to join?

As a Chapter Leader, you have the opportunity to develop your leadership skills, broaden your understanding of global health, and make a real difference in a community in need.

Establishing a strong foundation for your Chapter is crucial for the success of your Brigade planning, and we're here to provide the support you need to get started.

First Impressions Matter: The Table

• Set up a table at a busy area on campus to spark interest in your Brigade.
• Print a retractable banner to make it clear that you're representing Global Brigades.
• Open up a laptop with your Eventbrite sign-ups for your first information session. 
• If you have a second laptop available from a co-leader, have a video playing in the background. 
• Use the flyer templates from our Marketing Kit.
• Bring candy or donated baked goods to draw people in with sweets. 
• Attend as many fairs, club days, and first-year orientation events as you can. All of these are great opportunities to attract new members.
• Smile and be confident!
  
  

Build Your Team: The Info Session

• Use these customizable info session slides to share information by country focus:
  • Honduras
  • Panama
  • Ghana
  • Greece
  • Guatemala 
• Use your Global Brigades support system. Reach out to members to help you rehearse or invite members to attend virtually. 
• Invite co-leaders to help you present.
• Track sign-ups and attendance on Eventbrite.

Help Us Help You: Use Eventbrite

Our Eventbrite platform helps you:

• Organize a virtual space to keep track of interest.
• Create an official virtual space to build credibility on campus.
• Share emails of interested volunteers with Global Brigades so we can support you with follow-up.

To request access to our platform, fill out this form. From there, you're welcome to go ahead and set up your event.

Network Widely on Campus and on Social Media

There are already classes and clubs on campus full of students who would be eager to join your Brigade. Use those existing networks to reach out to groups of students. Engage ALL of your volunteers in recruitment to reach a wider audience.

Get creative and cast a wide net with recruitment. Pre-med students may be your first target audience, but Spanish majors may like the idea of hands-on Spanish experience in Central America. Education majors could take the lead in organizing public health presentations for kids. Aim for a diverse group of students to maximize your Brigade's reach.

Collaborate with other student organizations on campus. Check out your office of student organizations to see if there are other groups with similar interests or missions. (Pre-med clubs, fraternities and sororities, and student chapters of Doctors Without Borders are all great places to start.) Use this email template to request to join an organization's upcoming meeting to make your recruitment pitch.

Present before a class. Ask your professors if you can have a few minutes at the beginning of their class to talk about your Chapter. Use this email template for professor outreach. Make sure to collect contact info and send a follow-up email to any interested classmates.

Use departmental listservs to share information. These listservs have a large reach and using them can create visibility on campus. Share details about your next info session or event.

Post flyers in locations with high foot traffic. Student unions, dining halls, departmental bulletin boards, lecture halls, and dorms see a lot of students daily. Don’t limit your audience. If you’re recruiting for a Medical Brigade, consider posting flyers in departments like public health or engineering. Use templates for flyers and handouts from our Marketing Kits.

Stay active on social media. Inform potential volunteers what Global Brigades is all about. Follow Global Brigades accounts and share content that resonates with you. Share your #MyGBStory so potential volunteers can see what Brigades are all about.

Use Global Brigades branded templates. If you're not sure where to start, check out our Marketing Kits.

Tips for Talking About Your Brigade

Talking about Brigades is less about selling the experience and more about sharing information about Brigades in a meaningful way. 

Here is a basic elevator pitch that explains how volunteers are part of a bigger-picture movement:

"As volunteers with Global Brigades, we are part of a renowned international development organization working alongside local staff and community partners to resolve health and economic disparities. We volunteer for one week to support on-the-ground, full-time work in [your Brigade country]."

As you get into the details, here are a few things to emphasize as you talk more about Brigades:

• Global Brigades takes care of the logistics. It's great for volunteers to know they won't have to worry about coordinating logistics on a Brigade. The experts at Global Brigades do all of that for volunteers. 
• Costs are covered by your Donation Goal. That includes airfare, meals, housing, in-country transportation, and insurance. Donation Goals also go toward supporting the mission of Brigades and critical medical care in partner communities. 
• Fundraising is collaborative. As a team, you'll fundraise together to reach your goals. Here's a bonus: Fundraising and organizing events are valuable life skills that will serve volunteers beyond their Brigade experience.
• The experience comes with so many benefits. Get valuable international clinical experience and shadow doctors to accelerate professional goals. Build a global perspective that will carry well into the future.
• Join a Brigade to become part of a movement. Join students who are passionate about improving health access in vulnerable communities. Brigades are often described as the highlight of a student's university experience and a source of lifelong friends.