Hey Friends,There's only one more day left to apply to become a Crisis Text Line crisis counselor! (UPDATE: They've extended applications until September 28th! Yay!)APPLY HERE TO BECOME A CRISIS COUNSELORA few of you wrote in with questions (thank you!), so we wanted to share a little more about why we need your help, and what the application process looks like:First things first, why we do we need your help?Last week we announced a partnership with UNICEF/UN.GIFT and the UN GIFT Box (see that post here.)We've been big fans of UNICEF ever since we rang doorbells Trick-or-Treating for them back in the day (like way back), so we were stoked when they approached us about working together on their gift box installation in Port Authority. As you may know, many of those caught in trafficking are runaway youth. Being that Port Authority is a huge transit spot in the heart of New York City, it's likely that people who need help may come in contact with the installation. We felt like it would be a great place to help those vulnerable people, so we asked our friends at Crisis Text Line if we could work together and offer a discreet crisis counseling textline to people in need, and they said yes!The only thing is, the Gift Box runs from mid-October to mid-November, so in order to support Crisis Text Line in assisting our community, we need to help recruit 100 potential crisis counselor volunteers to apply to the training program before the next cycle begins by Sept 28th.Crisis Text Line's selection process is actually pretty rigorous (as it should be, these are real people's lives in crisis we're becoming a part of), and only 37% of applicants are invited to participate in the training. That's why we're encouraging anyone who has the slightest interest to apply and see what happens. You can defer to another training cycle if you decide now isn't the right time, but we really need people to apply now so we can green light our partnership. (And, the program is pretty awesome too!)Are boys welcome?Yes, please! We would love the gentlemen to become a part of the Crisis Text Line crisis counselor community!How long does the application take?The initial application phase takes just 10-15 minutes to complete, and you'll receive a response back indicating your acceptance to the second round within minutes.APPLY HERE TO BECOME A CRISIS COUNSELORCan I apply if I'm not a US citizen?The application is open to just US citizens... for now. In November Crisis Text Line will expand internationally. If you're interested in applying to become a crisis counselor volunteer and live outside of the USA, send us a message at hello@illgofirst.com, and we'll be sure to circle back with you when applications reopen for international volunteers.I can't apply now, but how else can I help? Thanks for asking! Would you mind sharing any one of these fabulous photos below with your social media networks, and tag @illgofirst (Twitter) or @go_first (Instagram), with a link to this post (http://www.crisistextline.org/join-our-efforts/volunteer/)?You can say something like:Send a text, save a life. Apply to become a crisis text line counselor via I'll Go First at http://www.crisistextline.org/join-our-efforts/volunteer/OrVolunteer from anywhere. Apply to become a crisis text line counselor via I'll Go First at http://www.crisistextline.org/join-our-efforts/volunteer/APPLY HERE TO BECOME A CRISIS COUNSELORThank you for applying, and helping us help others in the process! <3We love you!xx Jess, Founder, I'll Go First
