[originaltext] Ok everyone, thanks for coming today and for your interest in

Ok everyone, thanks for coming today and for your interest in volunteering abroad. For those that don’t know much about our company, Time Abroad, let me start by telling you a bit more.
    Time Abroad is one of the largest volunteer abroad organizations in the UK. The company was founded in 2000. In 2007. the company grew by .joining with another company, PT Travel, making us even larger. In 2014 we sent 10,000 people abroad on a variety of service projects and internships overseas, more than any other company. All participants receive the best support from our full-time, professional staff to ensure that the experience is safe, worthwhile and fun.
    We have lots of very experienced staff working for us. We have around 150 staff members, the majority of whom are former volunteers themselves inspired by their own experience. Some of these people are even part of the original groups of volunteers back in the early 90s. About 75 of those staff are not located in the UK at all, and spend their whole time in another country supporting the volunteers. They are experts on the local communities you are working in, having spent their whole lives there. They have vast experience in fields such as community development or education.
    The times that volunteers join the program vary a lot. Some join in July because they have just finished studying at college or university and want to do some volunteering before they move onto work or further study. The winter months are also popular because people want to escape the cold weather in the UK. But there are no set start dates and programs run continuously throughout the year, so the majority of volunteers start when it is best for them.
    Time Abroad is an entirely independent organization which does not receive any funding from religious bodies, political parties, development organizations, or other sources. And of course, we don’t request money from our partner organizations in the developing world. All our work is 100% funded through your contributions as a volunteer. We do get help from the government, but that is from reduced business taxes, not financial contributions. It is this financial independence that gives us the freedom to set up projects wherever we think it may be useful and where we think that our volunteers can make a valuable contribution.
16. What happened to Time Abroad in 2007?
17. What does the speaker say about the staff members of Time Abroad?
18. What does the speaker say about the time to join the program?
19. How is Time Abroad funded?