There’s a strong reason why the volunteer vacation is one of the fastest-growing parts of the travel industry. In the global village, we are becoming more and more committed to giving back when we travel; to contributing to community rather than taking from it. And when you think about it, volunteer vacations are also a way we can give back to ourselves. Whether it’s helping to save Leatherback Sea Turtles in Costa Rica, delivering crucial medical supplies to an orphanage in El Salvador, or helping to build a hospital in southern Thailand, each trip allows us to get up close and personal with people in need, where we can make a real difference.
These are truly vacations with a purpose, many of which allow families to participate together. Not surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of those who take volunteer vacations don’t just take them once. They travel year after year, applying their vacation time to experiences and projects that help others, while thoroughly enriching themselves in the process.
For over four years, Peter Greenberg has served on the Board of Directors for Airline Ambassadors International (AAI), a non-profit organization affiliated with the United Nations and recognized by the US Congress. It is a network of airline employees and others who volunteer as “Ambassadors of Goodwill” in their home communities and abroad.
AAI provides humanitarian aid to children and families in need, as well as relief and development to under-privileged communities worldwide. They escort children in need, hand-deliver humanitarian aid to orphanages, clinics, and remote communities, assist at special events and involve youth in humanitarian efforts around the world.
Click here to go to the Airline Ambassadors website.
To view the Airline Ambassadors Special With Peter Greenberg, please click here.
OTHER VOLUNTOURISM ORGANIZATIONS:
I-to-I
I-to-I offers volunteer vacations involving working with sustainable, locally-run community projects, environmental conservation efforts, teaching children abroad and building schools and homes in developing nations.
1-800-985-4864, https://www.i-to-i.com.
Global Volunteers
Global Volunteers, founded in 1984, now mobilizes some 3,000 short-term volunteers annually to work on long-term development projects on six continents. Work projects focus on service at-risk children and their families and include caring for babies in orphanages, nurturing disabled youth, teaching conversational English skills, assisting local health care efforts, and a wide array of labor projects, including painting, landscaping, building playgrounds, repairing community buildings, and improving public works.
https://globalvolunteers.org
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is one of the oldest grassroots environmental organizations in the country, offering everything from family backpacking trips in your own state to wildlife safaris in Kenya to volunteering on a Hawaiian farming community.
415-977-5522, https://www.sierraclub.org/
Earthwatch Institute
Earthwatch Institute organizes volunteer expeditions to mine data in rainforest ecology, wildlife conservation, marine science, archaeology, and more. Family, senior and teen-specific expeditions are also available.
1-800-776-0188; https://www.earthwatch.org
Cross-Cultural Solutions
Cross-Cultural Solutions is focused on promoting cross-cultural exchange as a way of improving the world. So while volunteers participate in mostly health and education-oriented endeavors, most trips include some cultural and learning activities as well. Cross-Cultural Solutions offers trips in Asia (China, Thailand, India) as well as Africa (Ghana, South Africa, Morocco, Tanzania) and Latin America (Brazil, Peru, Guatemala, Costa Rica).
https://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/
Amizade
Amizade has partnerships with 13 sites in 11 countries, including the U.S., Brazil, India and Tanzania. Individuals can join existing programs or groups can customize a program, such as youth empowerment, construction and maintenance, or hospice visits.
https://www.amizade.org/
Globe Aware
Globe Aware operates in about a dozen countries, with a strong presence in both Latin America and Southeast Asia. They even operated in Cuba until a recent clampdown by the Bush Administration, and may again. Globe Aware trips usually require few skills and therefore appropriate for nearly all travelers.
https://www.globeaware.org/
American Hiking Society
The American Hiking Society offers more than 100 one- and two-week trail work trips from January to November. Join other dedicated volunteers as they experience working on a trail and conserving a legacy in America’s most remote wild places. All trips are $130 ($100 for American Hiking Members).
(301) 565-6704, https://www.americanhiking.org.
For more information on Voluntourism, click here.
To learn about traveling responsibly, check out the Responsible Travel section.
