Global Volunteers works in partnership with community leaders on genuine development programs, creating impact in the areas of health, nutrition and intellectual development.
In 2011, the United Nations declared October 11th as the International Day of the Girl Child. Its mission is “to help galvanize worldwide enthusiasm for goals to better girls’ lives, providing an opportunity for them to show leadership and reach their full potential.” It’s a day when humanitarians worldwide unite under the same goal to highlight, discuss, and take […]
Ethical volunteer vacations combine purposeful service with cultural travel – to the ultimate benefit of local children and families. Global Volunteers structures programs to respect and assist the people who invite volunteers into their communities. The term “volunteer vacations” was coined by travel guide author Bill McMillan in 1993, in “Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will […]
Peru Country Manager Daniel Salazar describes higher education in Peru; providing a context for Global Volunteers’ service projects in Lima. We all know how expensive and demanding higher education can be in the U.S. Well, in Peru, college is as challenging, or maybe more so. Read my story and then you can decide. My story […]
by Peru Country Manager Daniel Salazar When we think of the benefits of education, we can probably quickly mention the development of intellectual abilities, freedom of thought, and the increase in productivity. So education is valuable in itself (for the sake of knowledge), but also for the benefits it produces (it makes a person freer […]
Reflections by Emily, an India Global Volunteer, on the cumulative positive volunteer impact on students in Chennai. Before I made the decision to come to Chennai, India, I debated with myself over what my true volunteer impact would be in such a short period of time. I didn’t know if my time and effort volunteering […]
by Daniel Salazar, Global Volunteers Peru Country Manager. When you volunteer in Peru, you have the chance to significantly change a child’s life. It’s one thing to sight-see in Lima. But there is an opportunity to do more, to get to know the country, the stories, and also actually make a difference in a child’s […]
Global Volunteers’ Philosophy of Service guides team members on the principles of responsible volunteering. This alumni volunteer shares a practical example of how this works on site in Chennai, India and elsewhere around the world. By Fran, India Volunteer. At Assisi Illam, the daycare center in Chennai where we’re serving, we’ve just finished singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, […]
When Bud Philbrook and Michele Gran opted out of a honeymoon cruise to take a more meaningful trip, they stumbled onto a rewarding way to enrich their own lives and help thousands of children around the world. Instead of their planned cruise, Bud and Michele spent a week in a rural village in Guatemala. After the local newspaper wrote a story about their unusual honeymoon, people started contacting them asking how they could plan a similar trip.
This unconventional honeymoon led to Global Volunteers’ founding in 1984. Since then, Global Volunteers has engaged more than 32, 000 volunteers in over 200 communities. Watch the full honeymoon story on the Oprah Show…
The next step is to chat online with one of our Volunteer Coordinators. We’re ready to assist you with project descriptions, travel questions, registration guidance, and other program details.
A unique butterfly garden highlights our work in Costa Rica! You’re needed to help plant native species that attract butterflies, build walkways, lay gravel, and landscape the garden. Costa Rica’s Astounding Biodiversity While Costa Rica covers a mere 0.03% of the Earth’s land surface, it contains nearly 5% of all of the species of flora […]
By Katie, Ecuador Global Volunteer Experiencing a Mother’s Life in Ecuador. While most of us come to Global Volunteers with intentions of making the world a little better place for others, more often than not, it is the volunteers who are equally the benefactors of having experienced the humble culture in which we are invited to work. […]