Stories from students, retirees, working professionals, couples, families, groups, solo travelers, first-time volunteers, volunteer veterans and everyone in-between from more than 20 countries around the world. Learn about your favorite country in their own words.
Vietnam Volunteer Diana Swansen notices the “simple things” in life that remind her of humanity’s goodness. She offers her optimistic perspective with us, and her teammates, when teaching conversational English on a Vietnam Service Program in Hanoi. What is good taste? For most people, taste is simply a matter of flavor. But how do we experience goodness? For me, […]
Gila Cohen-Shaw marked her mid-century birthday with a “Gift of Service” to herself through Global Volunteers in St. Lucia (pictured above receiving a hug from a teammate). She followed it up with two service programs in Tanzania shortly afterward. A speech pathologist and therapist by profession, she’s found great reward in the work of our […]
Throughout her childhood, Cassidy Richardson was interested in learning about different cultures and languages. The more she learned, the more she felt drawn to help others while putting her growing understanding to work. When Cassidy turned 18, she decided to get out of the comfort of her home and volunteer in the Cook Islands. In […]
Maine Assistant Attorney General William (Bill) Laubenstein has served abroad and in the USA with Global Volunteers since 2007 – contributing his skills to youth and adults in Vietnam, the Cook Islands, Greece, South Africa, India, Ecuador and West Virginia. In this interview, he offers highlights on his volunteer travels to date. My Global Volunteering […]
Retired professor and avid amateur photographer Dr. Candice Francis and her husband Mike like to combine service work with their travels for pleasure. To celebrate their 42nd wedding anniversary this year they traveled to Ipalamwa, Tanzania to take part in the RCP (Reaching Children’s Potential) project. Here Candice shares her thoughts with her excerpt from […]
“A healthy mind in a healthy body” was an ideal first advanced by the ancient Greeks as a prescription for living wisely. Staying active physically and mentally in retirement is mentioned by many of our volunteers as a reason for service. In an online interview, five-time Global Volunteer Elsa Boykin, says volunteering enhances her well-being […]
20-time alumni Steve Fox is a retired teacher from Washington State who participated on his first Global Volunteers program in Minnesota in 2003. 15 years later, as a retiree and octogenarian, Steve has contributed 1360 hours of service on 20 service programs worldwide. Here he shares his reflections on volunteering in retirement. (pictured here with […]
The inter-generational Appleby family group – grand-daughter Megan, father Mike, and grandfather Robert – joined together to volunteer in Crete with Global Volunteers. Their assignment? Helping elementary and middle school kids speak conversational English. Although Global Volunteer Alumni Robert taught conversational English to High School kids and adults on previous programs, he said enjoyed working […]
Every Global Volunteer team keeps a daily journal of work projects, insights, and lessons to document their own experience in the partner community. In these team journal excerpts, volunteers describe the hand-in-hand effort to make a difference alongside local people on the Blackfeet Reservation of Montana. Monday, September 3: We Spread Out on Community […]
First-time Global Volunteer Denise Nelson Nash has always had a passion for volunteering. In Hanoi, Vietnam, she accomplished a long-held goal – teaching conversational English at the Vietnamese Institute for Development Strategies (VIDS). She shares her story here: “As a young adult, I lived and worked in Venezuela. Living in another country taught me the value […]