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.
The Grossman family just served abroad for the first time. They had a great time and were able to make a difference for many neglected children in Peru. Their experience shows that there is no downside to volunteering as a family. Liza is 12, but she has already traveled outside the U.S. as a volunteer. […]
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to volunteer on an Indian Reservation? A young team member reflects on service-learning as a volunteer on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. Highlights from the team journal: What we saw: A girl riding a horse bareback Glorious Glacier Park Lots of completed puzzles at Eagle Shield Housing An oddly few number of […]
There’s a first for everything! Could volunteering in the Caribbean with Global Volunteers be one of yours? Learn from Rechelle and her teenage daughter Kayla (pictured above) about experiences you can expect volunteering in Anse la Raye – on the island of St. Lucia. My service program with Global Volunteers will live me forever! Although I’ve […]
Ken is one of those people who not only tries to live happily without harming anyone, but actually invests his time helping others. He has helped in his home city of Seattle building houses for low income families, teaching at a school for homeless children, and serving at the Board of his local Girl Scouts […]
Maria Maki, 20-time Global Volunteer and Country Manager, shares her thoughts and experiences about the importance to build bridges between countries: We sometimes forget what we have to learn from others just outside our own borders – as well as half-way around the world. What you find is more often than not what you expected […]
Global Volunteers salutes Bill Spencer, who has served on 16 Global Volunteers service programs – starting with Turkey in 2000. Since then, Bill has gone on to serve as a Global Volunteer in Greece, the Cook Islands, Brazil, St. Lucia and Mexico. Thus far, his favorite Global Volunteers service program has been in Querétaro, Mexico, […]
Here’s one couple’s story of how they fell in love on one of their service vacations with Global Volunteers – and not fell in love with each other, but instead with three little Peruvian sisters. Told by Jim, two-time Global Volunteer. Let me be honest. When my wife Connie and I decided to visit Peru, […]
A sister-sister relationship is a special one for many reasons. Few people will understand you and your childhood better than a sibling – especially a sister – which is great! However, sisters also know how to get under each other’s skin. So… Why spend two weeks on a volunteer program to travel with your sister? […]
International volunteer work is rewarding, and can be especially so in retirement. While giving back and helping others, you make new friends, learn about a different culture and get out of your “comfort zone.” Mature adults who volunteer report higher levels of well-being. Some studies indicate those that volunteer live longer than those who lead more […]
A blackout seemed to frustrate a volunteer’s English classes one night. But soon our volunteer, Jennifer, would learn that there is no darkness in Cuba. I am going to remember Monday as a collection of sounds, lights, and … darkness! Breakfast at hotel: The slurps of coffee and leche, the undertones of Deutsche – sprechen […]