“I brought my granddaughter Martina, who was a sophomore in high school, with me on a Global Volunteers trip to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana.  It was a wonderful trip, and Martina was so impressed!  Later, when she worked on her applications to colleges, she highlighted her volunteer work.  One of the schools contacted her before she received her official acceptance letter to tell her that they were so impressed with her volunteer work in Montana that it was one of the deciding factors in offering her acceptance!  So I want to say “Thank You” for the opportunity you gave us to travel and serve on the reservation.  It certainly has made a big difference in Martina’s life! – Judy Takata, Montana volunteer

Every day around the world, children and families struggle. Malnutrition, illness, under-education, unemployment and other symptoms of poverty limit their futures.  But, it doesn’t have to continue. What’s more meaningful than a family volunteering vacation to help improve the lives of other families? Lend a hand and support for a week or two, and learn how much you can change the world. Reach out as a family, and your lives will change in unimaginable ways.

Your health and safety is always our top priority on family service projects. Your children will accompany you or an adult guardian at the work site. We provide a full-time team leader, secure accommodations, safe food and water, age-appropriate work projects, and a partner community that cares about your welfare and welcomes you like family throughout your volunteer trip.

Remember when someone opened your eyes with a wise word, an affirmation, or an important new skill? We all influence each other’s lives in profoundly meaningful ways. Whether age 6 or 96, family volunteering focuses your effort on a higher goal. Families of all compositions work side-by-side on volunteer trips with a wide range of local families. Here you can push your boundaries and experience daily life outside your comfort zone.

Family Volunteering: An Experience of a Lifetime

We know that family volunteering is life-changing.

Your entire family can contribute to common projects – or pair each parent or adult guardian with children among different work sites, according to their individual interests and capabilities. As Global Volunteers, you benefit from our more than four decades of community development expertise. Our volunteer trips are led by staff and alumni who are trained in volunteer engagement, health and safety, host relations, and most important – delivering essential services to help children and families reach their full potential.

Design a service experience to match your family’s volunteering goals.

Chose program dates during school breaks and summer vacations. Parents and guardians are expected to supervise their child volunteers, and collaborate with our team leader and local partners to maximize the service experience for everyone. The other members of the team, including the team leader, should not be expected to baby-sit or watch your children.

Youth are invited to offer their own perspectives in team meetings and fully participate in free-time activities. In this way, your child can form a rare, personal perspective of this exotic culture beyond what they can find online, in school or in personal study. What’s more, they’ll gain life-long friends in one of the world’s most intriguing countries!

To ensure a positive experience for everyone, you must comply with the minor volunteer policies.

We Support and Prepare You For Exciting Family Volunteering

  • Professional in-country staff and partners

  • On-site orientation and team-building sessions

  • 24-hour emergency phone contact

  • Emergency medical evacuation insurance

  • Language and cultural introductions

  • Professional skills and work project interest questionnaire

  • Program summary materials and reading lists

  • Conversational English Teaching Guide

  • Global Volunteering Manual

  • Essential Services Prospectus

  • Volunteer fundraising assistance

  • Hotel lodging in most partner communities

Minimum Ages for Family Service Projects

Parents and legal guardians of minors – under age 18 – must complete a Minor Registration and travel with their children. Children 15 and under must work closely with their parent or legal guardian on family service projects.

Country Community Min Age Notes
China Xi'an 10
Cook Islands Rarotonga 8
Greece Maleviziou, Island of Crete - Summer Camp 6
Greece Maleviziou, Island of Crete 12
Italy Castelvetrano, Sicily 10 summer camps JuneAugust
Italy Castelvetrano, Sicily 12 school year
Malaysia Johor Bahru 7
Montana Blackfeet Reservation 8
Nepal Kathmandu 10
Peru Lima 7
Poland Reymontowka - School Year Program 6
Poland Reymontowka - Language Camp Led by Ukrainian Team Leader 6
Poland Siedlce - Polish-Ukrainian Summer Program 6
Puerto Rico Aguada 10
St. Lucia Anse La Raye 8
Tanzania Ipalamwa Area 13
Texas San Juan 12
Vietnam Hanoi 15

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Children 12 and Under on International Service Programs: Each child 12 and under traveling one-on-one with an adult, pays 60% of the standard international program contribution for all family volunteering programs except Poland summer camps. This discount is not available for USA programs, and cannot be combined with any other discounts. One parent/guardian must accompany each child – and every child in a family must meet minimum age requirements for the selected program.

“I feel I gave my children the gift of a lifetime with Global Volunteers; enhancing their personal growth as they developed a broader and deeper worldview.  They recognized they have gifts to share, and discovered a desire to learn from and serve others.”  

“Although most young people don’t have the time or money or have never volunteered before, more people my age should consider joining Global Volunteers, because it is such a good experience. You get a chance to see how other people live in different parts of the world. The feeling you get after helping people do something is indescribable.”

“Global Volunteers has a plethora of programs for families, and a “Safety Trumps Everything” policy that is especially appropriate when young people are involved. The organization is one of the largest and most respected VSOs in the United States. Global Volunteers offers family programs all around the world including China, Vietnam, Poland, Mexico, Peru and Tanzania.”

“It was all we had hoped for and more. From the very start, the Global Volunteer staff was attentive to our needs and made a conscious effort to assure that we understood the intricacies of volunteering as a family.”


“My experiences with Vanessa, Ben, and Alex in Costa Rica, Poland, Greece, China, Brazil, and Africa have been life-defining. I have been taught first-hand the power and selflessness of human compassion, and that the political, cultural, or religious variants in life are secondary to human solidarity and well-being.”

Fill the form below for more volunteer abroad information, or call: (800) 487-1074


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Global Volunteers is a U.S. based NGO in the central time zone (UTC -6). Because tax-deductibility, visa requirements, and language proficiencies vary, please choose the country you’re inquiring from to enable us to provide you the most appropriate information.



Thank you for your interest in a development partnership with Global Volunteers. We're unable to expand our programs at this time. As our website portrays, our current service programs center around providing the 12 Essential Services for our Reaching Children's Potential Program. But for future reference, please send any information to: partnershiprequest@globalvolunteers.org


As a private, non-profit organization independent from government and religious funding, Global Volunteers’ programs are financed almost entirely by volunteer contributions. This is important because our community partners cannot afford the “open market” costs of the services and materials we provide. Your tax-deductible service program contribution pays your expenses in the partner community. These include your food, lodging, work site transportation, program materials, team leadership, emergency evacuation insurance, and administrative costs. In addition, we provide supplemental financing to help meet our host’s many, on-going and special needs.


While English fluency does not disqualify you from participating on any of our programs, Global Volunteers is a U.S based NGO with your teammates, training materials and other communications being conduced primarily in English.

We’re unable to provide any assistance in obtaining your passport or visa. You'll need a passport to travel abroad and for some countries, you’ll need a visa.  Please keep this in mind when planning your travel schedule. If you live outside the U.S., you may have additional restrictions for participating on U.S. programs.

To provide you with information to match your specific interests, please tell us a little about you:




Many employers help cover part of the service program contribution. Providing this information can help us determine if this is available to you.



Our volunteer coordinators are available from 8:30AM to 4:30PM Central Time and will email you during that time on the next business day. If you prefer, you may chat now, or call 651-407-6100 if you’re inquiring during office hours.

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