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 […]
First-time Global Volunteer Denise Nelson Nash has always had a passion for volunteering. In July, she served on a Global Volunteers service program in Hanoi, Vietnam – a goal for her – teaching conversational English at the Vietnamese Institute for Development Strategies (VIDS). She shares her story here: “As a young adult, I lived and […]
An update from James Puati, Global Volunteers’ Cook Islands Country Manager, about two new volunteer projects in the Cook Islands: Announcing Two New Volunteer Projects in the Cook Islands Volunteers have started serving at a new school. Avarua School has requested support for their students in literacy and numeracy. Avarua Principal, Engia Baxter, is no […]
While short-term volunteering has gotten a bad rap because of ill-conceived and DIY efforts, we know that a steady stream of short-term volunteers, simply put, can change lives and the world. Katie, an Ecuador Global Volunteer and University of Iowa student, reflects on her short-term service trip to Quito. I was given the amazing opportunity to volunteer in […]
The world is waiting for you. Don’t just travel, travel with meaning. Imagine spending a week during your spring break, J-term, or summer vacation as an international volunteer – experiencing the world and making new friends all while helping others. Hundreds of students choose to volunteer abroad with Global Volunteers every year. Why? Global Volunteers […]
To travel in a purposeful, meaningful way is to enrich your life and the lives of others. You dig deeper, stretch farther, give larger. You discover and learn new things about the world and yourself. You leave a positive mark on the communities you visit and the environments you explore. Meaningful travel is being aware of […]
College is a time when millennials are told that they are supposed to find themselves or a deeper purpose in life. For many young people, it can be a harrowing task to discover the “real world, ” especially when the real world isn’t much more than campus and home. But what if you volunteered abroad while in college […]
Ever wonder what a day of service-learning in Cuba looks like? We assure you that when you help others in Cuba, your life, in turn, changes in unimaginable ways. But you don’t have to trust only our word… Read the words of Sydney, a University of Central Missouri student, describing her day in the life of a Cuba Global […]
Journal entry by Ben, Cuba Global Volunteer and University of Iowa Student, written during his volunteer program in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. Over the course of my volunteer work in Cuba, I have tried to think of a way to explain to everyone back in America just what it was like to be in Cuba. I don’t think […]
Bennett, a Global Volunteer in Cuba and Blake School student, discovers that making friends in Cuba comes easily with shared interests and activities. Friday was truly something to behold. From working in the fields, alongside friends, to tutoring a group of four Cubans who collectively spoke only a small sliver of English, I personally found Friday […]