Looking for a great new adventure idea for this summer vacation?
You should check out Globe Aware’s volunteer vacation opportunities and learn how you can make a difference through voluntourism travel.
Globe Aware destinations are all over the world and with a focus on week-long vacations, trips can be designed to meet almost any holiday schedule. In a May 16, 2010 article in Oregon’s The Statesman Journal, reporter Khela Singer-Adams spotlights Globe Aware and examines the many volunteer vacation opportunities available.
Volunteer Vacations: Make voluntourism part of your summer vacation plans
May 16, 2010
Khela Singer-Adams
As we come closer to the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day, you might have started to think about your summer vacation plans.
Soon, people will start packing up a few belongings and head to some place warm and tropical or a distant land rich in cultural history.
As you pull out your map of the world and before you contact your travel agent, consider something that is as good for the community as it is for your soul: voluntourism.
People across the county and the world have adopted the idea of incorporating service into their vacations. Voluntourism.org describes this trend as a way to interact with a destination in ways that would have previously existed beyond the capacity of expectation.
Voluntourism can ignite a passion and purpose within tourists that might not have existed before. Studies show that volunteering is an excellent way to bond with your family, friends and coworkers. Groups get the satisfaction of completing a task while seeing a side of each other they might have missed before.
Getting involved is easy. If you are looking to travel abroad, connect with Globe Aware. It is a nonprofit that develops short-term volunteer programs in international environments that encourage people to immerse themselves in a unique way of giving back. Traveling with Globe Aware, you will interact with local community members to understand what challenges they face, see how they have chosen to address these issues, and then take part in working on one or more of their community projects. Chosen projects meet key criteria: safe, culturally interesting, genuinely beneficial to a needy community and involve significant interaction with the host community.
Learn more at www. globeaware.org
If you would like more information about taking a volunteer vacation to Costa Rica, Romania, Peru, China, India, or you are interested in voluntourism in another country or on another continent, please visit Globe Aware's Destinations Gallery for program and trip descriptions, dates and Minimum Contribution Fees.
