Change by Doing Explore the world of volunteering and service

Photo: GoVoluntouring.com

So you’ve decided that yes, indeed, you are looking for your next vacation to have a little more authenticity and interaction than ordering another umbrella drink at the resort pool. You’ve heard this “voluntourism” word bandied about. By now you probably already have a few friends or family members or co-workers who have given at least some of their vacation time, from an afternoon to the whole trip, to a worthy cause. Maybe you’ve even googled and binged yourself into a daze looking for volunteer vacations (there are millions of hits). How do you filter it all down to digestible chunks? There are many ways, and tools, and more launching all the time. Go spin around the search engine tools of Go Voluntouring where their filters help you find a volunteer project in a place you want to go, doing the work you want to pursue. They aren’t providing the trips or charging the fees, they are consolidating and weighing information based on your preferences to help draw up a menu of voluntourism options for you. There is a strong focus on teaching vacations, and lots of other community development projects, wildlife and environment opportunities, coaching, women and youth programs, and more. It’s a great place to begin dipping your toes into the waves of information. Your job is to find a volunteer vacation that will make your heart sing, that will mist up your eyes when you talk about it, that will leave you with memories and connections that will last a lifetime as you give energy to something beyond your front door, beyond your familiar city limits, and probably—at least at times—beyond your comfort zone. Go there–it really is what you’re looking for.