We’ve mentioned before how volunteering can be a great way to spend your vacation time. It not only provides you with the opportunity to help people and experience new cultures and places, but volunteer experiences are a great way to boost up your resume for colleges, grad schools, and jobs.
We also see volunteering as an amazing experience to travel and experience the world. If any of these things strikes your fancy, then read on and learn a little bit more about volunteering and travel!
In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards volunteer vacations. Some of these vacations last months at a time, some last years (think Peace Corps), and others last just a week or two. On several of our FrugalMonkey pages we feature travel opportunities that surround the idea of volunteer vacations. Take some time to learn if a volunteer vacation is right for you, and get excited about unique and valuable vacation opportunities.
If you want your volunteer vacation to have a ‘green’ approach, then consider learning more about an eco volunteer vacation. These types of vacations situate volunteers with organizations and areas that are showing a special focus on ecotourism, or sustainable ideals for that particular region. For example, there are vacations in Latin America where volunteers help to clean up villages and show locals how to live in a way that is not only better for the village but also in sustaining the environment. These types of experiences are great for those that are interested in sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, and the green effort that is sweeping the globe. On our volunteer vacations page within our ecotourism section, we provide a number of links to organizations, like the American Hiking Society, that provide opportunities of this kind to travelers.
Although it is nice to have a narrow focus, like ecotourism, to your volunteer vacation, there are those that choose a much broader type of experience through a volunteer job abroad. Perhaps the largest number of opportunities of this kind exists through universities and non profit organizations. In fact, the largest demographic of volunteer job employees are college-aged students. The types of volunteer vacations that provide an opportunity to work with a cool organization and experience travel are practically endless. While most people think about non profits like the Peace Corps, there are thousands more that place people in volunteer positions abroad that last only a few weeks, or months at a time. Volunteering has an endless amount of positive outcomes for those who volunteer as well as for those who are on the receiving end of the volunteer effort.
Find out more about volunteering abroad through a job with an organization overseas and expand your horizons both through travel as well as through the experiences you will entertain as a volunteer. In this page we highlight government agencies, and technical information like procuring a visa or work permit.
Also, consider working abroad if you want to travel and gain valuable work experience. There are always paying jobs available through organizations that will allow for travel, even if they may be more difficult to uncover. Also consider a teaching job. You may know already that one of the most popular jobs abroad are teaching English abroad jobs, an experience that anyone who is willing to train can procure successfully. Find out more about exciting work opportunities through pages like this through FrugalMonkey.
