Summer Voluntourism

Summer is here for Tonic readers north of the equator. Many of you are thinking about vacation, and some want to to take a break from the United States and explore a different culture. One option to consider if you’re looking toward going abroad would be a spending that time volunteering on a social or environmental project in a developing country.

Every project is different. Some actually charge you for the opportunity to volunteer; others will give you room and board just to show up. But international volunteer vacations are an excellent alternative. You will be contributing to a good cause while benefiting from experiencing a different culture from a much more authentic perspective than the tired tourist trail. Though it may be too late to get yourself set up for some summer volunteer positions, it's worth looking into and learning about the many options out there. Here are some of the best stops on the Web to get more data:

- TransitionsAbroad.com is a truly an exhaustive resource of all kinds of offerings. Around for more than three decades, they publish a print magazine and e-zine, books, and the Web site has resources on traveling, living, working, volunteering and studying abroad. The volunteering abroad page is in my view the very best for listings on both paid and free volunteer programs, organized by region and country and with participant reports and articles.

- Earthwatch.org has been around nearly 40 years. One of the pay-first outfits, they offer the opportunity to assist scientists conducting research projects in rainforests, wildlife preserves, archaeological sites and coastal areas.

- GoAbroad.com is another Web site with a wealth of detailed, up-to-date info including an easy search box up top to expedite your browsing. They also have info on travel, language schools, studying abroad and leads on international jobs (lots of English teaching positions).

- GlobalVolunteers.org is one of the pioneers of the volunteer vacation field and their Web site boasts some influential endorsements including from USA Today and Travel and Leisure magazine. They offer, for a fee, short-term and extended volunteer options in 19 countries, such as teaching orphaned children in India or teaching English in a rural South African community.

- WorldVolunteerWeb.org is a site set up by the United Nations Volunteer Programme with news and publications on the world of international volunteering. In its Resources section, the Web links page has an authoritative, though not very navigating-friendly, list of links to organizations offering volunteer programs.

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