Volunteer Travel: Impactful Adventures That Change Lives

Travel with Purpose: Volunteer Travel & Impactful Adventures with Kimberly Haley-Coleman – The Travel Brats

What if your next vacation could change your perspective and someone else’s life?

In this episode of The Travel Brats Podcast, Sofia and Natalie sit down with Kimberly Haley-Coleman, founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, to explore what it really means to travel with purpose.

With over 25 years of experience leading short-term volunteer adventures in more than 25 countries, Kimberly has helped thousands of travelers turn meaningful impact into a core part of their journey. Her work has been featured on CNNThe Today Show, and The New York Times, and this conversation shows exactly why.

Read More

How International Volunteer Programs Move Beyond Traditional Tourism | Globe Aware

The Outdoorsy Educator – Where Travel, Education & Adventure Meet

In this episode of The Outdoorsy Educator, host Alasdair Green speaks with Kimberly Haley-Coleman, founder of Globe Aware, about the powerful intersection of travel, education, cultural immersion, and meaningful human connection. The conversation explores how thoughtfully designed international volunteer programs can move beyond traditional tourism to create transformative experiences that foster empathy, global citizenship, cultural humility, and personal growth.

Read More

Lessons From Volunteering: How Cultural Immersion Inspires Personal Growth | Globe Aware

What happens when volunteering becomes more than just service, when it becomes a total transformation?

In the latest episode of our podcast, we dive deep into the powerful lessons that emerge through cultural immersion and meaningful volunteer engagement. Far from just “helping out,” international volunteering is an opportunity to navigate unfamiliar environments and build authentic, lasting relationships across borders.

Read More

Give Back & Foster Business for World Good | Ethical Volunteer Travel | Globe Aware

May 12, 2026 – Sages of Industry-Give Back & Foster Business for World Good

The episode explores how thoughtfully designed short-term international service and ethical volunteer travel can offer a meaningful alternative to ordinary tourism. The conversation focuses on the growth of short-term volunteer travel, why many adults and families are seeking more purposeful travel experiences, and how culturally immersive service programs can create perspective shifts, human connection, and experiential learning. A major theme is the importance of ethical program design — including community-led projects, working alongside local communities as equals, and avoiding more superficial forms of voluntourism. The discussion also examines why these experiences resonate not only with students, but increasingly with families, companies, and multigenerational groups looking for deeper engagement, cross-cultural understanding, and shared experiences with lasting impact.

Read More

Why Service Vacations Are Redefining Meaningful Tourism

Why Service Vacations Are Redefining Meaningful Tourism

With CEO Kimberly Haley-Coleman

The Shift from Traditional Tourism to Purpose-Driven Travel

Service vacations are rapidly transforming the global travel landscape, shifting tourism away from passive sightseeing toward purpose-driven experiences that create real impact. Today’s travelers are seeking deeper connections, cultural immersion, and opportunities to contribute meaningfully to the communities they visit—making meaningful tourism the new standard.

Read More

Volunteer Vacations: Why Meaningful Travel Is the Most Rewarding Trip You’ll Ever Take

There is a moment that nearly every volunteer traveler describes “usually within the first day or two of arriving. It happens when the novelty of a new country gives way to something deeper: a sense of genuine connection, of purpose, of mattering. It is the moment a volunteer vacation stops feeling like a trip and starts feeling like a turning point.

That moment is exactly what Globe Aware has been building toward for more than two decades.

Read More

Time for Impact Podcast- Redefining Volunteer Tourism

April 7, 2026 – Time for Impact Podcast- Redefining Volunteer Tourism

In this episode of Time for Impact, Kimberly Haley-Coleman, founder of Globe Aware, challenges traditional Volunteer Tourism, volunteer models, arguing that real impact comes from community-led solutions rather than feel-good efforts. She shares lessons from 25 years in the field—including missteps like poorly matched aid projects—and explains how ethical volunteering is shifting toward cultural sensitivity, local partnership, and sustainability. The conversation also explores the decline of the “white savior” mindset, the rise of corporate-supported service, and the lasting personal impact on volunteers, who often return home with deeper empathy and a lifelong commitment to giving back.

Read More

Globe Aware: The Award-Winning Volunteer Vacation That Changes You as Much as the World Around You

What if your next vacation left the world — and you — genuinely better off? That’s not a slogan. For the thousands of travelers who have joined a Globe Aware volunteer vacation since 2000, it’s simply what happened.

Read More

Transformative Volunteer Travel: Meaningful Journeys That Change Lives

Cultural Connection & Impact: Globe Aware’s Kimberly Haley-Coleman on Transformative Volunteer Travel (Part 2)

In the second half of this special two-part series, the Culture Encounters Podcast welcomes back Kimberly Haley-Coleman, the visionary Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Globe Aware. Host Chad dives deeper into Kimberly’s personal journey, uncovering the pivotal life experiences that inspired her to dedicate her career to international service. By sharing her story, Kimberly offers a rare look at the passion and persistence required to lead a global movement focused on genuine human connection and cultural immersion.

Read More

Archives