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.

Kimberly Haley-Coleman the founder and executive director of Globe Aware, a US- and Canada-based nonprofit that organizes short-term international volunteer programs. Globe Aware works in more than 25 countries, serves individuals as well as family, school, church, and corporate groups, and is built around cultural awareness, sustainability, and working side-by-side with communities “as equals.”

Episode Summary
In this episode, Lynne Brodie speaks with Kimberly Haley-Coleman about building a business and nonprofit model around meaningful short-term international service. The conversation begins with Kimberly’s background and then moves into the origin of Globe Aware: a practical response to the fact that many adults want to serve abroad but cannot leave their jobs, families, or responsibilities for six to eight weeks at a time. From there, the episode explores how Globe Aware created a more accessible model for service travel without losing depth, cultural immersion, or meaningful contribution. Globe Aware is a structured, short-term, community-oriented service model designed for adults, families, and groups.

A major theme in the episode is that the experience is not just about helping others. Kimberly emphasizes perspective change, human connection, and what happens when people step outside routine, screens, and comfort zones to work alongside others in a very different environment. The conversation repeatedly frames service travel as experiential learning: something that changes how participants see their own lives, habits, assumptions, and possibilities.

The episode also addresses ethical questions directly. Kimberly distinguishes Globe Aware’s model from more superficial or extractive forms of voluntourism by stressing local leadership, community-driven projects, dignity, and the importance of working with people rather than “for” them in a top-down way.

Another strong thread in the episode is applicability for families, companies, and multigenerational groups. Kimberly talks about who participates, why employers are increasingly open to supporting these experiences, and how shared service can build gratitude, engagement, and perspective in ways that typical travel does not. Globe Aware’s trips are for families, schools, and corporate groups, and recent interviews describe them as powerful for team building, leadership development, and cross-cultural learning.

Key Takeaways

• Globe Aware was built around practical insight: many people want to serve internationally, but most cannot commit to traditional long-form volunteer models.
• The episode presents short-term service travel as a serious alternative to ordinary tourism when it is structured well and rooted in local partnership.
• Kimberly frames the experience as mutual: communities’ benefit, but participants are also changed by the work, the relationships, and the exposure to another way of living.
• Ethical design matters. A recurring point is that projects should be locally guided, dignity-centered, and genuinely useful.
• The conversation highlights families, companies, and older adults as meaningful participants in this kind of work, not just students or gap-year travelers.
• One of the clearest messages in the episode is that connection matters as much as contribution. The value is not only in what gets built or delivered, but in what gets understood.