Globe Aware news
Globe Aware: Volunteer Vacation Take a trip that will last a lifetime.
“The habitual characteristics of vacations are quite notorious: Stress relief. A hiatus from your accustomed duties. The effortless Pleasures of relaxation, or they can be used to simply revitalize a relationship. Although these likings may be essential, your short-term journey can also benefit the world around you,” writes Kimberly Haddad in Pasadena Magazine.
Ms. Haddad goes on to add that there are are a number of affordable volunteer vacations across the country that will allow the interested and inspired to travel to a unique destination “while giving back to the community. Whether it’s environmental assistance, lending a kinding hand to a child’s education or habitat restoration for wildlife,everyone has the opportunity to take part in an adventure with a purpose.”
Included in her list of top volunteer vacation providers is Globe Aware:
"Globe Aware is a non-profit organization that organizes volunteer vacations in various parts of the world including Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
Globe Aware allows volunteer travelers the extraordinary opportunity to be involved in a community while gaining valuable knowledge about cultures and the foreign environments we may not be accustomed to. Set goals for yourself and work alongside locals and other volunteers in elaborate hands-on projects like working with disadvantaged children in India, building shade shelters for elephants in Thailand, and working with youngsters who suffer from Down Syndrome in Cuba.
Some volunteer vacation organizations do not offer room and board, but Globe Aware is one of the few that do. Although it may not be as extravagant as you wish, the cost of the program includes housing accommodations and traditional style meals during your stay."
Making A Difference: The World of Giving — Voluntour and Do-Good Vacations
Globe Aware was featured in a June article written by Lisa M. Dietlin, CEO of Lisa M. Dietlin and Associates, Inc., philanthropic advisor, author, for the Huffington Post.
- Cross-Cultural Solutions was founded in 1995 and has an outstanding reputation. Their tag states:
- “Volunteer Abroad – work side-by-side with local people and experience another culture like never before. It’s the experience of a lifetime.”
- They work with over 4000 volunteers annually, have a staff of more than 300, and work in 12 countries.
- All costs including air fare are tax deductible
- You need no special skills nor do you need to speak a foreign language.
- People can go solo or with families such as multi generational trips.
- Enjoy befriending people in new and interesting countries and experience the reward of helping them on meaningful community projects.
- Promote cultural awareness and promote sustainability; cultural awareness means recognizing the beauty and challenges of a culture, but not changing it; sustainability is the idea of helping others to stand on their own two feet; teaching skills rather than reliance.
- For a Cause’s mission is to energize and inspire people to make a difference in the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS and Breast Cancer so that no one faces these battles alone.
- The World Bank runs a program called Stay Another Day that directs tourists via a website and booklets to pre-evaluated activities that benefit the local community. For instance, vacationers can tour an orphanage in Cambodia, playing with the children and, if they wish, purchase goods such as the silk products the locals have made. The visit is free, but tourists are asked to make a donation.
- Find the best organization that matches your passion and has a long standing commitment to that area.
- Select a trip that suits your abilities and interests.
- Speak with volunteers who have been on the excursion before.
- If traveling to a non-English speaking country, try to learn the language or at least some phrases; even though it is not required, it is a great way to begin getting prepared.
- Research local customs and mores, but recognize that reality can be different from what you read in a book or online.
- You know you will be making a difference through your efforts.
- Studies show that volunteering adds years and health to your life.
- You will be traveling to places with unique cultures and in some instances, especially with voluntouring, you become immersed in the culture and community.
- Your trip could be tax deductible.
- You will make lifelong friends!
International Herald Tribune features Globe Aware
Globe Aware was featured in a June, 2011 spotlight in the International Herald Tribune:
Volunteer Travel to San Pedro de Casta Peru
Volunteer vacation in Cuzco, Peru
Steven Learner Studio
project Globe Aware
site Cuzco, Peru
completion December 2010
“I’d been looking for ways to contribute beyond designing residences and galleries in New York so I took the opportunity provided by our office’s Christmas-New Year’s holiday to volunteer at a home where children from surrounding villages board during the school year. My team of five quickly learned to work without extensive planning, or demand materials, or task specific tools. Just purchasing polycarbonate for the greenhouse, where vegetables for the kids’ will be grown, became an adventure that Involved visits to three lumberyards, hiring a pickup truck and being stopped by the Peruvian police as I bounced around In back”
Volunteer Vacations during spring break
Spring Break a Chance to Give Back
Toronto-based freelance journalist Aaron Broverman examines how volunteer vacation opportunities are helping redefine how we view Spring Break.
Spring Break a Chance to Give Back
Thanks to Joe Francis and movies like The Real Cancun, when people think of Spring Break it’s all about beer, beaches and breasts, but what if it could be about something more?
Experienced Volunteer for Cuzco Children
Travelocity`s Travel for Good voluntourism grant competition is underway. If you are interested in applying for one of Travelocity`s $5,000 voluntourism grants, click here, to learn more about Travelocity`s eight Signature Trips and choose the volunteer vacation that inspires you.
In 2011, Travelocity is committed to supporting these special projects and helping each achieve its goals. You are also encouraged to vote on the video submissions made by individuals who explain which Signature Trip inspires them and why.
The $5,000 Travel for Good voluntourism grant gives individuals a chance to give back to the communities they visit on vacation–either for just a few days or even for a few months. This grant will fund up to $5,000 for the transportation to, as well as the cost of, a voluntourism trip. Just choose a Signature Trip from one of Travelocity`s partners, including Globe Aware, make a video of two minutes or less, upload it to Travelocity`s site, and then send it around to friends and family for voting.
Contestants must be legal residents of the United States to win the grant.