Providing your students with a safe, rewarding, alternative to the typical Spring Break experience can reap big benefits for both educators and students. In today' s international and interconnected world it is more important than ever to make sure that our educational system produces global youth. Organizing international volunteer service trips in place of traditional Spring Break opportunities is a great way to get youth to learn about another culture while serving others on the global scale (and fulfilling student volunteer hour requirements!) Below are the top five tips to fund a program for your students:

1. Start planning early! If your group has at least 9 months to implement a fundraising campaign you are positioning your group to make fundraising a success!
2. Choose a non profit organization to facilitate your volunteer program. By going with a non profit your sponsors are able to deduct the amount of their contribution from their yearly income taxes. This can be a huge motivator, especially for larger donations.
3. More on donations: Large donations are great, but remember that every small donation can add up fast. What can your group offer? Monthly car washes, community poker nights, and bake sales are all easy ways to get kids involved in the fundraising efforts.
4. Have students ask for individual sponsorships. You may want to consider setting up two different fundraising goals' one for individuals and one for the group. You can ask all student participants to individually raise a certain amount and then supplement those contributions with funds collected at your group fundraising events.
5. Scout out local sponsors. Is there a community business or leader that would want to sponsor a student scholarship for the service program? Businesses have begun to acknowledge the need to be active in the community and show social responsibility. Don' t be shy about asking them for support and remind them that these kinds of opportunities shape the lives of the future workforce.

For more information on how to plan for a volunteer program for your students you can visit Globe Aware at http://www.globeaware.org/groups

About Globe Aware

Globe Aware(R) is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit charity that mobilizes short term volunteer programs around the world. These adventures in service focus on promoting cultural awareness and sustainability and are often compared to a mini “peace corps” experience. All volunteers are accompanied by a bilingual volunteer coordinator to assist the volunteer throughout their program. The program fee and the airfare to get there are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Globe Aware is a member of International Volunteer Programs Association, Volunteers for Prosperity, the Building Bridges Coalition, maintains United Nations Consultative Status for the Social and Economic Council, and administers the President’s Volunteer Service Awards. Additionally, Globe Aware offsets its carbon emissions with Carbonfund.org, the country’s leading carbon offset organization. Our carbon footprint is estimated at less than 70 tons annually, and we have chosen to support carbon-reducing projects in renewable energy to offset the CO2 that is produced in running our offices worldwide, from powering our offices to the transportation used to get to and from our work sites. This commitment places Globe Aware as an environmental leader in the volunteer abroad community and demonstrates proactive steps being taken in the fight against global climate change.