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Column: Never too young for “voluntourism”

21 July 2015
Globe Aware
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Writer Sally Bassett Brown offers a commentary in Carmel, IN, Current in Zionsville newspaper on the joys of traveling abroad, engaging locals and volunteer vacations.

One of the greatest joys of leading "voluntourism" retreats, trips mixed with travel and service, is the mixture of ages within a group.  Recently I had 20 people join me to Costa Rica including high school students, an 11 year old girl and a 5-year old boy.  Our oldest was 70 years young.  Bernadette was a delight as she zip lined through the rainforest for her first time.  Grey, our 5 year old from Zionsville, kept everyone joyfully engaged throughout the week as we worked at our International Center for Girls.

CIZ HEALTH 0721 Sally Bassett Never Too Young for Voluntourism.docxThe group visited the school on four different occasions.  Reading stations were set up, tie-dye activity was implemented, the classroom was completed cleaned and reorganized, backpacks were given as well as special stuffed animals and beanie babies, fluoride treatments were applied to each child”s teeth, games and singing with the children were a big hit, and a wonderful workshop on Empowerment was given by a sex education teacher from Richmond, IN.

Each girl received new pink shoes to go with their "Girls for Success" t-shirts.  We were able to deliver a much requested computer to Yainsey, our miracle child who has had 8 surgeries on her leg.  Yainsey will also be receiving a $150 pink bicycle so that she is able to get around easier.

Bends of material were brought down so our sewing program can go to the next level of making revenue producing items.

A field trip with the girls to the beach followed by pizza was a huge hit.  Adventure activities (zip lining and river rafting) and trips to the beach were also part of the week”s schedule for our group participants.

The highlight, as always, were the dinners with the families the last night in the rainforest.  Six or seven families host 3-5 people for a couple of hours and serve traditional Costa Rican fare.

Grey”s mother, Courtney Gorman, says, "I am extremely passionate about voluntourism, having been a trip organizer and leader for many years. To take my five year old on his first one was a dream come true….His light shone so bright, as I knew it would, and he immersed himself fully in everything we did.  For me to sit back and watch him connect so open-heartedly with everyone, especially the Costa Rican children, will forever be a treasured memory.  I know journeys like this will keep him seeking out adventure, hungry for learning, and passionate about service work throughout his life."  What more can you want for you child.

Self

Voluntourism improves lives

15 April 2015
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Winnipeg Free Press columnist Jen Zoratti examibnes the impact voluntourism has on communities, lives.

‘Voluntourism’ opens eyes, improves lives

Volunteer tourism — or the more buzzy “voluntourism” — has been at the centre of much debate over the past couple of years.

Voluntourism improves livesOnce a niche in the travel industry, volunteer tourism is an area that has seen real growth as more and more Canadians are eschewing luxury resort vacations or European backpacking trips to build schools or teach English in developing countries. The profile of a voluntourist is usually young, middle- to upper-class and educated. Many of them are “gap year” students, taking a year off to go learn about the world.

On the face of it, it seems like a righteous act. What could possibly be bad about wanting to learn something about your global community and maybe help someone in the process? But, as travel websites of varying degrees of sketchiness offering “luxury voluntourism” — or, ugh, ‘honeyteering’ — proliferate, many critics of voluntourism are left questioning who this is really for. Do altruistic acts of voluntourism really help people who need it? Or are privileged people just doing it to pad their CVs/make themselves feel good? And are those things mutually exclusive?

Those questions were circling around in my head when I connected with Sarah Cullihall via Skype. Sarah is a 21-year-old University of Winnipeg business student who just concluded a months-long internship with Maya Traditions Foundation in Panajachel, Guatemala, and got in touch with me about the very cool work she’s been doing there. She doesn’t quite fit the profile of a voluntourist — she was doing an internship and she was there for more than a two-week vacation — but she, too, has thought about the voluntourism debate.

“One of my friends is a huge activist and we would argue about it all the time — is it good, is it bad,” she tells me, amid a cacophony of birds. “But I think with everything, there’s positives and negatives. But with (Maya Traditions), it’s so much more about support. When we look at other volunteer roles, it’s not like that. You’re in the ‘saviour’ role; you’re the North American that knows how to do things — and I think that’s so backwards. I also think it depends on why you’re doing it.”

Cullihall’s motivation was pretty pure. She fell in love with Guatemala during a trip last July, but was alarmed to learn more than half its population lives below the poverty line. Interested in exploring the ways in which business can be used to foster social change, she wanted to link up with an organization that shared those goals.

Founded in 1980, Maya Traditions Foundation is a fair trade social enterprise that supports skilled indigenous female artisans by connecting them to the international market and providing them with health and education services. The foundation now works in partnership with more than 120 artisans, composing eight self-governed artisan co-operatives in six rural villages. These women practise a variety of traditional techniques that have been carried down through generations, including backstrap weaving — a method used to create all manner of textiles — basket weaving and natural dyeing. With the support of the foundation, they are able to earn an income. And an income means independence — no small thing in a country plagued by domestic violence.

The women Cullihall met left an impression — women such as Mara Mendoza who, in addition to raising four small children on her own, is the president of one of Maya Traditions’ partnering artisan co-ops. Her role as president is to make sure her fellow artisans have enough work, their families are doing well and they are being fairly compensated for their labour.

“She, to me, is a depiction of a strong Guatemalan woman,” Cullihall says. Mendoza, like too many other Guatemalan women, was a victim of domestic abuse. Maya Traditions empowered her to leave her husband and take back her life. And now she’s helping others do the same.

For her part, Cullihall is returning to the U of W to finish her degree, and her experience in Guatemala has left her changed. She now wants to work with women and children in Latin America as part of a social enterprise.

While the average voluntourist won’t necessarily translate their experience into a career path, they will have their eyes opened to the issues faced by people who share their planet — and hopefully, they will be more empathetic people for it. If it’s done right with the right organization, a young person won’t just come out of it with a line for the resumé. They will come out of it a better person.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Winnipeg Free Press

Family Volunteer Travel

13 February 2015
Globe Aware
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Writing for Chase magazine, freelancer Michelle Seitzer looked at the myriad opportunities and ways to turn a regular vacation into a meaningful vacation through volunteer travel. Globe Aware founder Kimberly Haley-Coleman offered some great insight on what to look for and how to pick volunteer vacations that provide the best return for destination communities and countries.

Family Travel That Gives Back: A Meaningful Vacation

Going Away for a Good Cause
By Michelle Seitzer

Americans sometimes choose work over play — a 2014 study found that more than 150 million vacation days go unused every year — but a new kind of family adventure may be just the thing to give today’s modern family a high-quality break.

A volunteer vacation, or service trip, offers an opportunity to do good while working together as a family. A growing number of organizations now make it possible to do it without spending weeks or months away.

founderkimberlyKimberly Haley-Coleman founded Globe Aware to weave her passion for cultures, languages, and out-of-the-box travel with the strong demand for short-term volunteer trips. Her non-profit fosters "a mutual learning experience" benefiting travelers and individuals in needy communities worldwide.

"We' re not putting people on ladders or going into war zones," says Haley-Coleman. The liability is too high for her small company, and it' s not their mission " which may come as a relief to those worried about the challenges of global volunteer work.

Globe Aware specializes in community-driven projects that can be completed in a week, from Saturday to Saturday, without need for language or technical skills. And there are no age restrictions. Participants have ranged from 2 to 95 years old.

Most of the week is devoted to project work and organic interactions with local residents, but volunteers still visit landmark sites like Machu Picchu and Angkor Wat. "We go to tourist favorites but focus on the cultural awareness window to the world," she says.

"It' s tangible, visible giving, not just writing a check."

Kimberly Haley-Coleman, Globe Aware

On one of their Cambodia trips, volunteers assembled wheelchairs for land mine victims. In Guatemala, they installed concrete floors and outdoor garden spaces in the homes of impoverished single mothers.

"It' s tangible, visible giving, not just writing a check," says Haley-Coleman.

First-World Problems, Illuminated

Waiting to complete an international adoption inspired Mary Voorhies and Philip Southwick to take a working vacation to Nicaragua, where they helped to deliver clean water and establish modern bathrooms in rural communities.

For Voorhies, the most valuable takeaway was this realization: "Road bumps in my every day life are all now first-world problems."
An Unexpected Gift … and Guilt

Krista McKay accompanied her nurse-practitioner mother on a medical mission trip to Honduras that she described as "an operation in improvisation." The small but mighty team of doctors, surgeons, and nurses from a suburban Philadelphia hospital has visited the same villages for more than five years now. Though she is not a healthcare professional, McKay was invited to join the group on a recent visit after lending her marketing and fundraising expertise because the volunteers have to cover all costs themselves, including medical supplies.

In the heart of the village, the group sets up mobile clinics where locals line up to be seen for anything from common cold symptoms to gaping wounds to complications from diabetes. They also perform surgeries in the local hospital, where the team scrubs with a wash basin because there' s no running water. Patients wait with outdated x-ray printouts while wild dogs run in and out of the building.

The strengthened relationship McKay and her mother gained from working side-by-side in hard healthcare situations " treating seizures on the spot, in one instance " made the trip worthwhile. Still, McKay returned with mixed feelings. "I didn' t feel like what I did was enough. You feel good for doing something good, but you also have guilt for having more than you need."
Planning a Giving Vacation

Motivated to make a difference in someone else' s life " yours included " on a service adventure abroad? There are risks and rewards associated with giving this way, which is why you should do adequate research when choosing an organization to handle your trip, says Haley-Coleman.

Unsure about bringing younger family members? Evaluate what exposure they' ve already had, and consider a closer-to-home Latin American country vs. crossing an ocean for their first experience.

Choosing to do good on your next family vacation instead of simply consuming goods (or staying behind the desk and letting your employer have your unused vacation days) is a wise investment that can pay off in many ways.

 

Self

Volunteer Vacations’ Growing Popularity

5 January 2015
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vOLUNTEER VACATIONS POPULAR" Volunteer vacations' a popular trend for many

By Jackie Runion

Marietta Times

Anyone vowing to travel or to make a difference in the new year can do both at the same time in the form of a “volunteer vacation.”

A number of companies, organizations and programs exist to offer people of all ages a chance to volunteer and help others while on vacation, whether it be either a car ride or a long plane trip away.

A popular trend that comes in the form of mission trips, alternative spring breaks and state and nationally-organized charity projects, the concept of volunteer tourism can give people a chance to get out of their backyards and also make an impact in their state, country or in a community overseas.

FACT BOX

Volunteer vacation opportunities

Volunteer Match

  • Features: Database directory of service opportunities for 99,000 nonprofits across U.S. that provide search-by-location and service-type engines.
  • Requirements: Vary by project.
  • Ages: Accepts all ages.

Globe Aware

  • Features: Worldwide, week-long volunteer projects.
  • Requirements: Cost and application required, trips are tax-deductible.
  • Ages: All ages accepted, children 15 and under must travel with a parent or guardian.

Projects Abroad

  • Features: Variety of service projects in East Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
  • Requirements: Application required.
  • Ages: Teens and older.

American Hiking Society

  • Features: Week-long trail and park maintenance projects across the U.S.
  • Requirements: Varying fees and registration required.
  • Ages: All ages accepted, volunteers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources:

  • Features: Various volunteer activities for groups and individuals of all ages across Ohio’s 74 state parks.
  • Requirements: None.
  • Ages: All ages accepted.

In the area, common traveling service projects are found most frequently through colleges and churches.

Marietta resident Terry Schmelzenbach is one of many people who found a passion in overseas mission work through his church.

Through the Marietta Church of the Nazarene, Pastor Schmelzenbach has taken multiple trips to Swaziland, Africa, not only to experience the beautiful scenery and wildlife, but to help others.

“We’ve had a presence there since 1908,” Schmelzenbach said. “The Church of the Nazarene has a large base there, and we educate about 32 percent of the people in that country.”

Schmelzenbach said the groups, which typically consist of just fewer than 20 people and with all ages involved, help work on the country’s two colleges and help with various building projects and food needs in the area.

“It’s things as simple as laying and cutting tile for floors and stuff like that for buildings over there,” he said. “When you’re worrying about where your next meal is coming from, you don’t worry about stuff like that.”

The group often takes clothing and food to help out the locals in addition to delivering sermons.

“We turn it into a 50/50 deal,” Schmelzenbach said. “The rest of the time we spend in Kruger (National) Park, where all the safari animals are, and we stay the night there in a fenced-in area.”

Schmelzenbach said he and his wife save up to go on the trips every few years, including one coming up in June.

“The average lifespan is like 32 years of age, and $10 a day is considered a good job, so they know you’re there for them,” he said. “We go over there and feed them, but we also work with them.”

Through organizations like Projects Abroad and Global Aware, people of all ages can pay for tax-deductible vacations connected to national and international service projects.

Through Projects Abroad, which sends some 10,000 volunteers around the world each year, applicants can travel across the world to build schools, teach, conserve wildlife and provide childcare.

Many Projects Abroad trips allow anyone 16 and older to join, while short-term programs like Alternative Break Trips and High School Specials offer similar experiences for college students and teens.

“Alternative Spring Break trips are designed with short-term volunteering in mind and give college students the chance to break away from the usual spring break experience and give the gift of service to those in need,” said Tom Pastorius, the head of recruitment for Projects Abroad.

And Global Aware also offers its own volunteer vacations that provide teaching, clean-up, building and other types of activities within the U.S. and abroad.

Other companies and their respective websites, like volunteermatch.org and voluntourism.org, provide similar matching opportunities to either allow groups and individuals to directly apply for a service project or to provide resources about projects across the nation and how they can get involved.

Marietta resident Kevin Ritter is the owner and founder of Coast to Coast Athletics, a Marietta company established in 2002 that not only provides scholarships to local students, but provides teaching opportunities to children and teenagers around the world.

“On the service side we are involved in baseball clinics, and we’ve done these in Europe, Puerto Rico, Australia and in Florida,” Ritter said.

The program offers $1,000 scholarships to area Washington County students that staff deem college-ready, both to give them a head-start in paying for tuition while also providing an opportunity to teach the sport to their peers and to younger children across the world.

Domestically, a popular volunteer opportunity for outdoor fanatics is through the American Hiking Society.

Self

New Year’s travel resolutions

23 December 2014
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Making service vacations part of New Year’s travel resolutions

By Georgina Cruz, Special Correspondent

Orlando Sentinel

New Years Volunteer VacationsThis is the time of the year to start making some resolutions for 2015, like perhaps losing weight or quitting smoking. For those who would also like to make some New Year travel resolutions, here is an idea: a volunteer vacation.

Participants in this type of trip, sometimes called "voluntourism," have opportunities to mix with the locals in many countries, living and working in communities on a variety of projects and activities "from teaching English to caring for youngsters in orphanages and from taking part in community improvement projects to assisting in conservation efforts. The experience gives the opportunity, as one organization put it, "to see the world through a new lens."

Trips are generally short-term: one-, two- and three-weeks in length, though some companies can arrange for longer service periods. Typically, no prior experience is necessary to participate.

Here are some offerings for those who would like to volunteer during their vacation to make a difference in other people' s lives. Prices for the trips vary; contact the organization for details (and costs may be tax deductible "check with the company and double check with your accountant).

· Globe Aware Adventures In Service " This is a non-profit that has been developing short-term volunteer programs internationally for 15 years. The trips provide opportunities for people to immerse themselves in a unique way of giving back. Activities are intended to promote cultural awareness and/or sustainability. Recognizing the beauty and challenges of a culture and helping others to stand on their own two feet, teaching them skills rather than reliance. The organization' s criteria for choosing projects include trips that are safe, culturally interesting, genuinely beneficial to a needy community, and that involve significant interaction between participants and the host community.

Optional cultural excursions are available on every program. Among the organization' s service trips in 2015 are programs to the Inca city of Cuzco in Peru, near the legendary Lost City of Machu Picchu, as well as projects in Costa Rica, Guatemala and many other destinations. Info: www.globeaware.org.

Orlando Sentinel

Q & A: The Festive Traveller

2 December 2014
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Kimberly Haley-Coleman, founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, recently sat down with Jessica Wynne Lockhart, contributing editor at Travel with Purpose’s Verge Magazine to discuss how to make the most of a volunteer vacation. The Q & A is below.

How to be an effective global citizen during the holiday season.

santa-volunteer-vacationsAs the holidays approach and the fiscal year draws to an end, it' s a natural time to think about how we can support our global community. But with thousands of charities to choose from, how do you select a reputable organization to donate your time or money to?

It' s not an easy question, which is why we called in the experts: Nick Beardsley is the Project Advisor for Gapforce, a provider of structured gap years and summer abroad programs; Justine Abigail Yu is the Communications and Marketing Director for Operation Groundswell, a non-profit that facilitates service-learning experiences; and Kimberly Haley-Coleman is Founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, a charitable organization that mobilizes small groups of volunteers to promote cultural awareness around the world.

Nick, Justine and Kimberly shared with us how they believe we can be effective global citizens this holiday season:

Why do think it' s important to reflect on global citizenship during the holiday season?

Nick Beardsley, Project Advisor for Gapforce: It should be important at all times to both pursue and reflect on global citizenship in one way or another. What the holiday season does is offer us the opportunity to think about others at a time that is infamous for being selfless. It is a time to remember those less fortunate than ourselves. It is the perfect time to transcend geographic, political, and cultural boundaries and recognize oneself as a citizen of the global community.

Each year, the popularity of "charitable giving" instead of "gift giving" increases. What are your recommendations for choosing a charitable organization to support?

Nick: You should choose an organization that means something to you. It may be that you have a personal connection to the cause or it may be that the organization has simply touched you in some way. Choose with your heart.

Kimberly Haley-Coleman, Founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware: Start with what you know. If you belong to a trusted community centre, school, animal shelter or faith-based organization, this is a wonderful place to start.

If you are just now setting out to find an organization, know that this takes time. Ask friends and family whom they support and why. Make a list of what world issues most concern you and which entities seem to do a good job of addressing those issues. Look at the publically listed financials to get a better understanding of how the organizations spend their revenues. Don' t hesitate to call the organizations to find out more about them. If you aren' t ready to make a financial contribution, see if you can volunteer with the organization to get a better feel for how they operate.

Justine Abigail Yu, Communications and Marketing Director for Operation Groundswell: Really do your research here and look at the actual impacts of the organization. First of all, does this organization' s values align with your own? Are they addressing the problem they set out to solve? Do they show evidence that demonstrates that their approach is effective? How do they measure their progress? Does the charity receive feedback from the people it intends to serve and are they using that feedback to improve their programs?

I know that it' s fashionable to assess an organization by looking at how much of donors' dollars are being put towards overhead as an indicator of efficiency and legitimacy. The thinking here is that the lower the percentage that' s going to things like administrative costs, the more effective an organization is. But that' s not necessarily the case. I would challenge people to look deeper than that and ask harder questions. Although keeping a low overhead may be important, the bottom line is that we all want to support organizations are actually solving the social problems that will change our world.

For those who are going away for the holidays, how can they turn their vacation into travel “with purpose”?

Nick: My suggestion is to learn about local traditions and join in. It could become a new tradition that you practice even when you return home.

Kimberly: Picking an eco-conscious hotel, bringing needed donations to a community that has requested them, steering clear of handing out candy and money (which only builds dependency), reaching out to connect with locals in a non-consumer fashion (attend a local faith service or eat a meal with a family) and, of course, volunteering.

Justine: Wherever you' re going this holiday season, take the time to find opportunities that get you off the beaten path to really connect with the local culture and people. Try local delicacies that you' ve never heard of and learn the local language' that genuine attempt at connection builds cultural competency and empathy. And if you want to get your hands a little dirtier, look for opportunities that combine responsible volunteering with cross-cultural dialogue and critical learning.

What are your favourite gift ideas for travellers and global citizens?

Kimberly: Take the time to experience a new culture with a friend or family member while volunteering abroad' this is a bucket list item I hope everyone gets the chance to experience in his or her lifetime. Or, for an easy and incredibly practical gift, I love the luggage scales you can get for less than $10. Highly compressible extra bags, gift cards for phone apps (with suggested list of latest travel apps), and travel guidebooks are awfully nice too.

Justine: Find something handmade and artisanal from a place that means something special to you or to the person you' re giving the gift to. There are a lot of really great cooperatives and organizations that sell their goods through direct trade and this is a really great way to support the local economy of another country.

For example, we all love coffee here at Operation Groundswell. One of our partners, De la Gente, is this awesome agricultural cooperative in Guatemala that creates direct connections with buyers and consumers to improve the livelihoods of the small-holder coffee farmers they work with. All profits generated from the sales of coffee go directly to these farmers. It takes a little bit more research and thought to find these gifts, but it' s so worth it.

Verge Magazine

Alumna Returns Service to Community

10 November 2014
Globe Aware
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Hockaday travel program connects with alumna Kimberly Haley-Coleman' s organization Globe Aware

By Megan Philips
Features Editor
THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

Downoad Article

volunteer-vacations-hockaday-school When alumna Kimberly Haley-Coleman " 88 was a Hockaday student, she was involved in many local community service projects from candy stripping at hospitals to working in women' s shelters. Today, she is giving Hockaday the opportunity she never had: to do community service abroad.

Haley-Coleman found interest in other cultures and languages from a young age, and her five years at Hockaday "helped wet [her] appetite for learning about and understanding other cultures," Haley-Coleman said.

After graduating, Haley-Coleman continued her education in international cultures and held many jobs that required her international relations skills. She received her masters in French and Art History and got her MBA in international business.

"It was all related to other cultures from the earliest I can remember, and Hockaday was certainly an integral piece of that," Haley-Coleman said.

From this foundation, Haley-Coleman founded Globe Aware in 2000.

This past summer, 13 Hockaday Upper School students traveled to Peru, in connection with Globe Aware, to expand their learning about other cultures through hands-on service while visiting two communities, San Pedro and Cuzco.

Junior Allie Charlton, one of the students who traveled with the program, found the organization' s guidance crucial to her trip experience.

"[Globe Aware] had a lot of connections within the cities because people had gone there before us, people were waiting for us to help. If we had just gone to Peru and said

" Oh, we are going to go help this place" no one there would have known us. It was nice because they already had an established organization there that we could help without intruding," Charlton said.

According to Haley-Coleman, around 15 to 25 percent of those who participate in Globe Aware programs outside of their school community are teenagers.

"I think it' s critical that in order to be a really involved, successful person, I feel it almost requires that one be a globally aware citizen. It helps find resolutions, on a global scale, to conflicts that are important, whether it' s political peace or bringing groups and different nationalities together to find a solution to problems that we all face," Haley-Coleman said, "But it' s also a huge source of joy for someone for their whole life, to have those wonderful moments of cultural understanding."

Community Service Director Laura Day felt that students learned similar valuable lessons from their experiences with Peruvian culture.

"I think the girls learned what you really need to be happy. I think we learned about material possessions and what people, in general, need to be happy, because we saw people who didn' t have anything who were having happy and wonderful lives," Day said.

The Peru trip, still in connection with Globe Aware, is offered again in Hockaday' s travel program for next year. For Haley-Coleman, this recurring trip connects the school community in which she formed the foundations of her passion for international cultures, and the organization she founded to facilitate this passion for others.

"It' s such a wonderful, full circle feeling of kind of a bit alpha-omega to get a chance to come back to a place that was so instrumental in shaping my life," Haley-Coleman said. "It' s such a wonderful feeling. I' m so grateful."

Other projects Globe Aware is organizing include assembling wheelchairs in Cambodia, building adobe stoves in rural Peru, installing concrete floors in single-mother households in Guatemala and working with elephants in Thailand.

Students who are interested in getting involved with Globe Aware besides through a travel program can apply for internships. Globe Aware will find ways to help based on the applicant' s interests and strengths.

"We are really open to creating various internships and volunteer opportunities that can be done either at home or in our offices as well. We try and structure it based on something that the student is already interested in," Haley-Coleman said.

Contact Haley-Coleman at kimberly_haleycoleman@yahoo.com to learn more about the internship opportunities. F

Megan Philips

Features Editor

THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

Voluntourism: Travel and give back!

2 September 2014
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Lightbox Image

0650060292013Costa Rica Orosi Valley

VOLUNTOURISM A new way to travel and give back! Costa Rica Orosi Valley About an hour from the city of San Jose, in a gorgeous, hidden valley (Orosi) rests the tiny community of El Yaz known for Its clean water, rich soil eternal, spring-like temperatures (about 75 degrees every day) and organic, agricultural way of life. Although the villagers love their natural paradise they have struggled to make ends meet as even low paying jobs are rare. Most Villagers are not in abject poverty, but have no access to hot water, cars, or the quantity or protein sources to which a North American may be accustomed. Volunteer vacationers in this paradise location stay in one of two side by side mountain top houses.

Built In traditional Costa Rican style, furnished with fans and comfortable beds. These include Western-style bathrooms and showers, and hot water. On the nine-acre property are many fruit trees, spectacular views, hiking paths, many tropical birds, a covered gazebo social area, basketball court and hammocks.

Volunteers are fed plenty of fresh, healthy, abundant, Costa Rican dishes, heavy with fresh fruits, vegetables, rice and beans, with some chicken egg and beef dishes. Electricity is available, though on a more limited basis than you may be used to at home.

While traveling for business in the late 1990’s, Kimberly Haley-Coleman often found herself in foreign countries with free time on her hands, and a desire to see beyond the traditional tourist attractions.

On one trip to Brazil she remembers looking for short volunteer opportunities but could only find multi week options.

“I found that so many people wanted the same thing I did, but once you’ve got kids, a mortgage and a busy lifestyle, you can’t go and take three weeks off," says the former global strategist and business development officer whose portfolio Includes CNBC.com. “Everyone dreams of going Into the Peace Corps. but that’s a two-and-a"half year commitment."

In 2000, Haley-Coleman founded Globe Aware, a nonprofit specializing in weeklong service-inspired vacations around the world. Since then, the voluntourism movement has taken hold, and many of the nonprofit and for-profit companies are offering shorter trips catering got busy Westerners with limited vacation days. Most of Globe Aware’s programs are built around a predetermined service project that can be finished In seven days. From installing concrete floors in the homes of Guatemala single mothers to building wheelchairs for Cambodian land mine victims, participants spend 30 to 35 hours working in an immersive environment, with the option of visiting the area’s important attractions in their free time. But even the traditional tourist activities are designed to promote cultural awareness.

"Our volunteers come away with a real understanding of both the beauties and the challenF.es of a culture," says Haley-Coleman. "I would argue that' s more Important than the physical projects we work on-being able to make that human connection and understand each other’s view of the world.”

 

Perreault Magazine

8 Reasons to Take Your Teens On a Volunteer Vacation

9 June 2014
Globe Aware
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DSCN3001By Sucheta Rawal

Travel Writer

Posted: 06/09/2014 4:27 pm EDT Updated: 06/09/2014 4:59 pm EDT

Huffington Post, Travel Section

Volunteer vacationing, or voluntourism, is a relatively new phenomenon that includes a service component built into a short-term vacation. Don’t confuse it with a mission trip, which is a trip designed specifically to work on a charity project or spread the philosophy of a religious group, or with the Peace Corps, which offers an opportunity to live and volunteer abroad for extended periods of time. The idea behind a volunteer vacation is to give back to the community you are visiting while having fun and learning about the local culture.

This type of a meaningful summer getaway can be especially useful for teenagers. Imagine a real-life lab where teens are learning as well as contributing. Choose any topic of interest to plan your themed trip, including the environment, health, education, micro lending, crafts, firefighting, sports, animals or construction. Most organizations require no prior experience or special skills but may not admit children less than eight years old.

1. Learn the real culture

International travel provides the opportunity for a great learning experience, but if you only take group tours and do solely tourist activities, you never really learn about a place’s true culture. Volunteering makes you get out there and meet the locals, as well as talk to and work alongside them. When you are forced into a situation where you are interacting with the locals everyday, you start to pick up on their cultural nuances and understand their culture on a deeper level. The recipients also feel grateful for your contributions and may invite you to private dinners, family gatherings or festivals that you wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

2. Strengthen family bonds

Traveling is a family bonding experience, but doing projects while traveling builds a sense of teamwork. Kids of all ages can work together building homes in villages, sowing seeds at community farms, taking care of animals at sanctuaries or engaging street kids in sports. Grandparents, uncles and cousins who don’t get to spend time with each other outside the once-a-year Thanksgiving or Christmas get-together can hang out as well as feel good about making an impact.

3. Be a positive role model

When your kids see you working hard to build toilets for village schools versus sipping margaritas on the beach, they develop a deeper admiration for you. As a parent, you become a positive role model who encourages them to think beyond themselves and to lend a helping hand to the global community. You empower your kids to be responsible, compassionate and good global citizens by leading by example.

4. Prepare the leaders of tomorrow

Working abroad as a volunteer helps teach greater tolerance and understanding towards people from diverse cultural backgrounds, lifestyles, ages and income levels. It helps young people break down stereotypes at a young age and grow into responsible, caring leaders. According to certain studies, adults who volunteered as kids were twice as likely to be involved in community service as adults who did not. If you expose your kids to volunteering at a young age, they are likely to become contributing members of society and future change agents.

5. Get a break on your taxes

Many volunteer vacations are tax deductible. If you are traveling with a registered charitable organization and the main reason for your trip is to do volunteer work, you can deduct all or most of the expenses you incur. For a family taking an international trip, the savings can amount to thousands of dollars.

6. Leave a positive footprint

Going on a volunteer vacation as opposed to a regular one will always leave a positive footprint. When you depart a destination, you bequeath something of value to the locals that will help them in their future. Weather you teach English to women or bring smiles to the faces of little kids, it is certain that the impact of your visit is much more than the dollars you spend at the hotels and restaurants.

7. Build your teen’s resume

Any volunteer work adds value to college applications. Teens can draw references from their experiences of traveling internationally, seeing how people live in different parts of the world, and helping make a positive impact. It provides them with great content that is relevant in class discussions, interviews and term papers. It also boosts their confidence and social skills.

8. Make them appreciate what they have

Perhaps the greatest benefit of a volunteer vacation experience is making your teens appreciate the lives they have and halting the trap of overconsumption. Witnessing how the majority of the world’s population lives without 24-hour running water, electricity, down comforters and overstocked pantries is truly an eye-opening experience for which no textbook or documentary film can substitute. After making friends with others of a similar age who live with very little, they will probably not demand the latest electronic gadgets next Christmas!

Voluntourism for time-crunched travelers.

1 May 2014
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Categories: Globe Aware news

Great profile of Globe Aware in the May 2014 edition of ‘Sky’, Delta Air Lines’ onboard magazine:

BREAK AWAY

Globe Aware: A voluntourism outfit for time-crunched travelers

BY LISA ROUNDS

globe awareWhile traveling for business in the late 1990s, Kimberly Haley-Coleman o en found herself in foreign countries with free time on her hands and a desire to see beyond the traditional tourist attractions. On one trip to Brazil, she remembers looking for short volunteer opportunities but could only and multiweek options.
"I found that so many people wanted the same thing I did, but once you' ve got kids, a mortgage and a busy lifestyle, you can' t go and take three weeks off," says the former global strategist and business development officer whose portfolio includes CNBC.com. "Everyone dreams of going into the Peace Corps, but that' s a two-and-a-half-year commitment."
In 2000, Haley-Coleman founded Globe Aware, a nonprofit specializing in weeklong service-inspired vacations around the world. Since then, the voluntourism movement has taken hold, and many other nonprofit and for-profit companies are offering shorter trips catering to busy Westerners with limited vacation days. Most of Globe Aware' s programs, now available in 15 countries, are built around a predetermined service project that can be finished in seven days. From installing concrete floors in the homes of Guatemalan single mothers to building wheelchairs for Cambodian land mine victims, participants spend 30 to 50 hours working in an immersive environment, with the option of visiting the area' s important attractions in their free time. But even the traditional tourist activities are designed to promote cultural awareness. Coffee-tasting in Costa Rica? Globe Aware arranges it with a family in their private home as opposed to in a factory.
"Our volunteers come away with a real under-standing of both the beauties and the challenges of a culture," says Haley-Coleman. "I would argue that' s more important than the physical projects we work on' being able to make that human connection and understand each other' s view of the world."
Globe Aware' s trips start around $1,100; globeaware.org

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