For the increasing number of people looking for ways to make a difference while on vacation, this fully updated edition is filled with in-depth information to get them ready for their adventure, including contacts, locations, costs, dates, project details, and profiles of 150 select organizations that run thousands of programs in the United States and around the world. Including new details about long-term projects and organizations specifically tailored for families, seniors, and people with disabilities, this definitive sourcebook provides a wealth of opportunities for anyone interested in taking a truly meaningful vacation and provides new anecdotes about all kinds of jobs and the positive impact they had on volunteers' lives.

The second book in the Immersion Travel USA series offers a one-of-a-kind examination of volunteer immersion opportunities throughout the US. Volunteer immersion means grounding oneself completely in the place, the tasks, and the people you meet along the way, while keeping your own goals in mind. Kayne profiles over 200 volunteer programs throughout the U.S., highlighting the personal stories of volunteers, and offering essential logistical information on the programs. Volunteer Vacations includes trips appropriate for families, children, teens, and senior citizens, and profiles opportunities over a wide range of categories, including community outreach, wildlife conservancy, environmental advocacy, national parks, education groups, and scientific research.

From building houses in Appalachia to saving sea turtles in Costa Rica to teaching English in Thailand, this book is a rich resource of ways to use your skills to help out the world and reap some lasting benefits yourself.

Provides a broad spectrum of volunteering possibilities, spanning six continents and a hundred different opportunities ranging from archaeology and tourism to humanitarian aid and conservation.

Moon Volunteer Vacations in Latin America is the ultimate guide to the best volunteer experiences available in Latin America. Seasoned volunteer Amy E. Robertson shares her own expertise while inspiring readers to choose the right volunteer placement for their specific interests. Broken into chapters based on destination, the book gives a comprehensive overview of the best programs offered in each country and includes helpful information about housing, program costs, placement length, and much more. The countries covered include Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Robertson also shares ideas for fundraising, as well as additional sources of information on volunteering, travel, and the various destinations. From discovering the best times to go to navigating the application process to figuring out what to take, this guidebook prepares readers for all aspects of their volunteer experience, whether they’re preparing a turtle hatchery in Costa Rica, teaching English in Mexico, or building a home in Brazil. Moon Volunteer Vacations in Latin America is a must-have for anyone looking to get involved abroad.

Moon Volunteer Vacations in Latin America is the ultimate guide to the best volunteer experiences available in Latin America. Seasoned volunteer Amy E. Robertson shares her own expertise while inspiring readers to choose the right volunteer placement for their specific interests. Broken into chapters based on destination, the book gives a comprehensive overview of the best programs offered in each country and includes helpful information about housing, program costs, placement length, and much more. The countries covered include Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Robertson also shares ideas for fundraising, as well as additional sources of information on volunteering, travel, and the various destinations. From discovering the best times to go to navigating the application process to figuring out what to take, this guidebook prepares readers for all aspects of their volunteer experience, whether they're preparing a turtle hatchery in Costa Rica, teaching English in Mexico, or building a home in Brazil. Moon Volunteer Vacations in Latin America is a must-have for anyone looking to get involved abroad.

Ken Budd’s The Voluntourist is a remarkable memoir about losing your father, accepting your fate, and finding your destiny by volunteering around the world for numerous worthy causes: Hurricane Katrina disaster relief in New Orleans, helping special needs children in China, studying climate change in Ecuador, lending a hand—and a heart—at a Palestinian refugee camp in the Middle East, to name but a few. Ken's emotional journey is as inspiring and affecting as those chronicled in Little Princes and Three Cups of Tea. At once a true story of powerful family bonds, of sacrifice, of self-discovery, The Voluntourist is an all-too-human, real-life hero whom you will not soon forget.

From the Publisher: Immersion travel opportunities in the US, including details on how to get involved with social justice, religious or ecological organizations, etc.

Overseas volunteering has exploded in numbers and interest in the last couple of decades. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people travel from wealthier to poorer countries to participate in short-term volunteer programs focused on health services. Churches, universities, nonprofit service organizations, profit-making "voluntourism" companies, hospitals, and large corporations all sponsor brief missions. Hoping to Help is the first book to offer a comprehensive assessment of global health volunteering, based on research into how it currently operates, its benefits and drawbacks, and how it might be organized to contribute most effectively. Given the enormous human and economic investment in these activities, it is essential to know more about them and to understand the advantages and disadvantages for host communities. Most people assume that poor communities benefit from the goodwill and skills of the volunteers. Volunteer trips are widely advertised as a means to "give back" and "make a difference." In contrast, some claim that health volunteering is a new form of colonialism, designed to benefit the volunteers more than the host communities. Others focus on unethical practices and potential harm to the presumed "beneficiaries." Judith N. Lasker evaluates these opposing positions and relies on extensive research—interviews with host country staff members, sponsor organization leaders, and volunteers, a national survey of sponsors, and participant observation—to identify best and worst practices. She adds to the debate a focus on the benefits to the sponsoring organizations, benefits that can contribute to practices that are inconsistent with what host country staff identify as most likely to be useful for them and even with what may enhance the experience for volunteers. Hoping to Help illuminates the activities and goals of sponsoring organizations and compares dominant practices to the preferences of host country staff and to nine principles for most effective volunteer trips.

Offers an insight into how volunteer tourism is growing and developing. This title includes case studies from researchers in the field which explore the experiences of the volunteer tourist and the relationships between volunteers and host communities and commercial, non-commercial and government entities involved in volunteer tourism.