Volunteering
When it comes to volunteering, please be very careful with when looking for opportunities abroad. There are many companies out there charging to place you in positions when it’s just as easy to get to your destination and find volunteer opportunities locally. A friend is working on a database for just this purpose – sources of free volunteer opportunities and holidays that benefit charitable organizations. As soon as it’s up I’ll have it on the recommended resources page.
These resource pages are ongoing and come from many sources including online searches, word of mouth recommendations, books, pamphlets, brochures, and my own travel experiences. If you have anything to add, would like something removed, or something isn’t working correctly, please let me know.
The flags below are meant to give you an idea of which nationalities the link is for or where the company is located. Common sense should tell you if you’re able to use a given link from another country.
Volunteering holidays
- Adventure VSA (Volunteer Service Abroad): www.vsa.org.nz 
– Volunteer opportunities in the Pacific, Asia and Africa
- Aquila Tours Inc: www.voluntouring.ca 
– Sightseeing mixed with a volunteer experience
- Go Differently: www.godifferently.com 
– Homestays and volunteer opportunities in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and India
- Hands up Holidays: www.handsupholidays.com 
– Tours that blend sightseeing with volunteering
- Madventurer: www.madventurer.com – Gap year volunteer projects in Fiji, Ghana, India, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam
- PEPY Ride (Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself): www.pepyride.org 
– Intern and volunteer opportunities in Cambodia
- Travellers Worldwide: www.travellersworldwide.com – voluntary placements, work experience internships and study abroad courses overseas
- World Expeditions: www.worldexpeditions.com – “Community projects” and “charity challenges” are two styles of trips offered by this adventure travel company
Organized Programs
- AFS Intercultural Programs: www.afs.org.au – Fairly short-term international community service projects for Australians
- Amigos de las Americas: www.amigoslink.org – Leadership and community service in the Americas
- Amizade: www.amizade.org – A variety of programs and locations for those seeking to volunteer abroad
- Australian Volunteers International (AVI) Youth: www.australianvolunteers.com – They “manage people-centred development projects and programs in a wide range of countries. Our work focuses on reducing poverty, providing health and education services, promoting human rights and gender equality, and protecting the environment.”
- Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD): www.ayad.com.au – Sends young Aussies to the Pacific, Asia and Africa in different positions and for different time periods
- Azafady: www.azafady.org – Community based projects in Madagascar
- Biosphere: www.biosphere-expeditions.org – Non-profit, award-winning conservation holiday volunteer work expeditions.
- British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV): www.btcv.org – Various volunteer programs for the UK’s largest conservation charity
- BUNAC (British Universities North America Club): www.bunac.org/volunteer – A wide range of volunteer programs are offered in places like China, Costa Rica, Ghana or South Africa
- Changing Worlds: www.changingworlds.co.uk – Volunteer experiences and work placements in a variety of fields and positions
- Conservation Volunteers: www.conservationvolunteers.com.au – Focusing on conservation and the environment, they offer volunteer options in Australia, New Zealand and around the world
- Global Volunteers: www.globalvolunteers.org – Live and work with local people on life-affirming service programs for one to three weeks. Extended-term service option for six to 24 weeks.
- Global Xchange: www.globalxchange.org.uk – Offers two separate programs focusing on “issues that really matter”.
- Inter-cCultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) UK: www.icye.co.uk - ICYE volunteers live and work in countries throughout Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe, helping to support local NGO’s and aid International development.
- International Voluntary Service (IVS): www.ivs-gb.org.uk - A wide variety of short- and long-term programs and projects that benefit local communities in many different countries.
- Lattitude: www.lattitude.org.uk - Lattitude provides that volunteering opportunity – the chance to go beyond the comfort zone and make a lasting difference.
- The Leap: www.theleap.co.uk – Conservation and eco-tourism projects in Asia, Africa and South America
- Link Overseas Exchange: www.linkoverseas.org.uk – For people under 25 who want to teach or volunteer in India, Sri Lanka, China, Nepal and Georgia
- Outreach International: www.outreachinternational.co.uk – They “organise gap year and career break volunteer projects plus summer breaks in Mexico, Cambodia, Nepal, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Galapagos.”
- Por Un Mejor HOY: www.hoycommunity.net – Speak Spanish? Head to this Mexico-based org for one to two weeks of community work.
- Raleigh International: www.raleigh.org.uk – For those under 24 years old, check out these programs in Africa and Central America that take five to ten weeks
- World Youth International: www.worldyouth.org.au – A not for profit, non-religious & non-political international development organisation that offers people the opportunity to volunteer overseas in a meaningful way. They offer a range of programs and placements to countries including Kenya, Uganda, Nepal, Cambodia, India and Peru.
- Youth for Development (YfD): www.vso.org.uk – VSO is the world’s leading independent international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries.
Charities, NGOs and Sending Agencies
- 2Way Development: www.2way.org.uk -
2Way Development places hundreds of volunteers every year to work with established development charities worldwide. All our placements are skills based, allowing volunteers to build up knowledge and experience, whilst contributing to a specific need in a charity or NGO.
Our service isn’t just about arranging placements though – we carefully tie in a lot of careers advice and personal support to ensure a placement works towards a volunteers long-term career goals in a very direct way.
- Australian Volunteers International (AVI): www.australianvolunteers.com – They “manage people-centred development projects and programs in a wide range of countries. Our work focuses on reducing poverty, providing health and education services, promoting human rights and gender equality, and protecting the environment.”
- Coral Cay Conservation (CCC): www.coralcay.org – Specialists in coral reef and tropical forest conservation, they run expeditions in costal areas of Fiji, Tobago and the Philippines
- Experiment in International Living (EIL): www.eiluk.org – Programs that include volunteering, study and travel in the UK and abroad
- Global volunteer Network: www.volunteer.org.nz – a massive collection of global opportunities for all nationalities with an emphasis in Africa and Asia
- Mondo Challenge: www.mondochallenge.org – MondoChallenge volunteers help communities abroad, using their skills while on a career break they volunteer overseas, teach english abroad, work in childcare, women’s empowerment or other community based projects
- Oceanic Society: www.oceanic-society.org – The Oceanic Society’s mission is to protect endangered wildlife and preserve threatened marine habitats worldwide. The Society works to establish protected natural areas, supported and sustained through scientific research, in cooperation with local communities.
- Peace Corps: www.peacecorps.gov – Peace Corps Volunteers live, learn, and work with a community overseas for 27 months, providing technical assistance in six program areas: education, youth and community development, health, business and information and communications technology, agriculture, and environment. Volunteers serve in 77 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.
- Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA): www.vsa.org.nz – Volunteer opportunities in the Pacific, Asia and Africa
- Volunteering for International Development from Australia (VIDA): www.vidavolunteers.com.au – VIDA volunteers work with local counterparts to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development results in the communities in which they work through skills and knowledge exchange, institutional strengthening and capacity building.
Useful Websites
- British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND): www.bond.org.uk – Bond is the UK membership body for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in international development.
- Go Volunteer Abroad: www.go-volunteerabroad.com – A community driven website of like minded people who are all passionate about teaching, studying and volunteering abroad.
- Network of International Development Organizations in Scotland (NIDOS): www.nidos.org.uk – NIDOS’s member organizations work to reduce poverty and improve the lives of the most vulnerable communities around the world.
- Transitions Abroad: www.transitionsabroad.com – A Portal for volunteer work and volunteer vacations overseas.
- University of Minnesota Learning Abroad Center: umabroad.umn.edu – A good resource cite for helping choose a program abroad.
- Volunteering Australia: www.volunteeringaustralia.org – Volunteering Australia is the national peak body working to advance volunteering in the Australian community. Its role is to represent the diverse views and needs of the volunteering sector while promoting the activity of volunteering as one of enduring social, cultural and economic value.
- Volunteering New Zealand: www.volunteeringnz.org.nz – Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) is an association of volunteer centres and national and other organisations with a commitment to volunteering. Current member organisations cover emergency services, health, welfare, education, culture, faith based services, community support, ethnic groups, sport and recreation, conservation, special interests, advocacy and international volunteering.
- Volunteering Options: www.volunteeringoptions.org – Tons of information about volunteering abroad.
I don't believe we are what we do to earn money. Instead, I consider myself to be all of these and more: photographer, traveler, foodie, teacher, student, blogger, explorer, poker player, music lover, son, film buff, computer geek, scuba diver, game player, friend, mountain climber, social drinker, and seeker of new experiences. 