One of my great passions is devoting my time and in many cases money to volunteer for organizations I believe in. I’ve met such a wide array of people, who always talk about wanting to take part in these programs but are never really sure, or are unsure how to go about it.

You need to find out what you’re interested in. Don’t do it for the sake of doing it because as selfish as this may sound you won’t actually get that much out of it, and in many cases, you won’t do as good of a job if you’re not as passionate. Once you’ve figured that out, you can look to the organizations that provide these volunteer roles. Just like on many other occasions your best friend is Google.

turtle

For me I always look for animal conservation programs, I’ve already participated in a Turtle conservation program in Greece and an Elephant conservation program in Thailand. So now I’m looking to organizations like Frontier who in addition to running animal conservation programs, carry out programs in community, construction, teaching and healthcare.

elephants

The reasoning behind me volunteering is because I want to give back in ways, too many places that are easily overlooked. The great thing about taking part in these programs is you meet like-minded people, who share a lot of the same passions and beliefs. In a lot of these cases, you spend nearly 24 hours a day with these groups for 2-6 weeks… it’s pretty hard not to get close and make friends for life.

What is great, is that it takes you out of your comfort zone. You can really figure out who you are away from your home, family, and friends. Every time I’ve taken part in one of these projects it’s changed me for the better, I’ve learned from other volunteers, project coordinators, and the new environments. Many times these projects take place in rural environments in third-world or developing countries, which are key factors in opening your eyes to the world.

From my recent research I’ve begun to see new types of organizations popping up, where instead of paying a fee to the select organization, you live with a local family in the area you are volunteering in. This is I think is a great idea because it immerses you in the community and allows you to take part in these programs when you can invest your time, rather than your money.

If you’ve already volunteered, let me know why and what you got out of it?
Any questions just ask me below, I’d be happy to help!


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