Summer is Here, Thinking About Volunteer Travel?

With summer here, we know a lot of you want to learn more about traveling for good! There are many different ways to help out abroad with a small amount of free time over the summer and different nonprofits offer different opportunities. The Top-Rated groups below offer various chances to travel while volunteering. Take a look, and see if one of these nonprofits is a good fit for you.

And if you are scheduled to do some traveling with a nonprofit already, share your story when you get back by writing a review! Your review will help others decide if volunteering abroad is a good fit for them.

2013 Top-Rated Nonprofits Offering Travel Opportunities

Countries/Regions Served: Guatemala

Mayan Families provides opportunities and assistance to the indigenous and impoverished people of Guatemala, through education and community development programs.

“My only regret is that I could not have spent longer in Panajachel with Mayan Families. While there, I was a part of their medical and dental clinics for many different villages, and I also came home with a beautiful puppy that they had rescued through their animal welfare program.”

Countries/Regions Served: Belize, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines

A Broader View Volunteer Corp. was created on the belief that one person can make a difference in the lives of others. The US office is operated by a staff with almost 20 years combined travel and hospitality experience.

“Many of the “volunteer” programs we looked at for our daughter were cost prohibitive and had many time constraints. ABV made it possible for her to experience a different culture and, at the same time, volunteer in ways that she never would have otherwise.”

Countries/Regions Served: Africa, Asia, Latin America

Global Volunteer Network Foundation works to empower women and children by providing financial resources to grassroots organizations working with vulnerable women and children in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“Climbing to Everest Base Camp is something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life and I can’t imagine better people to have done it with. I will be doing more programs with GVN in the future and highly recommend it for anyone who wants to step outside their comfort zone and try something new.”

2012 Top-Rated Nonprofits Offering Travel Opportunities

Countries/Regions Served: Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, South Africa

Working at 20 different sites in six countries, Child Family Health International partners with universities and medical professionals. The organization aims to help students  explore what health care and public health provision is like in developing countries. CFHI also creates social entrepreneur opportunities for local communities that are able to host and teach students from afar about local culture, realities, illness and wellness.

“It was one of the best rotations of my medical school career. Getting the opportunity to perform a number of procedures while also seeing what healthcare challenges another culture faced allowed me to develop tremendously as a doctor and person in the beginning stages of my career.”

 

Countries/Regions Served: Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Thailand

YouthLINC works to create life-long humanitarians. Rotary clubs, universities and colleges, businesses, professional associations, and individuals who want to encourage service among young people provide sponsorships to students.

” I felt like the trip had a perfect blend of service and site seeing. I felt like I had a cultural experience along with a wonderful service experience.”

Want to help YouthLINC and Child Family Health International become Top-Rated again for 2013? Write a review of their work!