The Ripple Effect: Shannon O’Donnell, Volunteer Superstar, Part One

Xela Guarderia

Image source: Shannon O'Donnell

Welcome back to our interview series, The Ripple Effect. The Ripple Effect explores the emotional impact of volunteer travel and its lasting effect on people’s lives. Today we’re speaking with Shannon O’Donnell, a travel blogger, speaker, and author of The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook. She regularly volunteers and in 2011 launched her passion project, a community sourced database of local, sustainable organizations all over the world. She is the founder of the website ALittleAdrift.com and tweets at @ShannonRTW. Please check back later this week for part two of our interview with Shannon.

The Ripple Effect: An African Adventure with Anna Strahs Watts, Part Two

Anna Strahs Watts Outside the Cross-Cultural Solutions Office

Image source: Anna Strahs Watts

Welcome to part two of our Ripple Effect interview with Anna Strahs Watts, blogger, gluten free baker and avid traveler. To learn more about Anna and her amazing adventures, visit her blog A Girl and Her Backpack, where she chronicles her experiences overseas and how they have changed her perspective on the world in which we live.

The Ripple Effect: An African Adventure with Anna Strahs Watts, Part One

Anna Strahs Watts in Africa

Image source: Anna Strahs Watts

Welcome back to our interview series, The Ripple Effect. The Ripple Effect explores the emotional impact of volunteer travel and its lasting effect on people’s lives. Today we’re speaking with Anna Strahs Watts, blogger, baker and avid traveler. Anna sold the gluten free bakery she built from the ground up to go on a month long volunteer trip to Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Her blog, A Girl and Her Backpack, chronicles her experiences overseas and how they have changed her perspective on the world in which we live. Please check back in tomorrow for part two of our interview with Anna Strahs Watts.

The Ripple Effect: Helping Children in Brazil with Brian Harley, Part One

Brian Harley in Brazil

Image source: Brian Harley

Welcome back to our interview series, The Ripple Effect. The Ripple Effect explores the emotional impact of volunteer travel and its lasting effect on people’s lives. Today we’re speaking with Brian Harley, a veteran and humanitarian who traveled to Salvador, Brazil to make a difference in children’s lives. His story illustrates the transformative effect of volunteering: how it can shift a person’s perspective, changing him for the better. Please check back tomorrow for part two of our interview with Brian.