Volunteering

Backpacktivism with Operation Groundswell

Operation Groundswell Logo

Image source: Onlinefundraisingtoday.com

For the 30-something traveler and volunteer (me), there is something so nostalgic about college-age adventure. It wasn’t that long ago and yet, I remember the idealism and excitement as if they were things of the last century. It’s so easy to become jaded—to let the terrible things about the world into your heart. I don’t think of myself as cynical, but reading about the subject of today’s article has inspired me to take a good hard look at my tarnished optimism. There is no reason for it! Optimism is the product of positive change. It’s the result of standing up for something, of doing things yourself to get them done right. I spend a lot of time reading about volunteer companies. It’s a wonderful thing to read about because so many of them are designed to make the world better. Still, just like in any marketplace, there is often a very thinly veiled profit-incentive. This is fine, so long as the programs are well run, sustainable, and responsible, but it is refreshing to see a company that openly addresses this obvious and pervasive ethical quandary.

WWOOF: World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms

WWOOFer Weeding

Image source: Tinyfarmblog.com

Inspired by yesterday’s article, I wanted to find another organization that matched volunteers with workstays: free work partnerships in which the volunteer exchanges labor for food and lodging. I spend most of my time researching traditional volunteer outfits, which are as varied as snowflakes. I’m well versed in the differences between for-profits and non-profits, the financial peccadilloes of NGOs and the many directories that match volunteers with opportunities. But I realized some time ago that a rather large population of people seemed to be under served: the grassroots communities who want to interact directly with volunteers, and the volunteers who want a less traditional volunteering experience. The volunteer organization serves as a buffer. It negotiates the terms, monitors the projects, and helps volunteers navigate travel, lodging, and sightseeing. But sometimes that buffer is also a hindrance. Especially for volunteers with limited resources who have all of the experience they need to work on their own terms.

Volunteer for Free with HelpX

HelpX Volunteer Taking a Break

Image source: Toothbrushnomads.com

I know several people who want desperately to volunteer. These are my friends. They’re smart, capable people, but they don’t have the capital to pay large program fees for a few weeks of service. My best friend, Rebecca, is a farmer. She runs her own organic farm in the middle of the city, giving fresh, free food to her neighbors. She lives in a low-income neighborhood, a place where it isn’t easy to find fresh produce. Every day she is improving the lives of her neighbors. She’s keeping children healthy. She’s making her street more beautiful with her incredible sunflowers and climbing vines. And yet, financially, she’s in a tough place. I look at her and I think any program would be so lucky to have her. She embodies the volunteering spirit that is at the heart of so many organizations. Still, she doesn’t go because she doesn’t have the money. She’d rather keep giving her food away for free than charge her poor neighbors so that she can travel to help other equally needy people, someplace else.

International Volunteer Programs Association

A Cross-Cultural Solutions Volunteer Food Bank

Image source: Moteevate.com

I’m always writing about how important it is for volunteers to have information they can trust. As I’ve discussed before, there are many organizations that organize and vet opportunities but sometimes it can be difficult to tell how they choose the programs they feature. Do they have a financial incentive? Are they only featuring programs that agree to exchange online traffic? The average volunteer may find herself frustrated by the lack of straightforwardness and transparency. Sometimes it’s necessary to dig rather deeply to uncover the motives of an organization. Most of us simply don’t have the time, energy, technical expertise, or team of crack private investigators to do that kind of digging. This is where rating programs and associations with high standards can really help separate the legitimate opportunities from the rest.

Lonely Planet Volunteers

Tony and Maureen Wheeler

Image source: Lonelyplanet.com

Inspired by yesterday’s post, I went searching for other great online resources for aspiring volunteers. I’ve written about online portals before: organizations that collect volunteering resources to match volunteers with opportunities. VolunteerMatch is one example, but there are many popping up all over the online superhighway. These organizations are wonderfully helpful. They make the vastness of the information digestible and help overwhelmed volunteers take control of their planning. They provide question-based search tools, helping users whittle down their options. They even provide detailed information about travel options, accommodations, and tourist spots in the volunteer’s chosen country. The one thing they don’t provide, however, is brand recognition. It’s not their fault—this industry is so new and many of these companies are only a few years old—but when an unknown entity is doing your vetting, it’s hard to feel 100% confident about the information you’re getting.