GoEco: Volunteering for Ecological and Humanitarian Projects

Image source: Goeco.org

Ecological concern is almost a prerequisite for existing in the world in 2012. Everywhere we look we see environmental disasters—irresponsible manufacturing, drilling, fracking, and dumping—that are imperiling our precious and delicate world every single day. It feels like an insurmountable obstacle when all of the things we use every day—the cars we all drive, the energy that fuels our homes, airplane fuel, the products we buy—all contribute to our landfills, to polluting our oceans, and to damaging the delicate balance of our climate. I was talking to my younger sister about this the other day and she said, “what can one person really do?” It was such a sad statement coming from an idealistic, smart, and savvy young woman. One person can do a tremendous amount of good: in small ways and in large ones. But we’re not a nation of individuals. We are a team. What we really need is to unify our people towards a common goal—saving the planet and her people.

GoEco is an organization focused on finding those concerned volunteers—people who are ready to step up to work towards a cleaner, safer, better future. The organization was established in 2005 by Jonathan Gilben and Jonathan Tal, two educated and committed young men dedicated to bringing volunteer tourism to Israel. They began by creating local projects to attract international volunteers to the area. In 2006 they ran their first volunteer project at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Michmoret.

Image source: Blog.goeco.org

Since then, GoEco has established dozens of ecological and humanitarian projects in the Arab and Jewish sectors in Israel. In cooperation with its partner organizations around the world, GoEco also sends Israeli volunteers to work on international projects. IN this way, GoEco has created an international volunteer network of like minded, responsible organizations who are all working towards the same overarching goals: protecting people and the planet. GoEco is a large, established organization that works closely with volunteers to insure proper placement and to guide them through their volunteer experiences. They are also interested in exploring the world of ecological tourism in order to maximize its benefits while minimizing its environmental impact.

Image source: Squidoo.com

If you’re passionate about helping improve humanitarian or ecological conditions around the world but are housebound, there are still many ways you can get involved. Our friends over at Volunteer Odyssey (the official blog of Volunteer Expeditions) have written a great article about how to link up with volunteer organizations using your computer. It’s a brave new world out there. Let’s all volunteer!