Volunteer Vacations

Volunteer Housing by AmazonCARES via Flickr

Have you ever thought of combining your favorite causes and your free time into one great vacation?

Last week at the Vacation Matters Summit in Seattle, Bonnie Michaels spoke about this method of vacationing and why she an her husband enjoy it so much.  Bonnie is a life coach based in Chicago and is a spokeswoman for the Take Back Your Time project.

Besides meeting people from all over the world who share your passions, you get to help your cause or interest and combine it with some vacation.  Bonnie has helped in everything from food distribution to archeological digs, so there is really something for everyone.

Bonnie recommends Volunteers for Peace and Willing Workers to find your next volunteer vacation.

Here are some points to consider when planning your volunteer vacation:

• Talk to people who have done it so you know what to expect.
• Check the mission statement of the organization.  Does it fit with your values?  If not, you (or they) may have a hard time working together.
• Does it fit within your vacation goals?  If it is in a remote area, even having a half-day free for leisure every day won’t allow you to do much.  Make sure that you have the amount of leisure – and access – to do the things you want before you sign up.
• Talk to a real person at the organization.  You get to know things this way that you can’t through the website or email.
• Find out and be comfortable with the living conditions, cost, orientation program, skills needed, and language needed.
• Be culturally sensitive.

Have you ever taken a volunteer vacation?  Would you?

______________________________________________________________________________

Betsy Talbot writes about carving the lifestyle you want out of the life you already have. When she’s not writing, she’s paring down, saving up, and getting ready for a year of travel with her husband Warren.