How can i help out this summer?

Question

ok so i really want to do something this summer to help out the world in someway. Either by helping people, animals, the environment, or anything else like that. I know of some programs but the ones i know of cost a lot of money. So what i'm asking is there any programs out there that you know of that I can go somewhere to volunteer(that aren't thousands of dollars)?

thanks

Answer 1

If you want to go somewhere outside of your area and want to volunteer, you have to pay for ALL expenses -- unless you have a Master's Degree, can work in another language, and have a skill that is needed in the place you want to work (medical training, experience setting up a literacy program, managing and HIV/AIDS education program, building a sanitation plant, etc.).

There is a listing of the more-than-30 member organizations of the International Volunteers Program Association (IVPA) that is a good place to find reputable volunteer-for-a-fee programs -- programs where you don't need to have much experience in order to participate, and the placements are just for a few weeks or months:

http://www.volunteerinternational.org/

Here is a web site that can help you learn more about the skills and experience desired by long-term placement organizations, or organizations that don't charge volunteers but require volunteers to be highly-skilled, and how you can start to gain such experience locally, wherever you are now. http://www.coyotecommunications.com/volu...

To volunteer locally in your own community:

VolunteerMatch, http://www.volunteermatch.org

Idealist, http://www.idealist.org

Change.org, http://www.change.org

CraigsList, http://www.craigslist.com

Network for Good, http://www.networkforgood.org

http://www.1-800-volunteer.org/

ServeNet, http://servenet.org/

Also, contact your local volunteer center; you can find this via the Points of Light Foundation web site,

http://www.pointsoflight.org/centers/

There's also this government sponsored site, http://volunteer.gov/gov/ which provides volunteer positions through USA federal land agencies like Fish & Wildlife, Forest Service, National Parks, etc.