If your passion is working with children, you can make a difference in children's lives by taking a "volunteer vacation." In developing nations, children often don't have easy access to quality education. In fact, the Charity Guide notes that developed nations spend around 100 times more per student than developing nations do. You can offer to teach or tutor children in developing countries, give English instruction or help build a school.
Another option is to work with children abroad by volunteering at an orphanage or childcare facility. These opportunities are perfect for students studying to be teachers or social workers, as well as those who are interested in teamwork, management and planning.
While some of these volunteer abroad opportunities do cost money, others---especially teaching jobs---will actually pay you a stipend. Volunteering Solutions provides students the opportunity to work with children in a teaching or non-teaching capacity while visiting Thailand.
Volunteering Solutions
FF- 310 H, Sushant Arcade
Sushant Lok - 1
Gurgaon, India 122009
+1-347-410-9730
volunteeringsolutions.com
As environmental sustainability has become an issue of global interest in recent years, many volunteer opportunities now exist for those who wish to positively impact the environment and help resist global warming. These volunteer opportunities are perfect for students studying the sciences or earning one of the newer "green" degrees that deal with sustainability and allow students to do everything from collecting plants and rehabilitating animals to teaching local populations to live sustainably.
Global Volunteer Network's program in Ecuador is one volunteering abroad choice that allows students who are environmental activists to choose from different tasks and locations while promoting biodiversity conservatio.
Global Volunteer Network Ltd.
P.O. Box 30-968
Lower Hutt, New Zealand
800-963-1198
globalvolunteernetwork.org
In many areas of the world, poverty is a fact of life. Although you might feel poor as a college student, lending a hand to the truly poor is a noble goal, and it can be an uplifting (though often difficult) experience. In developing nations around the world, you can work with the poor by helping to provide food, build shelter and offer solutions to end poverty, such as job training and education. In areas that have been directly affected by war or a natural disaster, relief efforts are also intended to prevent poverty; these projects include infrastructure rebuilding as well as organizing community resources.
As a college student, volunteering abroad to end poverty can give you experience in a number of skills that will be valuable in the business world, including managing others, taking initiative and cross-cultural communication. Come Kuona International is one organization that seeks to end poverty by training youth with job skills while helping them make social contributions.
Come Kuona International
14419 Englewood Dr.
Gig Harbor, WA 98329
comekuona.org