I always wonder how much volunteer/voluntour organizations listen to their volunteers. It seems like a no-brainer—the volunteers are on the ground doing the job, they’re a voluntour organization’s bread and butter—and yet, in many cases considering the opinions of the volunteers is an afterthought. Voluntour organizations have a lot to think about. They’re managing projects in communities where local people may or may not agree with their methods. They’re fundraising, politicking, and promoting their companies. Still, at the heart of every good volunteer organization are the volunteers themselves. Globe Aware, a 15-year-old volunteer organization, seem to have their values firmly planted in the right places. Their name epitomizes their mission: to actively and compassionately empower communities by helping to create “renewable, sustainable programs.” They aim to “promote cultural awareness and/or promote sustainability” with every project. Their focus is on self-reliance, not charity. And, they recognize the critical importance of volunteer feedback in designing their initiatives and their policy. They review volunteer feedback weekly to incorporate suggested changes. They also maintain constant communication with communities to monitor progress and to address any potential problems as they arise. Globe aware is a non-profit.

I am a big fan of Globe Aware because they have a functional model based on responsibility. They choose safe communities with genuine needs and “significant cultural differences from the typical North American lifestyle.” This may sound strange, but it’s honest and makes perfect sense: if the goal of an organization is both to help the needy and to provide unique cultural experiences for its volunteers, its projects must of necessity be located in foreign places with distinctly different cultures from our own.

Lastly, the communities must welcome Globe Aware’s involvement.

One of the most important lessons international volunteers learn is to respect a variety of lifestyles and cultures. Global citizens must learn from experience how to break down language barriers and how to embrace differences. I don’t believe these are lessons that can be learned in any other way and Globe Aware doesn’t either. They work to build the global citizen but they don’t do it in a vacuum: their outreach, marketing, and branding have made them a giant in the voluntour industry. They’ve partnered with other organizations like Travelocity’s Travel for Good, ServiceWorld, Building Bridges Coalition and even the United Nations Economic and Social Council. They’re also active on social networks and host journals from past volunteers on their website.

Happy faux-lidays
Extended families create their own reason to celebrate each other

By Wendy Donahue, Tribune Newspapers

3:13 PM CST, March 6, 2012
Advertisement

Every year, Marie Puskas and her extended family put all of their eggs in one basket — along with their Valentines, New Year’s noisemakers, Christmas gifts, Thanksgiving fixings and Halloween treats.

Naturally, they call this annual family gathering “New Valeastweengivingmas,” a contraction of several holidays, and it is celebrated in July or August at her parents’ house in Daytona Beach, Fla.

“We count down to midnight, give valentines in Easter eggs, dress up in Halloween costumes, have a Thanksgiving dinner and have a secret Santa/white elephant gift exchange,” said Puskas, who lives in Tampa.

Just over a dozen family members, along with some family friends, travel from across Florida for this off-peak holiday rush, which dates to 2003.

“We weren’t sure if we’d all be able to get together once we all had families,” Puskas said, “so this is one tradition we make sure stays intact.”

Modern family life has birthed a brood of custom holidays, often to preserve closeness while easing logistical and financial pressures on extended, blended and interfaith families separated by miles. Sometimes they honor sacred milestones (the date of a child’s adoption, often called “gotcha day”). Sometimes, they’re whimsical (the date a boat goes in the water after winter, christened “Cold Duck Day” by one family because the “really cheap” wine was all they had aboard to toast the launch the first year).

A venerable holiday twist for extended families involves shifting the celebration of Christmas to a few weeks before or a few days after Dec. 25 — which one family christened “Mockmas” — in part so that individual families can wake up on Christmas Day in their own homes. On the opposite end of the calendar is the old-fashioned family reunion in summertime when kids don’t have school and travel conditions are more hospitable.

Even somber events can spin off annual celebrations. The family of Melissa Byers of Myrtle Beach, S.C., marks the date of her father’s death.

“I know that sounds weird, but we go to his favorite restaurant, make his favorite dessert, etc.,” Byers said. “We’re on year three in March and the first two were festive, not sad. No balloons or anything, but time that we deliberately remember and enjoy the things he did. It’s nice.”

Birth of a complicated schedule

But, as Puskas said, it’s the birth of babies that most universally redefines holidays for families.

“It’s a time of complete reinvention in some ways,” said Linda Murray, editor in chief of babycenter.com. Its recent poll found that 23 percent of respondents stayed closer to home after having a baby, with 44 percent describing the traditional holiday season in their home as “a reasonably low-key event with just a few gatherings and a handful of relatives. Fourteen percent described theirs as a “quiet event at home with just our immediate family.”

Many new parents report that they initially travel more than they did before, introducing the baby to relatives. Once a child turns 2, constantly on the go and requiring a separate plane ticket, air travel declines, Murray said. Then the school years start, with new financial demands, hectic schedules and limited breaks.

But Murray cited a surprise in the babycenter.com poll: 92 percent of parents will pull their children out of school to travel with them “and not feel guilty about it.”

She speculates that might be feeding alternative-holiday momentum.

It’s a big world out there

“Parents tell us they have a real belief in life experience,” Murray said. “The opportunity to see another place or learn something new or bond together as a family, they really value those things on par with traditional education.”

That’s why some families have turned volunteerism vacations into annual holidays.

Through the Globe Aware (globeaware.org) organization, Mark Edwards and his family have assembled desks for a school in Ghana, painted a school in Laos and built stoves in Peru. That was their first trip when their youngest of three daughters was 9 and their unheated hostel meant sleeping in all of their clothes to stay warm.

“But our kids never complained,” said Edwards, who lives in Boston. “They loved it, we loved it, and we were hooked.”

Globe Aware, which is one of the partners on GoVoluntouring.com, reports that about 40 percent of families turn its trips into an annual rite, though families make up only 15 to 25 percent of its volunteers.

“We’ve seen many multigenerational families — kids, together with their parents and grandparents — all traveling with one another as a bonding experience in a truly unique and wonderful environment,” said Kimberly Haley-Coleman, executive director of Globe Aware.

Friendship matters

Other faux-lidays aren’t just centered on the traditional definition of family. Some surround friendship.

“Two of my good friends have birthdays three days apart from each other,” said Jenny Des Jarlais, who lives in northern California. “They’re the same age for just those three days out of the year. They consider it a three-day period of celebration .”

Celebrations of half-birthdays have become commonplace for kids whose birthdays are lost in the December or summer shuffle, as with Murray’s daughter, who was born on New Year’s Eve. Murray points out a related post on babycenter.com:

“My sister’s and my birthdays fell at inconvenient times (hers is Dec. 21, mine Jan. 4), so rather than let them get overlooked or run together with Christmas, my family would throw us a joint ‘unbirthday party’ some time when everybody could come. And we’d usually watch ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ where the Mad Hatter explains that everybody gets 364 unbirthdays a year.”

A new holiday dawning

Thinking about proposing a new holiday for your extended family? For 64 years, relatives of Jessica Hebenstreit have gathered for the Benz Family Reunion at Rathbun Lake in Iowa. Here are five ways they started and sustained the tradition.

Agree on a day that remains clear year after year, such as “the second Sunday of July.” Once there’s reasonable consensus, stick to it to avoid confusion.

Make the official celebration a single-day event, then individual families can tailor their trip to their liking. Hebenstreit’s relatives start trickling in as much as a week in advance.

Pick a destination with some affordable recreational options. They don’t have to be highfalutin. “People go boating on the lake, spend time in town; generally, the adults find their way to the local pool hall,” Hebenstreit says.

Schedule some events, but not too many. A little bit of “corny” is OK too — it’s family. “On Saturday we have a weenie roast at the campgrounds,” Hebenstreit says. “Sunday entails a potluck, a family report given by a member of each of the families on the past year, prayer, singing of songs, games for the children.”

Tend to business for the next year while everyone is there. On Sunday, Hebenstreit says her family passes a hat to raise money to reserve the shelters for the next year as well as to make a donation to the cemetery where their forebears, Charles and Anna Benz, are buried. They also elect a president and vice president who are responsible for booking the shelters and ensuring the reunion takes place the next year.

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

Star quality isn’t just reserved for the rich and famous. GoVoluntouring helps travelers of all kinds connect with their ideal volunteer vacation in locations across the world, including those that the celebs hold dear to their hearts:

Angelina Jolie fights poverty in Cambodia

This Oscar-winning actress who often graces the “most beautiful woman” list can be found in Cambodia. Whilst filming Tomb Raider, Jolie was touched by the plight of the poor and impoverished. See for yourself the source of Jolie’s inspiration with Globe Aware’s Cambodia Rediscovered program. Even though the tourism trade is blossoming in Cambodia, a large percentage of people still live in poverty. With a street-child problem and an underfunded education and medical system, volunteers will be working on a variety of projects. However, they will still have time however to visit the ancient temples that feature in Jolie’s Tomb Raider movies.

Natalie Portman loves them big and hairy

From black swans to mountain gorillas, Natalie Portman trekked into the rainforests of Rwanda to raise awareness of these beautiful giants. Gorillas share 98% of their genetic make-up with humans and volunteers can get involved with their plight by joining the Peaks Foundation. The organization runs a one-week trip where volunteers climb Rwanda’s highest peak, Nyiragongo (an active volcano), in support of the conservation efforts at Virunga National Park.

Elton John turns tragedy to triumph

St. Lucia is where celebrities are usually snapped lounging on the beach or private yacht, however this is one of the places where volunteers are needed to help educate the local people about HIV and AIDS. Elton John has seen many of his friend’s succumb to this disease and has channeled his grief into fund raising efforts, providing money for research and vital services to those in need. Join African Impact in the impressive setting of the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, a UNESCO world heritage site, as they help the local orphans and raise awareness of HIV and AIDS.

Jennifer Lopez helps women around the world

After learning that 350 young women have been killed in areas of Mexico since 1993, causes for women took precedence with this Latino songstress. These issues are certainly not unique to Mexico; volunteers with Kaya Responsible Travel will be improving the future of abused women in the Philippines. This project is about empowering women through encouraging social engagement and teaching them about their rights.

GoVoluntouring is an online community for volunteers, overseas teachers, and learners’ abroad that allow users to perform detailed searches from a huge database of projects and programs. With thousands of programs to choose from, GoVoluntouring offers pre-checked charities and non-profits the chance to connect with the volunteers they desperately need, with no added cost to the user or the volunteer organization.  For more information visit www.govoluntouring.com.

Enjoy!

A modern day conundrum: You want to go on holiday, but you feel bad for just lazing around for a week and you are really just harming the environment with your carbon footprint….but you reeeeally want a holiday. What do you do?

Become a Volutourist.

It’s a surprisingly short time ago that volunteering  became so wide-spread and easily available. These days you can volunteer from one week to two years, but this is a relatively new phenomenon. The most recent development for volunteering  is ‘voluntourism’. This is, as the name suggests, where you combine vacation travel with volunteering  at your chosen destination. Typically a two-week holiday will be split between the two ‘themes’ of the holiday. By doing this, it creates a far more personal experience to any holiday as well as giving you a different insight to a country you might not have visited before. Volunteering will inevitably introduce people on vacation to the people and culture’s rather than just the tourist spots and crowds. The idea of it is connected to ‘sustainable travel ’, defined as “lessening the toll that travel and tourism takes on the environment and local cultures.”

There are many bonuses to volunteering while on holiday, cost being a huge one. Not only do you feel like you have really earned your holiday by helping out, it also can cut the price quite significantly. Europe and North America are home to the highest amount of voluntourists, with the majority heading to Asia, Africa and South America. While anyone can benefit from voluntourism, people with a vocational skill can be especially beneficial to the people of the country they are visiting. Doctors, carpenters, construction workers, teachers to name but a few can really help to lead a team through experience and maximise the short time spent with a community.

As I mentioned earlier, volunteering will often take you away from the crowds and into the smaller villages and the ‘real’ cultural centres, which is why more people are turning to ‘voluncations’.

While there are the “pro”s to holidaying this way, there are of course some negative factors to consider. The main one is this: What happens after you leave? Is there a constant stream of people to volunteer, or is it only seasonal? You want to make sure the community is actually benefitting from your cumulative weekly volunteer groups, and not damaging their infrastructure. You also need to make sure the organization you have booked through has an in-country contact and a reasonable orientation programme.

It is also vital to remember that you don’t have to leave your country to help make a difference. In situations of national disasters, as much help as is possible is needed. Think of the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina that required such huge manpower to help clear and feed the thousands left homeless.

There are multiple companies that specialize in voluntourists. Globeaware.org and womeninprogress.org have specifically women-based volunteer help to help teach skills so these women can make a living for themselves.

Voluntourism is great for people who have not traveled alone abroad much, but who have the desire for adventure and interest in learning, as well as busy people who cant take a long time off to volunteer, but who want to help and also relax!

What is voluntouring? Voluntouring is a cultural emersion volunteer experience that gives you a chance to lend a helping hand while experiencing other cultures and countries. Voluntouring creates stimulating, service-oriented vacations.

Voluntourists embark on trips to serve, to learn and help others. They return with new skills, life-experiences, and understanding.

Voluntourism advantages for the individual volunteer:

• Participating in meaningful service and having a deep impact on a community
• Developing new skills
• Interacting with locals and experiencing new cultures
• Seeing and exploring places you typically wouldn’t go to as a tourist
• Creating friendships and memories
• Experiencing true satisfaction from your vacation leisure time

Want to get involved and find vacations you can serve with?

Globe Aware is a great organization that helps people search and sign-up for vacations that give more. Globe Aware coordinates, organizes and leads volunteer vacations, service vacations, working holidays and service trips to places all over the world. Get out of the cold, and try your hand in some voluntouring!

The entire article is here, enjoy:

Water for San Pedro de Casta

Gainesville women ‘vacation’ in Andean town for a cause

Published: Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 6:01 a.m.

The ideal vacation is rarely one where water is a precious commodity. Resort destinations don’t usually advertise vacationers digging a well, educating school children and traveling on a treacherous, one-lane road in the only vehicle in the village. But for some, to sunbathe on a beach just doesn’t cut it.

Three Gainesville women recently returned from a “volunteer vacation” to San Pedro de Casta, Peru, where they worked in rustic conditions for one week helping dig and build a well and teaching children English.

But their work just scratched the surface, and on their return, the women decided to host a fundraiser for the 999 residents of the small village. “Bring Water to San Pedro de Casta” is scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m. Nov. 4 at the United Church of Gainesville.

Beth Karbe, an acupuncturist and herbalist, said she and her friends worked from dawn to dusk and stayed in a hotel with little water and no heat in the Andes Mountains.

“If you could call it a hotel, it was more like a building,” she said. “There were no showers and the toilet only flushed every three or four times.”

San Pedro de Casta, which is at an elevation of 12,000 feet, is only 50 miles east of Lima, Peru’s capital, but it takes 5 ½ hours to get there due to its remote location.

Karbe said she discovered the volunteer vacation after her first trip to Peru, where she traveled on her own to an orphanage that housed 50 young children. On her second trip in August, she traveled through Globe Aware, a U.S. based non-profit organization that arranges supervised volunteer vacations all over the world to “promote cultural awareness and sustainability,” according to its mission statement. This time she traveled with two other Gainesville women, Judy Keathley and Carol Barron.

About 30 percent of San Pedro’s residents are children, and about 80 percent of them are malnourished, according to Karbe. The lack of water means little grass for cows to feed on, which in turn causes the animals to fail to produce milk.

The absence of water creates other difficulties as well, such as sanitation.

Two members on the trip were sick with dysentery, and had to walk a mile to the well to get fresh water, said Barron, the director of construction for Alachua County Habitat for Humanity.

“It was primitive and very intense,” she said. “The people there that were 40 looked 65 because they’re so dehydrated.”

Barron said that for more than 50 percent of their trip there was no running water, and for the other half of the time the water was freezing.

Karbe said the now dry town was previously a lush plateau, but climate change and global warming has resulted in water becoming scarce.

Karbe said the women were unsatisfied with their progress by the end of the week and wanted to help more.

“As hard as we worked, we didn’t really accomplish that much.”

So to compensate, they’ve planned a fundraiser with a goal of raising $22,000 to bring an irrigation and water system to the town.

The “Bring Water to San Pedro” fundraiser includes wine and cheese, a silent auction and live performances of Peruvian music. Tickets cost $35, or for those who are unable to attend the event, a monetary donation can be sent electronically to the Bring Water to San Pedro de Casta Project at the Internet link, Globeaware.org/sponsor-volunteer-vacationer and enter “Bring Water to San Pedro” in the field.

The cost of the trip — not including airfare to Peru, which the women paid for themselves — covered food, guides, travel costs within the country, tools and their gift to the area — a water heater for the local school.

Karbe said there are no volunteers scheduled for travel to Peru for the next year, likely due to the rustic living conditions.

“Every time I turn the water on to brush my teeth, I’m grateful,” Karbe said.

Copyright © 2011 Gainesville.com

Increase Health by Helping Others

Created 10/17/2011 – 06:27

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened.”

One of my favorite Buddhist quotes reminds me that happiness never decreases by being shared.

Sharing and spreading your happiness does nothing but increase happiness in your community and make the world a better place. Happiness and good deeds really are contagious.

Speaking of contagious, ever wonder what kind of health benefits come from those fuzzy feelings that come from helping others and spreading your joy?

Well let me tell you, my friend!

Numerous studies have found that volunteering has a huge impact on lowering rates of depression, especially for folks over 65. More specifically, a Duke University study concluded that individuals who participated in volunteer activity after having heart attacks experienced less despair and depression, which is often liked to mortality in post coronary artery disease patients. So ultimately, these happy, uplifting feelings can increase longevity and save your life!

In addition to reducing depression, volunteering has also been found to help chronic pain sufferers. A Boston College study examined how pain, depression, disability, and self-efficacy were affected through volunteering. Results showed that pain, depression and disability improved through volunteering, concluding that chronic pain may be alleviated through volunteering.

Volunteers report having an increased sense of connectedness through helping others — an important aspect to spiritual health and wellness. In addition to an increased feeling of connectedness, helping others gives you a greater sense of purpose and meaning in life.

So often in the news today, our attention is brought to harsh and negative realities. Helping others makes it easier to focus on the positive aspects of life, thus increasing happiness that can be easily spread.

Start small by holding open a door, smiling at a stranger, paying the toll of someone behind you, or simply going out of your way to help a friend in need.

Or go big by planning a volunteer vacation. My good ol’ mom racked up enough miles to fly to Thailand and build houses through habitat for humanity, a life-changing and rewarding experience.

You don’t need to leave the country to volunteer, help others, and feel good! You can get an overall increased sense of well being, better mental and physical health by helping others in your community today.