Group of volunteers planting a tree. Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
Volunteering can have a positive impact on communities as well as your own personal and professional journey. To do it right, however, it’s important to evaluate opportunities based on social, environmental and ethical considerations, your skills and a project’s long-term impact.
Some organizations have volunteer opportunities that are free, but many – especially those that attract travelers to other countries – require payment from volunteers. This type of “voluntourism” has faced criticism from many sources, but that doesn’t mean you should dismiss it outright.
If you want to share your skills in the US or around the world, here’s how to choose a sustainable volunteering project.
Ask why you want to volunteer
People who volunteer generally want to help or give back. Sometimes, though, this can lean into a savior mindset, rooted in the colonial belief that certain ways of life and measures of progress are better than others.
While you may have a well-intentioned desire to help, it’s better to approach volunteering as an exchange. This allows you to engage with respect and immerse yourself as a learner rather than just as a teacher – and creates space to expand your worldview and learn about ways of life and models of sustainability that differ from your own.
My first volunteer traveling experience with Spiti Ecosphere brought me to a remote Himalayan valley to set up a Monk for a Month program for slow travelers to experience spiritual life. As part of my work, I visited remote monasteries and nunneries, spent time with monks and nuns learning about their daily lives, and ended up re-evaluating my own life and perspective on travel.
Take stock of your skills
Instead of choosing a volunteer project based on location or what sounds like exciting work, take a step back and evaluate your professional skills and personal aptitude. Are you good with kids or do you have past teaching experience? You’ll likely thrive as a teacher. Do you possess a great eye for design and passion for marketing? Those can be essential to a social enterprise’s public outreach or fundraising team.
By matching your skills with an organization’s needs, you can meaningfully contribute to its growth and impact while also gaining experience.
Look out for greenwashing
Sustainable travel is important to so many of us. More organizations have also embraced measures to reduce carbon emissions and enhance sustainability. Unfortunately, some may overstate their sustainability practices through marketing messages that suggest their work is more eco-friendly than it really is.
As a potential volunteer, take the time to research and evaluate an organization’s claims and match them with the actions it takes. Compare these with similar organizations. Ask questions when in doubt and seek out references from others who have volunteered there.
For instance, a tree-planting organization might claim to be saving the planet, but does it plant native trees, engage local communities and monitor and report results annually? Look for an organization that pursues long-term projects and continually updates its goals. After all, sustainability is not a single practice but an evolving journey.
Understand the impact of volunteering with children
Opportunities to work with children abound, from remote schools to orphanages in economically developing countries. It can feel fulfilling to serve as part of a child’s formative years, offering them love, support and academic lessons. But it’s essential to think about the impact of short-term volunteering on children in orphanages, for instance, who’ve likely faced abandonment traumas and emotional damage. For kids with challenging economic and home situations, schools offer a sense of stability. A crew of rotating volunteers with varying emotional capacities might not serve that need.
There are cultural differences, language barriers, familial challenges and economic hardships to negotiate, as well. That’s not to say that you should avoid volunteering with children. But you may want to investigate longer-term commitments that truly benefit kids – and you in the process. Take time to identify organizations that are as committed to the well-being of the children they serve as to the roster of foreign volunteers who bring in funds for sustenance. Ask what kind of safeguarding policies they have in place to protect the children.
Consider the ethics of volunteering with animals
Animal lovers may want to volunteer at a sanctuary, which often conjures up dreamy images of bathing baby elephants or feeding injured monkeys. However, it’s essential to ask whether an animal sanctuary is simply a glorified zoo – keeping animals captive to give well-meaning (and well-paying) volunteers an opportunity to feed, touch and get close to them.
An organization’s website or social media should reveal whether it has a long-term goal of reintroducing animals back into their natural habitat or recreating that habitat if not enough of it exists. Does the organization have efforts and outreach in place to reduce the numbers of animals that need rehabilitation? Does it minimize volunteer interference in animals’ natural behavior – including touching, direct feeding and even communication (especially in case of rescue from human environments like circuses and house pets)? The answers may vary based on local contexts, but a genuine sanctuary will not shy away from these difficult questions.
Examine the long-term impact of volunteer work
Organizations should have measures in place to monitor and assess their programs’ impact. Look for reports that state these findings and note whether they are recent and produced consistently. You might also want to seek out news articles or social media posts that mention a particular program and its effect on the community.
By doing this – in addition to examining your own reasons for volunteering and aligning your skills with an organization’s needs – you can avoid quick-gratification visits and instead find yourself part of a long-sighted, life-changing project.
Where to find volunteer opportunities
WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a global platform that aggregates volunteering opportunities at organic and permaculture farms.
HelpX lists hosts across the world looking for volunteers, including several opportunities to teach English at local schools.
International Volunteer Programs Association is a membership organization of international volunteer organizations.