Teen And Family Volunteer Opportunities

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By Fran Falkin
Published: 29 September, 2009
Tags: teens budget active kids tips-tools

Your volunteering teen can feel like a real captain on the Hudson River, or as part of a great family team in other volunteer programs designed for all ages.

When the 2005-2006 wave of hurricanes swept America's Gulf Coast, they touched many travelers who had vacationed in the region and wanted to help rebuild these communities. Several organizations and hotels opened up programs for the volunteer-minded vacationer and the seeds of a wonderful trend took hold. Just a few years' later, Travelocity's annual forecast poll found that 11% of respondents planned to volunteer during their vacations -- almost double the previous year.

From community outreach such as building homes and schools to environment-related projects, people are simply looking for ways to give back and get more involved in important causes. The concept of mixing volunteerism with tourism dates back several centuries to the work of Missionaries and took hold in the 1960s with the development of John F Kennedy's Peace Corps, yet these new programs focus on volunteering vacations for the entire family to participate in.

Family-Together Volunteering

The Generations Touring Company (888/415-9100) is a family-oriented tour operator that has developed many multi-generational trips for families interested in learning more about American culture. Their New Orleans Volunteer Vacation is a six-day trip that includes two mornings of community service, a tour of the areas devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, a $50 donation to the community service organization as well as free time to explore and enjoy New Orleans' French Quarter. New Orleans is such a fascinating city that your teens will likely be interested in this itinerary, and of course, ready to pitch in and help those less fortunate.

Since "An Inconvenient Truth" hit the screens, environmental programs have become more popular than ever. The American Hiking Society (301/565-6704) runs cheap, week-long camping trips with small, friendly groups who are interested in trail-clearing and trail-blazing projects. Participants must be able to hike at least five miles/day and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian unless over 18-years of age.

An operator of worthwhile tours called i-to-i (800/985-4864) has offices in the US, UK, Ireland and Australia. Since 1994 they have organized volunteer adventures and TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) training opportunities for travelers. From their selection of family-appropriate volunteer vacations, there are one-week to multi-week trips to Bolivia, Costa Rica, Honduras, India, China, Kenya and Sri Lanka, often focusing on environmental issues, local conservation or building projects, or other community service. Each trip has minimum age requirements for participants (ranging from age 10-16), and each has minimum age requirements for children (ages 3-15) who accompany volunteering adults and may need supervision. Rates vary by age of participants.

Global Volunteers (800/487-1074) is a non-profit, non-sectarian, international organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota which has been running short-term human and economic development projects throughout the world for over a dozen years. Global Volunteers began welcoming families to join their special Millennium Service Projects in December 1999, to help "at risk" children and families in the rural U.S. Since then, they have expanded the projects open to families with children from 12 to 17-years throughout America. Typical ongoing projects (many of which are open to families during the summer months) include teaching conversational English, light construction and building maintenance, assisting with healthcare, and natural resource conservation. According to a spokesperson, "We've had more and more interest from families every year." This year's US project goals include work with Native Americans, health groups, and environment and landscaping projects; locations of family projects range from Appalachia to Hawai'i. By the way, Global Volunteers' already minimal participation fees are reduced for children under 17.

GlobeAware.com (877/588-4562) is another resource for teens as well as entire families, founded by Kimberly Haley Coleman, herself a mother of two toddlers. Designed for anyone interested in volunteering, it organizes and offers a variety of one-week international service vacations whose mission is to "encourage people to immerse themselves in a unique way of giving back." Families can review upcoming service projects on the Globe Aware website, and get in touch with them to find out if they are appropriate for different age children. Ms. Coleman notes that many young families want their children volunteering at younger ages. Global Aware is committed to developing opportunities where even the very young can participate (such as helping to build a clay stove in a Latin village), and notes that foreign languages and cultures can be easily embraced by family volunteers.

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