Is short term volunteering worthwhile?

If you're thinking that a few weeks isn't enough to make a difference, we've got news for you!

This is such a common question but a completely understandable one. You’re stuck in a quandary thinking “I really want to do something meaningful during my holidays this year, but I’ve only got a week to play with. How can I make a difference in such a short space of time?”

Your scepticism is only human. After all, you’d have to be super-human to change the world in just one week! As much as we’d all love to do just that, this isn’t realistic, nor is it what volunteering on a worthwhile project is about.

You can make a difference

If you choose a worthwhile project through a reputable volunteer organisation that runs sustainable projects geared towards achieving long-term goals, then you’ll be contributing to a powerful chain that simply couldn’t carry on moving without a steady stream of volunteers. That’s where you come in. You see, you’ll carry on the great efforts of the person who volunteered before you and the person who volunteers after you will pick up where you left off.

Be part of a global community

That’s the special thing about volunteering; it’s all about joining in a global network of like-minded people pulling together to achieve the same goal. And you can feel great in the knowledge that your efforts won’t be a flash in the pan holiday romance. Far from it, for they’ll continue to flourish after you’ve left. So as you enjoy getting a muddy tan helping to build homes in Honduras, smile with a sparkle in your eye and warmth in your soul that your hard graft will continue after your tan has faded and the sun in the hearts of the local communities will continue to shine all year round.

Be realistic: What’s good for you?

If you’ve only a short amount of time on your hands then you should make the most of it, so choose something that suits you. With a diverse range of volunteer opportunities across the globe all needing your help, you may as well embark on a project that you’re genuinely passionate about.

If you’re not a great fan of spending time with kids, then volunteering with children probably isn’t the best option for you! However, if saving the environment means the world to you, then Mexican marine conversation in the Caribbean Sea could float your boat.

Set your own goals

Apart from making the experience enjoyable for you, if you choose something you’re really into then you’ll put the maximum effort into it, which means the project will be also benefit greatly. And that’s exactly the essence of volunteering; there are no expectations on you - the only expectations you need to answer to are your own. Whether you want to meet new people, polish your professional portfolio, or simply enjoy another culture and give something back to it, you can achieve whatever you want from your short term volunteer experience.

If you’re not a great fan of spending time with kids, then volunteering with children probably isn’t the best option for you! However, if saving the environment means the world to you, then Mexican marine conversation in the Caribbean Sea could float your boat.

Sustainable travel

If you volunteer through an ethical organisation such as i-to-i, you’ll find that the projects we provide aren’t set up on demand from our travellers. Sorry, but we wouldn’t dream of this. Why? Because we see it too much as pay-as-you-go volunteering - you put some short term credit in, but what do you know? It runs out the following week. To avoid this, we send volunteers to projects that have been set up by the local community, by the local community, ensuring they are genuine and designed for the long term. You should check that whoever you volunteer with runs sustainable volunteer projects, otherwise two weeks of slogging it with rainforest conversation in Brazil could sadly all be in vain.

Short term volunteering ideas

With the world at your feet, there is literally no limit to what you could achieve from a short-term volunteering trip. Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling. You could be a...

• Wildlife volunteer
• Conservation volunteer
• Building volunteer
• Teaching volunteer
• Community development volunteer
• Sports coach
• Or whatever you want - feel free to add more worthwhile volunteer ideas here!

The frightening facts

Your help is really needed and you can make a difference. As a volunteer from as little as one week, you can help to change tear-jerking facts such as:

• Between 26,500 and 30,000 children die every day due to poverty (according to UNICEF)
• At least 80% of the world’s population lives on less than $10 a day
• The lungs of our earth are being stifled. Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth’s land, but now they cover just 6% and experts have predicted that the last remaining rainforests could be destroyed in less than 40 years. How does significant does helping to preserve the Amazon rainforest seem now?

The positive news is volunteers do continue to make a difference. Over 20,000 volunteers have helped us to protect precious wildlife and habitats, and develop communities across the world

Volunteering is where the heart is

Of course volunteering doesn’t just mean travelling abroad. They always say that sometimes the most obvious answer is right under your nose, and although there are countries all over the world crying out for volunteer help, charity begins at home. Whichever end of the world you’re at - from England to Australia - short term volunteering on your home turf is a great way to get a taste for it and prepare yourself for diving into the action abroad!

www.idealist.org

www.globalvolunteers.org/

http://www.volunteering.org.uk/

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