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Can I volunteer in my gap year?

With a bewildering array of gap year choices at your feet, make sure volunteering is on your list.

Whether you’re about to go off to University, you’ve just finished your degree or are thinking of a career break, it can be hard to decide what to do with your Gap Year. With so many options, the right choice might seem impossible to make but look no further, volunteering can be one of the most exciting and worthwhile experiences of your life.

Fitting volunteering in with your gap year

A year may seem like a long time, but if you want to traverse the planet there’s no way you’ll have time to travel and volunteer, right? Wrong. With Volunteer projects in 24 countries it couldn’t be easier to fit in volunteering with your round the world trip. From teaching English in Ghana to Panda Conservation in China, there are so many opportunities to include a fun but also truly worthwhile experience in your travels. So why not take some time out from snorkelling to help conserve some of the beautiful landscapes you came to see.

Booking before you go

Yes there will be lots of fantastic volunteering opportunities wherever you go! But preparation can also be a good idea! Not only will it save you time better spent exploring, it will also allow you to choose something you will truly enjoy. Carefully considering your options will give you a good idea of what is arranged for you and what you will need to arrange yourself, it’ll also help you plan how much time you’ll have to do the rest of your exploring, since after all that is what your trip is all about! Take some time to think about what you really want to do and to find the perfect volunteering opportunity for you in the countries you’d most like to go to. It’s so important that if you’re giving up some of your travelling time you’re spending it doing something you’re really passionate about.

Booking while you’re way

Feeling more adventurous than that? If your thing is more spur of the moment, then it’s always possible to book while you’re away! You can pop into an internet cafe for the lowdown on what’s available where you are, or where you’re going to. Or if you’d rather speak to a human it’s advisable to give a well known overseas travel company a call to find out what sort of volunteering opportunities are available. Alternatively, if you’re really feeling adventurous and want to immerse yourself in the local community it can never hurt to ask about local volunteer projects and get yourself involved while you’re on the move, just be sure to check out the credentials of the project you’re working for, after all it’s most important that you’re safe!

Studying while you’re away

If you’re going to need to study while you’re off in foreign lands it’s important to make sure that you actually have time to! As amazing as travelling is, and wonderful as it is to really make a difference with volunteering don’t lose sight of what you’ll need to do to get that all important piece of paper when you get home. When choosing a volunteering project make sure you’ll have evenings and days off to complete your work in between those other life changing experiences. It may also be an idea to talk to your project co-ordinator about your commitments and arrange your schedule accordingly; that way you’ll have time to do what you need to do and have fun!

So if you’ve decided volunteering is definitely going to be on your gap year list of things to do (and we do hope so!) Here’s some useful links that will hopefully help you on your way;

http://www.i-to-i.com/volunteer/

http://www.gogapyear.com/

http://www.gapwork.com/volunteering.shtml

http://www.gap-year.com/browse.asp?catID=789