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Volunteer Travel / Hotels / Voluntourism / → All Tags

Sleep, Eat, Party and...Volunteer at a Five-Star Hotel?

The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain is once again offering guests the chance to do good in 2012 with their Give Back Getaways project.

The philanthropic initiative gives guests the chance to spend a half-day volunteering with Ritz-Carlton employees in the communities surrounding their properties across the world.

The Give Back Getaway projects often also include an experience volunteers wouldn't be able to have otherwise. The Dallas Soup Savior Project, for example, lets hotel guests work with the culinary team behind the scenes in The Ritz-Carlton kitchen. The end result is a soup that will be delivered to the SoupMobile, which serves approximately 600 meals to the homeless in Dallas on a daily basis.

For more information about what projects are available this year, visit RitzCarlton.com.

[Photo: Ritz-Carlton Dallas]

Volunteer Travel / Eco Travel / Colorado Travel / Active Travel / Hiking / Voluntourism / Charity Travel / → All Tags

Help Build the Continental Divide Trail in Colorado Next Year

Volunteers in Colorado are helping to build a completely new hiking trail, called the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), that stretches from Mexico to Canada and across Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Volunteers with the Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA)—based in Golden, Colorado—dig out the trail, clear vegetation and move huge boulders and trees from the established route.

If forging a new trail sounds like a New Year's resolution you'd like to make, CDTA is already lining up volunteers for next season, which runs from April to October. Volunteer trips can last from one day to one week and include trail building, maintaining the existing trail, helping the crew chefs prepare meals, and participating in educational outreach programs. Trip leaders provide all gear, food and water, while volunteers bring their own tents, sleeping bags and day packs.

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Volunteer Travel / Eco Travel / Voluntourism / Green Travel / → All Tags

Try Out Volunteer Vacations with a US Biosphere Expedition

If you've ever thought about taking a volunteer vacation but haven't been sure if it's for you, next year you'll have a chance to get your feet wet in the world of voluntourism, without traveling too far from home.

Biosphere Expeditions, an international volunteer organization that runs conservation expeditions around the world, is giving potential volunteers a chance to see what it’s like to be in the field, without making a huge commitment.

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Volunteer Travel / Ecuador Travel / Voluntourism / Green Travel / → All Tags

Take a Volunteer Vacation to Ecuador Without Using All Your Vacation Time

Interested in taking a volunteer vacation without making a long-term commitment? Well, Boston-based United Planet is now organizing short-term volunteer trips to Ecuador to work with wildlife, without using too much vacation time.

Included in the packages are opportunities to either work at an Animal Rescue Center in the Amazon or in environmental conservation in the Galapagos, where you can study marine life and then relax on white-sand beaches.

"Ecuador is a wonderful place for almost anyone seeking to volunteer: it’s easy to get to, the dollar is strong, and the people are famous for their warmth and hospitality," said Theresa Higgs, Vice President of Global Operations at United Planet.

Excursions have flexible start dates and lengths of stay (from 1 to 12 weeks) and include local home stays or on-site lodging options, as well as 3 meals a day.

For booking details and pricing information, visit UnitedPlanet.org.

[Photo: Wikipedia]

Volunteer Travel / Beach Travel / Mexico Travel / Animals / Voluntourism / → All Tags

Help Native Sea Turtles While Working on Your Winter Tan in Mexico

For those of us hoping to soak up some sun while doing some good this winter, Baja Expeditions has put together a whale watching and turtle research excursion to Magdalena Bay in Baja, Mexico. This unique trip gives volunteers the opportunity to help local conservationists in their green sea turtle research and learn about gray whales as they migrate to Baja from Alaska.

The eight-day package includes six days camping on Magdalena Bay and two excursions each day, monitoring turtles and going whale watching. But it's not all work and no play, as there's also a daily happy hour with fellow campers at sunset and two days of shopping and exploring in nearby La Paz, which bookends the camping trip.

The Baja Turtle Research & Whale Watching Project is open to everyone and costs around $1500, which includes transportation to the camp site, accommodations and meals at camp. For more information, visit GoVoluntouring.

[Photo: govolunteering.com]

Volunteer Travel / Budget Travel / Costa Rica Travel / Voluntourism / → All Tags

Actually Affordable Volunteer Vacations to Asia, Africa or Latin America

Volunteer travel can be fulfilling, and costly. Some trips, depending on their location and duration, can cost do-gooders between $2000 and $3000 dollars, not including airfare.

But, Rustic Volunteer and Travel is now offering affordable volunteer travel opportunities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, for a tenth of the price. One of Rustic's most popular volunteer packages to Atenas, Costa Rica, starts at only $357, including accommodations with a local family and 3 meals a day.

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Travel Contests / Volunteer Travel / Japan Travel / Voluntourism / → All Tags

Awesome Travel Contest Alert: Win a 101-Day Trip to All 47 Prefectures of Japan

Since Japan was hit by a tsunami last spring the country's tourism industry has been struggling, even though most areas are completely safe and ready to welcome back tourists. TravelVolunteer.net wants to remind people that Japan is still a great travel destination, and so they've launched an online contest to win a 101-day trip to the country.

The winner will depart on September 15, 2011 to visit all of Japan’s 47 prefectures and share their impression of each location through blog updates and social networks. All of the selected traveler's accommodations and airfare will be covered.

The reason for such an awesome contest? Hiroshi Kuchiki, founder of The Real Japan/Magellan Resorts (sponsor of the contest), explains:

After seeing the coverage about Japan in the media, we felt some important information was missing: although it encountered a terrible disaster which claimed thousands of lives, Japan as a country was NOT entirely destroyed. We decided to create this project to show that Japan still is a safe & wonderful country to visit and promote it amongst the world's travelers

To apply, visit TravelVolunteer.net, but do it soon since the deadline is July 31.

[Photo: TravelMaharishi]

Live Music Travel / Volunteer Travel / Voluntourism / London Travel / Music Travel / → All Tags

When Volunteer Travel Really Works: A Day with Arcade Fire in Hyde Park

When Canadian super-band Arcade Fire calls, you most definitely answer.

Admittedly, I wasn't contacted by Win Butler himself, but rather a liaison of the band that heads up their altruistic outreach in conjunction with Partners in Health. The Grammy Award-winning band has long supported PIH, particularly their efforts in Haiti, singer Régine Chassagne's home country. During the promotional tour for The Suburbs one dollar, pound or euro from every ticket sale was donated to PIH, the money going toward community-building and healthcare initiatives in the poverty-stricken country.

To help spread the word about PIH and their admirable mission, Arcade Fire enlists a go-getter team of fans to volunteer at each show, working the crowd pre-gig to educate them about the organization's mission and fundraising on their behalf. At Arcade Fire's sprawling (pun intended) London show in Hyde Park last Thursday, I was one such volunteer, manning (er, womanning) the merchandise booth as the Vaccines, Beirut, and Mumford & Sons provided a sonically-pleasing backdrop to the day's charitable efforts.

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Volunteer Travel / National Parks / Voluntourism / Green Travel / → All Tags

Join The Sierra Club for a Late Summer Volunteer Vacation

Who doesn't like hiking, biking and exploring in our national parks in the summer? Now there's a chance to help maintain them while you're at it. The Sierra Club's Volunteer Vacations give everyone the opportunity to give something back to the public lands we all love. Trips take place year-round at national parks across the US—from the Grand Canyon to the Bartow-Pell Conservatory in NYC—so there really is something for everyone.

The Sierra Club also makes an effort to design trips that will accommodate all levels of skill and stamina. Each vacation includes a variety of tasks which range from building and maintaining trails to helping archaeologists perform research duties.

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Volunteer Travel / Voluntourism / Japan Travel / Earthquakes / Disasters / → All Tags

Take a Four-Day Voluntourism Break in Japan to Help Locals Recover from the Tsunami

The TV cameras may be gone but that doesn't mean all is well in Japan. The country still needs support after the massive tsunami that hit in March and Inside Japan Tours has a way for you to help.

The tour company has created a 4-day volunteering tour to Tohoku where participants will work with RQ Citizens Disaster Relief Network Japan cleaning and restoring damaged houses and schools, shoveling rubble or clearing parks.

The package includes transportation from Tokyo, accommodations, meals, equipment and an English-speaking interpreter. Airfare is not included. Upcoming trips are scheduled to leave on July 7, July 21, August 4, and August 18. Packages start at $725. For more information visit InsideJapanTours.com.

[Photo: Tiryimyim.com]

Volunteer Travel / Cruise Travel / Voluntourism / Crystal Cruises / → All Tags

New Volunteer Opportunities Mean Cruising Isn't Just for the Lazy

If you're torn between taking a relaxing trip this summer or spending that precious vacation time giving back, Crystal Cruises has a solution. The luxury cruise line is offering a new program, "You Give, We Give", on upcoming cruises to Alaska and Ireland which include voluntourism excursions.

Between May 14 and August 18, Alaska cruisers can spend time in Sitka assisting with the marine-life exhibits at the Sitka Sound Science Center. Crystal's Alaska Cruises depart from San Francisco for 14 day excursions through the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay.

On July 29, one of Crystal's European cruises will make a stop in Dublin where passengers will visit troubled youth at St. Joseph’s Youth Club and help with upkeep and activity planning at the facility.

For more information and pricing details, you can contact Crystal Cruises at CrystalCruiseLine.com.

[Photo: TimeSpentAtSea]

Volunteer Travel / Sports Travel / Rugby Travel / New Zealand Travel / Voluntourism / Events / → All Tags

How You Can Volunteer at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand

This fall New Zealand is hosting the massive Rugby World Cup 2011, but they need a lot of help to pull it off. Currently NZ is looking for more than 2,000 volunteers for performing and support roles at the Opening Ceremony, which will take place on September 9, 2011.

The ceremony will showcase New Zealand culture, as well as the cultures of the 20 other participating countries. It is expected to draw a crowd of more than 60,000 fans who will be in attendance for first match of the Tournament, between New Zealand and Tonga in Eden Park, as well as a TV audience of millions worldwide.

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