with a non religous program that will send me possibly overseas or to a different part of the states. I want to help... I would like to join the peace corps but that isnt possible right now. I have volunteered in my own community but would like a life experience. Any info on an program that will do anything with me and give me a dose of real life will be great... _rydns
http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org I volunteered with them when I was sixteen. Went to Tanzania. Costs alot of money, but I thought it was worth it.
AmeriCorps is great. But it might be hard at 16, most "big" orgs require you to be 18. I'd say get involved locally. I did a lot of stuff for the boys and girls club in my town. Also, never under estimate the value of just walking around and picking stuff up. Obviously it's not where you want to be finally, but it'll bide time till you're 18 if you have to.
I was thinking of that... And i plan to do it... but I want a name of an org for college and possibly peace corps just to give me an edge.
Check out the link below. If you scroll down the page you will find a bunch of international volunteer opportunities. http://www.escapeartist.com/jobs35/jobs35.htm
Check out the programs that Craig Keilburger is offering. He initiates youth-only volunteer trips. You will go to a developing country to build schools, clinics, and women's cooperatives. He started his organization, Free the Children, when he was 11 or 12. When I talked to him, he was really keen on getting loads more youth volunteers, even though he's in his twenties now. Check out these sites: http://www.freethechildren.com/getinvolved/volunteeroverseas.htm http://www.leaderstoday.com/trips/signup.php
In general I'm wary of people like Craig, but from everything I've read both him and his org are pretty legit.
Older people with very young people centric organizations and goals. Youth only kind of stuff etc etc. It has all the makings of a creepy dude with a God complex. In this case I re-iterate that does not seem to be the case at all, looks like he's done a lot of good throughout the world.
Well I'm highly un-religious but I've been on a lot of youth-only initiatives through religious organizations. Yes, I would say they have "God complexes", but I never once felt threatened .. and I have a highly intuitive nature. I can see where you're coming from, but it's just not very likely in most cases. I mean, it could happen, but so could a catastrophic disaster that causes the world to end... it doesn't mean we can't ever walk outside for fear of being swallowed by a tsunami.
Completely agreed. I'm not advocating reactionary behavior or fear at all. But being wary within reason is certainly part of any critical thinker. All I was suggesting is that personality type is not one I'm looking to spend long periods of time in foreign countries with.
I can't offer you any advice as to good programs. But I'm 17 and I'd like to volunteer also. The biggest problem that I've encountered though is the expense. A lot of these programs are really expensive, into thousands of dollars. I want to help, but I don't even have $1,000 for myself. And I'm thinking of joining the Peace Corp after college graduation (b/c in most cases you have to have a college degree), but the fact that it's tied with the government kind of makes me hesitate to move in that direction. Oh well- I won't graduate from college for at least another four and a half years. I have a lot of time to think about it.
If you can pay for your own flights and such, there are plenty of places you can volunteer that are smaller (ie not a massive project with people from all over the planet working on it), like orphanages and animal shelters. In Costa Rica there are lots of "do it yourself" type of projects, where you ca either get in touch with them via a website or email, or even just find them when you land! When I was in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia many of the hostels had bulletin boards where local shelters and orphanages would have volunteer opportunities, and I have a couple of places in Costa Rica that I'm looking at...a turtle conservation project, an iguana conservation project, a parrot rehab center and an animal shelter. They all charge like $5 for housing, but other than that there are no costs! It's really tough finding opportunities online that DON'T charge $1000-2000 for 2 weeks or a month, but if you're interested in what I was talking about you can PM me or head over to orphanages.com (that site will give you the links to orphanage websites around the globe so you can talk to them directly)
There is also Cadip. I've looked at several of their initiatives and most of the time you just need to pay for your flights. If you don't want to do that, then I suggest you do what I'm doing. Get a degree that can be used anywhere. Then you can get your flights, accomodation, food, everything paid for if you go to another country as a professional.
i was involved in a program called SCA *http://www.thesca.org/* student conservation association.. it was great i lived in the woods for a month with other people with the same intrests. its free but you need good hikeing gear and the plane trip out there.. they have crews allover the USA.. i spent my summer in Vt, working on trails.. deff check it out its worth your time. Peace Andrew
www.peacecorps.gov Volunteers range from brighteyed college grads to professionals who want to escape the corporate doldrums. There's a three-month training programme before a full two-year assignment. Reams of paperwork,an in-depth interview, and a medical exam.It takes about six months. ADT Fourth World sends volunteers to work alongside families living in poverty. www.atd-uk.org
