Are you thinking about taking a gap year abroad? One of the most popular things to do is to spend time doing something meaningful like volunteering. Volunteering during your gap year is a great way to engage yourself in a worthwhile project helping those in need. By participating you also gain valuable work experience and personal development which will help you for your future life, study or career.
Top Rated Gap Year Volunteer Opportunities
Reasons to Apply
Gap year volunteering will allow you to make a positive impact on the communities, people, animals and the environment in places like Asia, Latin America and Africa. You’ll get to help those who really need help.
There are projects ideal for those wanting to take a gap experience before going or after higher education, and also structured programs for anyone considering a career in medicine, humanitarian, social or environmental work.
Immerse yourself in a fascinating foreign culture and choose to learn a language. Carry out an important project that will benefit a humble, local community.
Best Gap Year Volunteering Projects
Companies and websites specialising in voluntourism have sprung up by the hundreds, and volunteer vacations can be found in all parts of the world, doing all kinds of activities from digging wells for clean water in South America, to protecting the elephant population in South Africa, to working with children living in orphanages.
So if you want to volunteer in your gap year, where do you start? Here are a few tips and resources to help you plan a dream volunteering trip:
Figure Out What Type of Work You Really Want to Do
First of all, think about what you like and don’t like: be honest and realistic. If you can only take so many little kids around, working in a school or orphanage is not going to be an enjoyable experience for very long. Likewise a volunteer gig cleaning trails or building wells if the outdoors and getting dirty isn’t really your thing.
Consider what types of activities and settings suit you and make a list.
Keep in mind things that you might not already have experience in, but want to learn, volunteering is perfect for this.
Do you dream of becoming a marine biologist or want to learn more about eco-conservation?
Consider working with sea turtles or in the rainforest. Is medicine or teaching more your thing? You might want to look at clinic and school opportunities.
Plan how long you intend to volunteer
Here’s where it is easy to get creative on a gap year. You may decide that you want to pick one place in the world and one organisation, to volunteer for six months to a year. Or you may want to skip around, perhaps volunteering for two weeks or a month in different places. The important thing is to know how long you intend to volunteer in any one spot; organisations have different minimum time commitments and having a clear idea of your time frames will enable you to plan. Keep in mind that the longer you volunteer somewhere, the cheaper it becomes; for long-term volunteers, you may get room and board provided for free and maybe even a small stipend.
Know your budget
Since we’re talking money now, let’s go over the basics. Contrary to what many people think, volunteering is not necessarily free. You might assume that since you are giving your time and effort there would be no cost involved, but non-profit organisations are typically cash-strapped and do not have the resources to pay for volunteers’ travel expenses. The most expensive part of utilising volunteers is the initial recruitment and training, so while you are donating your time and work for free, it does cost the organisation time and money to organise, orient and train you. The cost for volunteering can range anywhere from free to several thousand dollars. The rule here is that the longer you can volunteer, the more the organisation will cover.
Find gap year volunteer opportunities
Now that you’ve figured out your basics, it’s time to look at what’s out there. Go Find Programs specialise in volunteer travel and let you search for opportunities based on type of work and area of the world. Be sure to check out any organisation thoroughly before committing: see our blog for more articles on volunteering.
Benefits
Here’s what you’ll gain from joining a program:
• An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten overseas volunteering holiday .
• The satisfaction of helping helping to improve the quality of life by working hands-on with people, and knowing that you made a difference to them.
• New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of different cultures, invaluable personal and professional development.
• An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market.
And best of all … an unforgettable experience!
FAQ
Duration
Usually volunteers join a project for 2 weeks to 6 months. Often they combine it with travel afterwards. Many projects however fit perfectly into the long summer holiday.
Travel
All of the countries that projects are offered are fantastic to travel around and also make a good base for travel onto other neighbouring countries.