Volunteerism: All about our

THE BIG Holiday Help Hub

Charitable Travel is championing Voluntourism, a form of travel in which travellers give up some or all of their holiday time to participate in voluntary work, and we created a hub to inspire you

The Big Holiday Help Hub is one place on the Charitable Travel website where we are gathering a world of voluntourism opportunities. The hub lists volunteering projects you can join under geographical areas, to help you find a way to give back to local communities or the environment wherever you’re choosing to holiday.

The hub will expand as we find new voluntourism experiences around the world, but you can be sure there is something for you. Whether you want to spend a few hours helping with a beach clean-up, or lend your skills to helping a community in need for the duration of your trip, these voluntourism projects will help you make a positive impact when you travel.

Charitable Travel can help you plan and book your next holiday and we can tailor your trip to allow you time to get involved in a voluntourism project, which you will need to arrange directly with the non-profit.

If you know of a project which welcomes volunteers which isn’t on our hub, please share the details with us so we can add it. And to inspire you to book a voluntourism holiday, here are just some of the projects that we feature...

Be a citizen who advances science

Expedition cruise line Hurtigruten loves to get its guests involved with conservation and education programmes. Its ships are the perfect platform for scientific research – having access to remote regions of the world and onboard experts at hand means it can provide invaluable data to the scientific community – with your help of course. Projects you can join cover subjects like understanding Antarctic seabirds’ life cycles, observing and recording how clouds respond to climate change, or tracking whales to understand their behaviour and distribution.

Show you care in Thailand

The Sarojin is a luxurious hotel in Khao Lak, Thailand, that offers its guests the chance to give back to the local community by joining staff on their regular ‘Sarojin Cares’ days off-resort. You can volunteer for programmes which help to clean coastal areas, waterfalls and local towns, or join a community outreach day at a day care facility for disabled children. One of the regular activities the team contributes to is the Mangrove Forest Planting Project in Baan Nam Kem, which was set up by local fishermen following the 2004 tsunami. Here, you can plant new trees to help restore this vital ecosystem.

Ensure Greece stays wild

ARCTUROS is a non-profit organisation focused on the protection of wildlife and natural habitats in Greece and abroad. It was originally created to solve the problem of bear and wolf imprisonment, and today offers many volunteering opportunities as it continues to take action to protect and manage wildlife. ARCTUROS requires a minimum 15 days from its volunteers but you will be richly rewarded with the opportunity to get involved in its projects as well as being provided with accommodation and training. You can join fieldwork expeditions, observing bears or wolves in the wild, or work at the bear and wolf shelter, assisting visitors or taking care of the residents.

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Help a South African community stay healthy

As part of Themba Volunteering Holidays, this project focuses on health and wellbeing for the Strand community near Cape Town. It all started in 2003, when a young mother died of Aids, leaving her children behind. As more young people tested positive, the community created a support group. You’ll be assisting the Phambili non-profit to continue to promote health, social and economic wellbeing in the community. The project is for two weeks (but can be extended up to four weeks) and your accommodation will be in a Victorian-style B&B 800 metres from the beach. The project is looking for compassionate volunteers for everything from administration to gardening. You’ll assist the community from 8am-2pm Monday to Friday and have the rest of your time free to explore.

Save the bay in Rhode Island

When a small group of concerned citizens came together to fight an oil refinery proposed for the shores of Tiverton, Rhode Island, Save The Bay was born. Today the non-profit organisation’s mission is carried out through three areas of work: advocacy, education, and habitat restoration and adaptation. Every year, more than 4,000 volunteers play a vital role in this and you can get involved with shoreline cleanups, habitat restoration and event support.

Be a reef buddy in Grenada

As long as you are 18 years old or more you can participate in an important marine conservation project in Carriacou, a sister island to Grenada. Caribbean Reef Buddy is an organisation dedicated to the development of knowledge relating to the complex marine ecosystems in the Caribbean. The non-profit organisation runs its volunteer programme for five months, from May to September, and provides volunteers with the complete training they need to take part in ongoing marine and coral reef conservation projects. You can help the reefs and see some of Grenada’s finest sights in the process.