The Volunteer Traveler's Handbook (Traveler's Handbooks) - Softcover

O'Donnell, Shannon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0987706144 ISBN 13: 9780987706140

Publisher: Shannon Rae O'Donnell, 2012

Synopsis

The Volunteer Traveler's Handbook guides new and veteran travelers through the challenges of finding, vetting, and choosing their ideal volunteer experience. The book's practical advice is interwoven with first-person narrative, stories from a wide range of volunteers, beautiful photography, and expert interviews to help interested volunteers find meaningful ways to give back to communities all over the world-through volunteering, but also through social enterprises and supporting sustainable tourism practices.

This handbook is filled with advice beyond merely where to volunteer, it delves deep into the industry and answers the questions you never thought to ask. The handbook covers: 

  - the psychology and ethics of volunteering.  - volunteer stories from the author, solo travelers, families, professionals, and many others.  - practical strategies for finding and vetting volunteer organizations.  - tips to adjust to life as a volunteer.  - traveling advice covering safety, packing, food, and cultural immersion.  - resource lists of international volunteering opportunities and sustainable enterprises to begin your research.
Practical, inspiring, and realistic, The Volunteer Traveler's Handbook equips interested volunteers with the information they need to make informed and ethical decisions on their next trip.   

This book is part of The Traveler's Handbook Series, which includes books on career break, food, luxury and solo travel. Each niche guide is designed to help travelers see the world in a unique way.

About this title

From the Author:

My volunteer travel journey started in 2008 when I left on what would become an open-ended journey around the world. Before leaving to travel, service was an occasional part of my life--I volunteered regularly in my university years but I allowed my focus on service to dwindle during my years living in Los Angeles as an actress.

After two years in Los Angeles, I felt an urge to change my life to embrace a different dream, one I had always nurtured but had never expressed. I decided to pack up my life and travel around the world for a year with the intention of volunteering and giving back to communities along the way, while recording the entire journey on my travel blog, A Little Adrift.com.

Over the course of my trip, research, word-of-mouth, and on-the-ground discoveries led me to a range of volunteer experiences in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Nepal, Guatemala, and several other countries. Each experience was unique, and through each I learned more lessons about how to identify projects that resonated with my volunteer goals, while also supporting the organization's needs.

As I traveled more and more, I saw a gap in the volunteer industry, and launched my passion project: a community-sourced database of independent volunteer opportunities, philanthropic businesses, and social enterprises located all over the world. GrassrootsVolunteering.org is a free, open, and dynamic source of information for volunteers.

The Volunteer Traveler's Handbook is an extension of my work on Grassroots Volunteering, and looks closely at each aspect of the volunteer industry that every socially responsible traveler should understand. It's the missing pieces, the questions you never thought to ask. My sole goal with this book is to give you, the volunteer traveler, the tools you need to make positive choices as you travel the world.

Review:

"Packed with advice and real-world volunteering experiences you simply won't find elsewhere ... a lively and top recommendation sure to appeal." 
   - Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review 

"In an informal and engaging style, the author encourages readers to think about why they want to be an international volunteer, explores the challenges of choosing a volunteer experience, and details living in a foreign country. A great beginning guide for those just starting to think about volunteering internationally ..."   - Rebecca Vnuk, Booklist Magazine

"Shannon does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for those who are interested in volunteering overseas. I'll be recommending this book to all my readers who are looking to volunteer overseas"
   - Gary Arndt, Everything Everywhere

"I wish I'd had this handbook when I volunteered! Shannon asks all the right questions and offers practical advice from her own globetrotting experiences."   - Ken Budd, Author of the memoir "The Voluntourist"

"This book ... is full of practical tips and personal stories that can help a traveler prepare for a successful volunteer experience that will be ethical and rewarding." 
   - Marilyn Terrell, Chief Researcher at National Geographic Traveler 

About this edition

• Publisher: Shannon Rae O'Donnell
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0987706144
• ISBN 13: 9780987706140
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 138