Voluntour Tips
Do research. Don’t overlook small organizations. Review testimonials from volunteers and communities served. Ask questions to see if the project is a match for personal skills. How long has the organization been operating? Is advance work required, such as an essay on interests and expectations? What’s the cost, what does it cover and is it tax-deductible? (If an organization is more interested in a credit card number than in-per- son contribution, go elsewhere.)
Give feedback. It’s the best way for a program to improve. Expect good customer service.
Spread the word. Get the most out of the experience, and then tell friends about it.
Proceeds from Ken Budd’s book, The Voluntourist, are donated to interna- tional children’s and wildlife organiza- tions. Find tips and links to resources at
TheVoluntouristBook.com.
rise Visitor Center. Volunteer organizer DiDi Toaspern observes, “We are doing work that wouldn’t get done oth- erwise due to budget restraints. Even removing invasive plants helps to pro- tect native species and nesting areas.” Recreational Equipment Inc.
(REI) will bring volunteers to Yosemite National Park in northern California this September to assist park rangers in contouring trails to shed water and cut or move vegetation that blocks trails or impedes streams. This fall, volunteers in New York
City’s Bronx borough will also help the city parks department clear an overgrown 60-acre area surrounding the gardens of the Bartow-Pell Mansion, built in 1836, a museum for 19th-century furnishings and decorative arts since 1946. Sonnenberg Gardens & Man- sion State Historic Park, in Canandai- gua, New York, features nine separate gardens—stylized as secret, Italian, Japanese, rose, blue and white, pansy, moonlight, old-fashioned and rock gardens. Each May, volunteers learn to plant decorative designs that can involve up to 8,000 plants, and others maintain the gardens throughout the summer.
Animal Conservation After a tasty vegan breakfast, volunteers in New York’s Finger Lakes region care for 500 rescued farm animals like Marge, a playful pig, at the 175-acre Watkins Glen Farm Sanctuary. Similar shelters bless Orland and Los Angeles, California. When Archosaurs Attacked and
Reptiles Ruled Texas is the catchy name for the city of Arlington’s archeology education site (estimated at 95 million years old) where volunteer teams un- earth fish, shark, ray, turtle and dinosaur
fossils. “Last year, a new crocodilian spe- cies was found there,” says Rob Stringer of Earthwatch UK. In two-week stints, volunteers chart locations, clear areas, dig drainage trenches and prepare fossils for identification. There’s something for everyone in the emotional, spiritual and physi- cal challenge of voluntouring. “Upon arrival, one’s first thought is, ‘What have I let myself in for?’ but upon returning home, you step back and see the value,” advises Budd. “Volunteers don’t change the world so much as they change the way people see each other through shared experiences.”
Avery Mack is a freelance writer in St. Louis, MO. Connect at
AveryMack@mindspring.com.
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