Around the World - Column by Jennifer Merin

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Around The World: Planning Thanksgiving Travel

Jennifer Merin

If you’re thinking of traveling for Thanksgiving, and your objective is to eat as much turkey as possible, maybe it’s time for you to rethink the meaning of thanksgiving travel.

There are so many people around the globe who have so much less than we do that a simple and satisfying turkey dinner isn’t even an option for them. They are in Africa and Latin America and Asia, but you don’t really have to go beyond U.S. borders to find needy communities.

So, as a way of offering thanksgiving for the relative prosperity we enjoy, it would be a wonderful idea to consider how we can share our good fortune with others.

One way is to become a traveler who volunteers. Maybe it’s too late to arrange a volunteer trip for this holiday season, but begin planning a giving back journey for some time in the future, perhaps targeting a date during 2010.

Fortunately, you won’t have to look too far for help in organizing your trip -- whether you decide to volunteer here at home or venture abroad. Several reliable organizations specialize in connecting people with good will and skills with individuals and communities who need their help.

Before searching for a travel provider to see what programs they offer, consider what you’d like to accomplish on your volunteer vacation. You might base your goals on your skill set, or might decide to learn something entirely new on your volunteer vacation. It’s really a matter of following your heart and your instinct to do something for others.

Some options? Would you like to dig a well to provide fresh water for a community that’s getting its drinking water from a polluted pond? Or build a Habitat for Humanity house? Or construct a school for children in a developing country? Or help to teach children English, math, music or computer sciences? Or, perhaps, comfort orphans and abandoned kids. Or work with farmers to promote sustainable agriculture?

And, because travel should always reward you by expanding your own horizons and introducing you to other cultures, you should decide on a destination that intrigues and appeals to you. You’ll find opportunity from Mississippi to New Mexico, in Guatemala, South Africa and Vietnam -- and everywhere in between.

When you’ve got a partial plan in place, turn to your travel agent or the Internet for a list of volunteer tourism organizations, and take a look at what they offer. Here are some suggestions for starters:

Global Volunteers Partners in Development (http://www.globalvolunteers.org), celebrating its 25th anniversary, is a nonprofit organization that arranges opportunities for volunteering tourists to live and work with local people for one to three week stints in foreign lands or within the United States. Programs are year round, and the organization accepts individuals and families to work on its various projects. Global Volunteers requires no specialized skills, and will help you fund raise to sponsor your participation.

Transitions Abroad (http://www.transitionsabroad.com) features a very wide variety of volunteer programs for travelers who range in age from teens to senior citizens, and seek experiences lasting for one or two weeks or six months or longer. Transitions Abroad encourages volunteers to become engaged with social causes -- poverty, education, health issues, the environment and the like -- and to continue their volunteerism into other situations. The Website is filled with useful information and personal stories that will help you to choose your volunteer experience.

The Peace Corps (http://www.peacecorps.gov), founded in 1961, was initiated by John F. Kennedy and is a federal government agency that gives American citizens the opportunity to serve the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. The Website gives full details about opportunities and requirements for Peace Corps deployment to 76 countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. Unlike other volunteer programs, the Peace Corps offers training, living stipends and benefits, and college credits, but it also requires a longer commitment than simple volunteer vacations.

In fact, many volunteer vacations will actually cost you money to participate. In most cases, you’ll have to pay your airfare to and from the volunteer site. Additional fees can range from as little as $50 to as much as $3000, depending on the organization’s level of direct involvement in the project and its ongoing supervision of your participation.

In general, organizations charging higher fees provide travel escorts and on site program coordinators during the entire volunteer experience. The feels also cover hotel accommodations or home stay arrangements, prepared meals, extensive pre-trip orientation through reading materials and personal consultations, and the purchase of supplies and provisions required for completion of the project.

In many cases, however, organizations arranging for volunteer tourism are nonprofit corporations, the fees they charge are tax deductible.

While volunteer tourism is a great way for you to show gratitude for your bounty by giving back, it’s also incredibly rewarding. You meet like-minded people from around the world, often making lifelong friendships with members of your volunteer group. You’re also put right into the heart of your chosen destination, making a difference not only in the physical environment, but also in the lives of the people who live there.

Planning a volunteer vacation is a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

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COPYRIGHT 2009 JENNIFER MERIN

Copyright 2009 Jennifer Merin

This news arrived on: 11/11/2009

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