The original post can be found here: Voluntourism

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The Emerging Field of “Voluntourism”

I am writing this from the remote expanses of the Outer Banks, NC. I am sitting on deck that is over looking Pamlico Sound. I am on vacation. The idea of a vacation on the beach in the summer is as American as Apple Pie, baseball and BBQs. Vacations exist for these moments where cold drinks are poured, good food is consumed, and friend’s laughter fills the days.

I have started an organization that seeks to change the way Americans think about their vacations. Volunteer to See is a business working in the emerging field of “voluntourism.” Our mission is to help tourist, conventions, and events add a public service component to their next event or trip. We don’t aim to change the formula of fun, relaxation, and family. Instead, our goal is to add one more element to a vacation. The element that vacations and trips can be an opportunity to make the world a better place.

Volunteering while on a trip is a great way to turn any family vacation into an opportunity to make memories and lives better. Think about it! Millions of Americans volunteer everyday in their own community, so why should the giving stop when a suitcase is packed?

We at Volunteer to See want to change the way Americans think about vacations, conventions and events. Volunteering on vacation is a great way to spend quality family time together helping a local food bank restocking its food stores. The event does not have to be big, it does not have to take all day, anything you give, anything you can do will help make the beach, the homeless, the children, or the impoverished better for it because of your actions.

I promise you, as a convert to “voluntourism,” every trip is made better when you give something back. Collect school supplies from your jealous friends before you leave for Hawaii and then donate them to a local school, the “mahalo” will warm your heart. Take the time when the sunburn sets in too deep or the all you can eat buffet has been over eaten, take three hours on a Thursday morning and help raise a wall at Habitat. The food will taste better that night and the sun will seem brighter the next day.

Back to the beach, back to the Outer Banks, here I sit, on vacation. However, we took the time to clean up the area waterways of some floating debris. This was not a huge event nor was it organized. We simply picked up floating debris and threw it away. This is a small example of how a vacation can be used to create more than memories, but instead create a better world for all.

The students did an amazing job of sorting donations, constructing disaster relief kits, bagging rice and labeling canned goods.  During their short visit they were able to assemble 133 disaster relief buckets, prepare an additional 25 buckets to be completed when more supplies arrive, and prepared one ton of rice for distribution.  Below are some photos highlighting the amazing work the students did!

All for Good (allforgood.org) has created a wonderful widget that allows its users to “Go Local.”  This widget allows you to customize and enhance the search for volunteer opportunities in your area.

The donation drive was held during the Spring Graduation for the graduating class of 2010.  The donations were collected for Volunteers in Public Schools.  This organization works to provide volunteer mentors and tutors to children in Little Rock Public Schools.

WE COLLECTED OVER 300 SCHOOL SUPPLIES! Thank you to all who donated!  The donations were delivered to Booker T. Washington Elementary.  This elementary school is home to 575 students, with 90% of them participating in the free/reduced lunch program.  The school supplies will find their way into every classroom and be used by every teacher to help the students reach their academic potential.

Volunteer to See and Impact partnered together and hosted a donations drive for participants in the 2010 Impact Conference.  The 2010 Impact Conference was held in Little Rock, AR, on March 19-21, 2010.

Volunteer to See hosted a Donation Drive with our partnering nonprofits: Ronald McDonald House Charities and Volunteers in Public Schools.

Participants who attended the event brought school supplies and paper products as donations for these two great organizations.

Thanks to the support of the IMPACT Conference attendees we were able to raise over 75 donations!  These included paper towels, pencils, pens, paper plates, and notebooks that went directly to our nonprofit partners.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated!

The IMPACT Conference, in its 26th year, is a platform for college students to gather together across issues, ideology, geography, and philosophy of social change. Conservative, moderate, and liberal students will be there. Students passionate about climate change will exchange ideas with students passionate about homelessness. Students from Miami can build on the work of students in Burlington and New Orleans and Los Angeles. At its most basic, it is a chance for students to share their thoughts and passions with one another, so that you’re able to build off of your peers’ work.

An organization linking travel, tourism and service was launched today by Clinton School student Nicholas Hall in partnership with the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and several Little Rock non-profits.

Volunteer to See (www.volunteertosee.com) enables individual, business, group and convention travelers to participate in volunteer service activities while visiting Little Rock. Hall will initially administer the program as part of his Clinton School studies.

People visiting Little Rock for meetings and conventions as well as leisure travel can now access Volunteer to See on the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau (LRCVB) web site, www.littlerock.com.

“Volunteer to See provides a unique opportunity that we can market to both group and individual travelers,” said Dan O’Byrne, CEO of LRCVB. “We believe that travel organizations and major hotels are going to be very interested in it. Nicholas Hall has done a great job executing this idea.”

With the expansion of programs like AmeriCorps, Teach for America, Peace Corps, City Year and many others, there is a growing interest in public service across the country, O’Byrne said.

Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford agrees. “Volunteer to See has enormous potential,” Rutherford said. “It can do for tourism and public service what Teach for America is doing for education and public service. It’s very exciting to see an idea from a Clinton School student piloted here in Little Rock.”

Central Arkansas organizations participating in the program include Habitat for Humanity, Arkansas Rice Depot, The Ronald McDonald House, Little Rock Parks and Recreation, and Volunteers in Public Schools.

Interested travelers to Little Rock can sign up for these volunteer opportunities through the Volunteer to See Web site.

“The program is designed to accommodate the needs of the group or individual traveler,” Hall said. “Some may want to spend a day building a home with Habitat for Humanity, while convention travelers may choose to donate supplies to a local school or bring necessities for the Ronald McDonald House. The volunteer opportunities and possibilities are unlimited, and we’ll work with interested individuals and groups to tailor their experience.”

Hall, a native of Genoa, Ohio, and a graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., came up with the idea for Volunteer to See in 2006 when he worked with AmeriCorps in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

“My coursework and field project work at the Clinton School provided me the tools to turn an idea into a reality,” Hall said.

Follow this link for original posting: http://clintonschoolblog.com/cblog/?p=1859#more-1859

To get involved please click here

Volunteer to See Little Rock’s non-profit partners:

Arkansas Rice Depot

The Arkansas Rice Depot was formed in 1982 to combat hunger in Arkansas.  The Arkansas Rice Depot provides over 7 million pounds of food a year to fulfill its mission of providing Sensible Solutions to Hunger in Arkansas. We fulfill this mission through:

Food for Families: a statewide food bank serving 300 church and community hunger organizations

Food For Kids. Backpacks of food and supplies are sent home with children having problems in school due to hunger at home.

Food For Seniors. Home delivered food boxes are given each month to seniors on limited incomes.

Volunteer Opportunities are Monday – Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.  Inquire about weekends and holiday opportunities.

To volunteer with the Arkansas Rice Depot click here

Habitat for Humanity Pulaski County

Habitat is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry that seeks to put belief into action by working in partnership with God’s people to create a decent habitat in which to live and work. Habitat’s mission is to eliminate substandard housing while providing simple, decent housing to qualified low-income families.  Volunteer opportunities include:

Construction/Deconstruction Volunteers:
Construction assignments can include framing, roofing, siding installation, insulation installation, and finishing interior work.  No skill sets are necessary to volunteer with Habitat. We teach on site and provide all of the necessary tools and safety equipment.  Deconstruction occurs when a structure is donated to Habitat but not the property on which it resides. Habitat goes in and tears out flooring, windows, fixtures, doors, bathrooms, cabinets, and other viable parts of the structure. Everything removed is sold in our ReStore in North Little Rock which is open to the public.

Volunteer opportunities are generally Tuesday – Saturday 9 a.m. -3 p.m.

To volunteer with Habitat for Humanity Pulaski County click here

Volunteer to See Little Rock Rewards Program

By volunteering with any of the above non-profits earn rewards to the following businesses:

Volunteer to See Little Rock is made possible through support from the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.  For more information about visiting Little Rock or scheduling conventions please click here: http://www.littlerock.com