It’s that time of year when the leaves are changing colors, the air has taken on a crisp tinge, and the gentle change from summer to fall is nearly complete. Or so I hear.
Living in Minnesota, our five minutes of fall happened about three weeks ago. Now, waking up to two inches of snow in the morning is no surprise. Looking out the window, I realize we’re well into the beginning of winter- it’s not even Halloween and the trees are already completely bare. One solitary, crinkled, brown leaf clings to the sad-looking tree outside my front door.
Normally, mid-October has me thinking about my Halloween costume, and perhaps making plans for Thanksgiving. Mmm, turkey. But this year, I’ve sped up the planning process and am already looking to the winter holidays. I need sun, I need surf, I need to get out of the Midwest.
A Mexican beach vacation sounds good, as does a week or two diving in the Caribbean. But after adding up the cost of flights, hotel, food and drink, as well as shopping and adventure activities, it occurs to me that I can spend the same money (or less) to participate with a volunteer organization, doing something of value. And while I do find value in digging my toes in the sand while inhaling a good book (and a mojito or two), volunteering takes the concept of worth to a new level.
Considering the variety of volunteer projects available, one can find any type of project in nearly any conceivable location on earth. So how do I decide where to go? This is always a problem for me, as I want to go pretty much everywhere. Narrowing my choices becomes the most difficult task of holiday planning. I usually grab my world map, spread it out on the floor, and concentrate my search in between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The closer to the equator, the better. Then I check my budget- more money means I can go further from home; a smaller figure keeps me closer. Once settled on a region of the world, I jump online to check out which organizations and projects are available in the area. And, of course, their prices- volunteer organizations vary in price and amenities as much as hotels do.
Once settled on a project (anything from reef conservation to assisting in an orphanage to wildlife conservation), everything else becomes routine: book the flight, book the project dates, find a catsitter. Then I need to decide on housing. Many volunteer programs offer a choice between a hostel and a homestay, of which the homestay is the hands-down preference. The cultural interaction, atmosphere, and hospitality a homestay family provides has always been a highlight of my volunteer experiences. And to add to my cultural expansion, I then contact the organization to arrange for language classes at a small school in the area. Not all locations have this option but, when possible, registering for one-on-one or small group language instruction has exponentially enhanced my time spent in foreign cultures.
All told, the time and money spent on booking a volunteer vacation works out to approximately the same effort as a typical beach getaway. But the rewards reaped by giving my off-time to a cause I care about, the understanding gained by immersing myself in a foreign culture, and the amount of personal growth I undergo when in a new environment all combine to create an experience I could never obtain from a standard vacation.
I can have my sun, I can have my surf, I can have my sense of satisfaction for having done something constructive for humanity, and as there’s always downtime with volunteer projects, I can even have my sandy toes, murder mystery and mojito. If I’m lucky, I might even take something educative away from the experience.

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