Category: Volunteer

In the News: Peace Corps Cover Up

Published on by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Although I may have never mentioned it here (or even out loud at all, for that matter), the Peace Corps has always been in the back of my mind as one of those potentially fabulous opportunities to combine travel with community service. The time commitment is what always kept me from looking more into it.

However, this piece in the NY Times today is terrifying. As a volunteer in a foreign country, you of course plan for all contingencies, I’m sure, to include the horrible events like what took place with poor Jess Smochek when she was a 23-year-old Peace Corps volunteer in Bangladesh.

I’ll spare the gritty (and they are gritty) details outright here, but let’s just say it looks like the Peace Corps may have some serious explaining to do.

Bis bald friends, and please, be careful when you’re traveling.

More Philanthropic Travel

Published on by Cheryl LockLeave a comment
The gorgeous Galapagos waters

I know I talk an awful lot about Projects Abroad, but I was really excited to read this story in Worth today about ten other ideas for philanthropic travel. There are Antarctic adventures and Vietnamese adventures….

And my absolute personal favorite—conservation in the Galapagos. Visiting the Galapagos is definitely on my bucket list, but for anyone who’s been listening knows, I’m having trouble with the whole idea of actually traveling there. As it turns out, tourists visiting the Galapagos have actually caused quite a bit of harm over the years. At least visitors traveling with this suggested group, expeditions.com, have been able to raise money—to the tune of $4.5 million to date—for tons of projects to help save the Galapagos. Now that’s a trip I could really get on board with.

Bis bald, friends!

Photo via

For Those of You Keeping Track…

Published on by Cheryl LockLeave a comment
Volunteer with Projects Abroad

One of my goals in life is to volunteer with the Projects Abroad organization, and they have just added two new destinations to their repertoire—Indonesia and Ecuador.

And for those of you in New York who might be interested in volunteering, check out their Open House options coming soon.

Bis bald, friends!

Photo via

Travel and Do Good—Projects Abroad

Published on by Cheryl Lock1 Comment
Sure it's gorgeous in South Africa, but Projects Abroad volunteers aren't just tourists, they're making changes.

Back when I was interning for free and still in the process of looking for a full-time job, I did a lot of research looking for a great volunteer organization that I could do some traveling with.
One of the organizations I came across is called Projects Abroad. It’s a great organization with tours in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Fiji, India, Mongolia, Tanzania, Thailand and more. There are so many different projects to choose from with this group, it seems like there has to something that will excite everyone. If you’ve ever been interested in traveling and volunteering, check out more info after the jump.

Continue reading “Travel and Do Good—Projects Abroad” →