Look Like a Voluntourist

By Christina Orlovsky

CHARITY MAY BEGIN at home, but it can be so much more fulfilling— and fun—when it’s paired with a trip to a faraway land. Voluntourism, the emerging trend that combines volunteering with vacationing in exotic places like Africa, South America and even New Orleans, has gained popularity in recent years among do-gooders of all demographics.

“It’s a completely different way to discover another culture or destination,” says Jeffrey Gleuck, chief marketing officer for Travelocity.com, whose annual traveler poll found 11 percent of travelers planned to volunteer during their 2007 vacations, up from 6 percent in 2006. “We think it’s something in the Zeitgeist that started after 9/11, when people wanted to find ways to reach out to others and make a difference.” A national survey by the Travel Industry Association found 24 percent of respondents were interested in service-based travel.

In response, Travelocity recently launched a grant opportunity through its Travel for Good program, designed to connect Americans with volunteer trips at home and abroad. Three $5,000 grants are awarded each quarter to qualified applicants interested in arranging a volunteer vacation through one of the site’s nonprofit partners.

For more information, go to travelocity.com/travelforgood