Denver, CO, March 27, 2007 – National Volunteer Week (April 15-21) is a time to recognize
volunteers and to think about how you yourself can make a difference.
According to the Travel Industry Association*
interested in taking a volunteer or service-based vacation. With this increase in interest, it is
important that travelers know how to pick the right volunteer opportunity for them.
Before jumping in to help others, help yourself by asking the following important questions
recommended by i-to-i, a meaningful travel provider:
• How long has the volunteer organization been around?
• Is the staff knowledgeable and able to help you select a suitable trip?
• Do they provide pre-departure advice about visas, inoculations and insurance?
• Will you have an orientation once you land at your destination?
• Do they have support people in country for daily questions?
• What emergency measures are in place should anything unforeseen happen?
• Does the fee include food, accommodation and airport pickup?
• Can you speak to past volunteers?
• Can a friend or partner come with you? If so, are there discounts?
Given proper planning, volunteer travel can be an exciting and
rewarding experience. Imagine the face of a lion cub looking up at
you waiting to be fed at a reserve in South Africa, being at the
heart of a small community in India making a difference in the
lives of poor children, or preserving ecosystems in the Galapagos
Islands that are as fragile as they are spectacular.
Alan Rousham helped children on four i-to-i volunteer trips in
Santiniketan, India. “My volunteer experience put me back into
the stream of life, and I thoroughly enjoyed contributing what little I
could to the people of Santiniketan,”
overseas was brilliant and rewarding.”
To learn more about volunteer vacations, visit www.meaningfultravel.com or call 800-985-5882.
Editor's note:
Since 1994, i-to-i, with offices in the US, as well as the UK, Ireland and Australia, has been the award-winning
leader in volunteer adventures and TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) training. Each year, i-to-i
sends approximately 5,000 volunteers to 500 projects in more than 30 countries and helps 15,000 people gain
the certification necessary to teach English overseas. i-to-i volunteers contributed approximately one million
hours of service last year.
For more information, please contact Alexia Nestora, i-to-i Public Relations Manager at (303) 991-5402 or
alexia.nestora@
* The Voice of the Traveler survey by the Travel Industry Association and Synovate was conducted in May among
a representative sample of 1,500 U.S. adults.
