a 2.5 minute read… In 2010, I left a great company that I co-founded to spend a year traveling and volunteering with social enterprises around the world. Here are the 7 things I wish I knew before I left.   1. Never pay an organization

“The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge” – Thomas Berger We hear a lot of questions from people who are interested in applying their skills overseas by virtue of the work we do: helping people find the best place

Every year, Legatum publishes a new report showing the happiest countries. And every year, people wonder “What really makes me happy?”. When researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness, they found the more people volunteered, the

“Volunteer work is an enormous renewable resource for social, economic, and environmental problem-solving throughout the world… But the lack of solid data on volunteering has left it under-valued and its full potentials unrealized.” -Lester M. Salamon* Done right, volunteering overseas can have a profound impact on

If you are traveling overseas to create change and be changed in return, take a step beyond your comfort zone. If you are going volunteering overseas in search of a life-changing experience that makes you a better person and creates positive impact, then consider being

As it turns out People who vacation regularly are less likely to develop heart disease than those that don’t, and Volunteering is proven to provide health benefits So we don’t think its ridiculous to think that if you volunteer your expertise while traveling internationally (i.e.

According to Shawn Anchor, famed Harvard Happiness Researcher, 7 activities, when done consistently, make people more happy. Surprisingly – or not surprisingly – 3 of these can easily be done be volunteering: 1. Commit Conscious Acts of Kindness. “A long line of empirical research, including

We all know that there is a truth in the age-old saying, “nice guys finish last“. And this is primarily because being “nice” doesn’t actually move the needle – it just maintains the status quo. It means you do things like this: Say yes, a

Volunteering is a gateway drug to pursuing a more meaningful career, and life. Why does volunteering move us? In short, it allows us to use our strengths towards a greater purpose. And because we do it when we want, we have full autonomy of what