“Travel with a Purpose”

One of the main things I hear about our country with the economy being bad is the fact that so many people are deciding to go to college or join volunteer organizations like the Peace Corps. And of course the reason is because there are not a lot of jobs out there and if you are done with college, you most likely won’t have to start paying loans back. But there are so many other organizations where people can volunteer and not necessarily do it for two years. Ever hear of International Student Volunteers?

This past summer I spent a month, having the time of my life in The Land of the Long White Cloud, New Zealand. And the reason I went was because I heard about this awesome program called ISV, where you  “travel with a purpose.” Basically, they send you to countries across the world to volunteer at either conservation projects or community development projects. Thousands of student apply and thousands go and do their work all throughout the year. After two weeks of volunteering, ISV sends students on a two-week adventure tour of the country they were volunteering in to immerse themselves in the culture. It really is a spectacular program.

I mention this because this Saturday I headed to Rochester for an ISV Rep Conference. They have been holding these small conferences all across the U.S. over the past few months, where local ISV alumni (representatives really) gather together to discuss ways in order to encourage other students to make the commitment to volunteering overseas. And if making a month long time commitment is too much, students can just do the two volunteer weeks. And if that is still too long, I just found out they are collecting donations on their website that will go directly to the Red Cross efforts in Haiti. Another Kudos!

Posted February 1, 2010 at 3:15 pm by Rebecca Webster | Share on Facebook
Categories: Ithaca College

Comments (2)

2 Comments | Add yours

  1. Jakarta City on February 3rd, 2010 1:38 pm

    hi,.. I just wanna say thanks for inspiring me,. I’ll write like you do on my blog
    regards
    firman

  2. Erica on February 11th, 2010 7:57 pm

    Hi Rebecca,
    Great blog. My first experience with ISV was in New Zealand as well! It changed my perception on so many things - traveling, conservation, and so much more. For anyone reading this who is interested in experiencing a truly life changing program, I highly recommend replying to Rebecca through this blog so that she can help you through the process of applying. You have the option of volunteering and traveling in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Eastern Europe, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Ecuador!

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