BootsnAll Travel Community

*Removed*

Bump. Where can I get more info?

Question:
are you looking for volunteers or people to fund your project?.... I have never heard of a program that charged someone to volunteer. I would love to help as I am going to be down there soon however I cannot in my mind justify paying to volunteer my services. It might just be me but that makes no sense. Just ask for a donation if that's what you need.

turtles are fun, but lemme guess, we'd cover airfare ourselves? if only i had enough time to walk to panama...

Zaxon,
We are taking a school bus down to panama and hopefully beyond this summer. If you are interested in jumping on as a gas rider let me know I can fill you in on the logistics...
Peace,
Diatomis

ooh that's tempting. send me the specs soon as you get a chance. most importantly the when, where from and how much. zaxon.1@gmail.com

anymore it seems a lot of conservation projects are funding themselves largely through volunteers. which i think is more a reflection of funding for conservation than the projects themselves... if it weren't for those funds coming in through volunteers, many wouldn't be able to keep going.

not that this changes the fact that it sucks for people who would like to volunteer without paying to do so

I just have a hard time understanding why someone who has there own place to stay and there own supplies covered but not alot of extra money would have to pay to volunteer. It might just be me but I can't wrap my mind around this logic.

quote:

Originally posted by diatomis:
I just have a hard time understanding why someone who has there own place to stay and there own supplies covered but not alot of extra money would have to pay to volunteer. It might just be me but I can't wrap my mind around this logic.

Honestly, "volunteer vacations" (those that make you pay) are not for experienced travels such as yourself.

Your absolutely right that if you just showed up every morning at 7am 99% of NPOs wouldn't make you pay.

However, your ability to 1) go to rural Thailand or Mongolia, 2) find a place to stay 3) be able to live on your own puts you in a microscopic "elite" group of the general population.

Volunteer vacations are created for students and other people who have FAR less experience travel wise.

Most of these people have never been outside the country and have a 2 week window to fill with volunteer work. These people pay not for the project (although the organizations might claim otherwise) but instead for the administration and support in advertising the volunteer opportunities, interviewing candidates, getting health insurance, setting up local transportation for the volunteers, suppling food, and providing other in country support functions.

Volunteer vacations provide an excellent opportunity for people who have little travel experience or sheer boldness to go abroad and jump right into an exsisting volunteer project for a few weeks before coming home. However, saying this, I am pretty sure volunteer vacations are not for the type of people who hang around this board.

And, as I suspected. You never see an answer. No note. Nothing but a pitch. Ack...

D

Ya Piecar, I was going to delete this thread of a decent discussion sprang from it.