Volunteer Abroad in 14 Countries.

International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development – It starts with YOU. Join Us!

Offering Innovations in

Comprehensive Development

Employing the skills & energy of

Volunteers Worldwide

We Engage Short-Term Volunteers in Long-Term, Community-Driven, Sustainable Human and Economic Development.

Global Volunteers enables you to change the arc of a child’s life by working under the direction of local leaders and hand-in-hand with local people. There are tremendous needs in the world today. Children and their families struggle with poverty, insufficient food and nutrition, inadequate health care, and challenging education systems. After more than four decades in service worldwide, we know investing in children is the most optimistic and lasting work anyone can do. The destiny of the planet is in their hands, but their ability to safeguard the future is in our hands. We leverage the world’s endlessly renewable resource – volunteers – to catalyze positive change. Our volunteers create, nurture, and sustain the well-being of the world’s children and their families so that they might realize the full promise of their human potential.

The world needs you to make a difference. Support genuine, lasting community impact as a volunteer, donor, or corporate or academic partner.

“Volunteering abroad holds magic on so many fronts. It’s the springboard for my global explorations. I can’t imagine one without the other anymore.”
-Seija Webb, 8-time Global Volunteer

Volunteer Abroad and in the US. Make Positive Change Happen.

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We Catalyze Change Worldwide.

You are needed! Volunteers from all backgrounds and all ages – professionals, tradespeople, retirees, students, and others who know the power of positive, collective action can help families and communities in need. Working together in teams and under the direction of local leaders, hand-in-hand with local people abroad or in the US, volunteers nourish children, mentor youth, teach students, care for patients, support parents, befriend refugees, and inspire teachers in response to community needs wherever we are invited to serve.

44,000 volunteers have served in 37 countries since 1984. You can too! Join us as a volunteer abroad or donate now, and make positive change in our world.

Global Volunteers’ Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals

At Global Volunteers, we’re proud to contribute toward 9 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a global framework aimed at ending poverty, reducing inequality, protecting the environment, and ensuring a better future for all by 2030.

As we celebrate 2026, the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development, our commitment to meaningful change is growing even stronger. Through our carefully designed volunteer service programs, we support impactful local initiatives in education, healthcare, and nutrition. By joining Global Volunteers, you become part of a global movement committed to catalyzing sustainable community development and meaningful impact where it’s needed most.

Exceed your Expectations. Be a Catalyst for Change in the World.

“Granddaddy of the volunteer vacation movement.”

“Bud and Michele established Global Volunteers to provide people with an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children around the globe.”

“The work they accomplish meets needs in little-known areas that might not be on the radar of large-scale efforts.”

“Global Volunteers is one of the oldest nonsectarian organizations to offer short-term volunteer vacations.”

“A model that has been replicated worldwide.”

“Global Volunteers has what are regarded as the best programs in the field.”

“Global Volunteers is at the leading edge of the surge in popularity of volunteer vacations.”

“Travel with a conscience and help people on a Global Volunteers journey.”

“In 1979 Michele Gran and Bud Philbrook helped people in a poor mountain village in Guatemala. That lead to Global Volunteers — spiritually fulfilling, intellectually stimulating and incidentally tax-deductible volunteer vacations.”

“Though the volunteers may be vacationers, the aid they bring is real.”

10 Best Volunteer Abroad Organizations: “A pioneer of volunteer vacations organizations, Global Volunteers was founded in 1984 – that is, long before it was a trend.”