Idealist.org can help you arrange for a vacation from apathy

For some socially conscious travelers, vacations are best spent contributing time and energies to nonprofit projects that benefit humanity.

But matching volunteer opportunities with skills and interests can be a challenge.

That’s why in 1996 Ami Dar, an Israeli army veteran who spent part of his youth in Peru and Mexico, founded New York City-based Action Without Borders, a nonprofit whose mission is to find global volunteer opportunities for people with the time and resources.

“Instead of taking a vacation on the beach, you can take a vacation helping,” Dar said.

Idealist.org, which draws about 38,000 visitors a day, is a clearinghouse of information for 45,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries.

Dar created the name Idealist.org while out walking. It struck him that there are two meanings of idealist -- someone who is infused with idealism and a “list” of ideas. “It’s a perfect little double meaning,” he said.

Nearly 70 organizations that specialize in putting volunteers on the ground are listed at vwww.idealist.org/career/travel. It provides one-stop shopping for people who may be interested in volunteering but do not know what, where or how to do so.

One such organization is Concordia Language Villages (CLV), which is associated with Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (vclvweb.cord.edu/prweb). It is looking for native English speakers to volunteer in one of its 14 language village sessions this summer in China.

“We are idealists at CLV, believing that teaching kids about languages and cultures at a young age will make them a responsible global citizen,” said Holly Anderson, its spokeswoman.

The cost to volunteer for two weeks is $2,195, which includes transportation to and lodging in one of the villages, as well as a four-day side trip to destinations in and around Beijing or Shanghai. Experience is not necessary, though paid positions for qualified teachers are available.

Volunteers come from all over, Anderson said.

“Sometimes it’s a family, sometimes it’s colleagues, college students,” Anderson said. “Real people go into places where other real people are and share themselves and make friendships right on the ground level.”

The Financial Services Volunteer Corps (vwww.fsvc.org), also listed on Idealist.org, seeks experts in central, commercial and investment banking, capital markets, corporate governance, pension and insurance reform.

Volunteers spend one to two weeks and meet with high-level government and banking officials. In its 14 years of existence, the corps has sent more than 5,500 experts on more than 1,100 missions. Its largest programs are in Russia, the Balkans and Indonesia.

“We are a nonprofit that seeks to rebuild sound financial and banking systems in transition countries throughout the world,” said spokeswoman Meredith Gaylord.

Because of the specific nature of the volunteers it needs, the organization turned to Idealist.org for recruitment help.

“Idealist.org has been a valuable resource for FSVC’s recruitment process and will continue to be throughout the future, as our organization expands,” Gaylord said.

Many other volunteer opportunities exist on Idealist.org, but remember that it is only a clearinghouse of information.

Although Idealist.org does not vet the organizations on its list, it will remove those for which it receives complaints.

“The onus is on ... the volunteer to contact them to get references to see how reputable they are,” Dar said.

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Contact James Gilden at www.theinternettraveler.com.