Okay, sign me up! I SO want to do this. Check out these volunteer vacations with Biosphere Expeditions and access your inner scientist while working side by side in the field next to real scientists to do hands-on research.
1. Track Snow Leopards In the Altai Republic: This award-winning volunteer vacation takes travelers to the remote mountains of the Altai Republic to follow in the tracks of the elusive Snow Leopards to conduct research that aims to protect an unprotected corridor of Snow Leopard movement from Mongolia to Russia where next to nothing is known about the numbers of leopards and their movements.
2. Monitor Flatback Turtles in Western Australia: This volunteer vacation takes people to the strikingly beautiful coastline of Western Australia to conduct a survey of iconic Australian flatback turtles. While soaking in the stunning scenery, measure and tag turtles, and record data about nesting behavior. The research on this volunteer project meets objectives outlined in Australian state and federal management and recovery plans for Australian sea turtles.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Costa Rica’s number one volunteer tour operator, Tropical Adventures, organizes a series of special projects over the holidays that allow guests to both enjoy fun activities and contribute to the local youth and adults. It offers two nine-day adventures that combine volunteering with fun activities. The first on Dec. 19-27, 2009 includes guests hosting holiday parties at a beach town, a retirement home and an indigenous community. It also features a rafting trip on the Pacuare River, a waterfall tour into Panama and a canopy zip line experience.The second trip, Dec. 26, 2009 - Jan. 3, 2010 involves four days running a summer camp for kids. It will be summer in Costa Rica and the children will be out of school. The camp will offer arts and crafts, sports and games, environmental education and lunch. The waterfall and zip line excursions are also included.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
VaughanTown was the brainchild of Richard Vaughan, a business student from Texas who came to Spain to teach English in the 70’s. “After a quarter-century of language training and experience, I realized no matter how many times a person is drilled on irregular verbs, the only way to truly understand a language is to actively practice it,” says Richard.
This led to the creation of six-day immersion programs which include a cast of 15 Spaniards, 17 English-speakers from all over the world, a Master of Ceremonies to provide entertainment and a Program Director to enforce the only rule: No Spanish Allowed. All this for 15 hours a day, six days straight and no stopping except for your daily siesta. Throw in a mix of activities such as conversations, scenic walks, games, meals plus Spanish music and dancing, and somewhere along the way the Spaniards find themselves blabbing away in English without having to stop, think and translate.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
CheapTickets.com , a leading discount online travel agency, and United Way , the nation’s largest charitable organization, have again joined forces to energize and engage young travelers to vacation with purpose. Introducing the top five alternative Spring Break destinations for 2008, college students are challenged to exchange time on the beach for time helping others, both this spring and throughout the course of the year.
From rebuilding homes in the Gulf Coast to urban renewal in New York City, United Way scoured a wide-range of alternative Spring Break opportunities to identify the top five domestic destinations in 2008. And to help students with travel costs, CheapTickets has introduced a Spring Break Sale, offering $75-off vacation packages for the penny-pinched.
United Way spokesperson Randy Punley noted, “The power of young people to help change communities is really amazing. It is exciting to see their engagement in United Way’s work to help rebuild the Gulf Coast and their ongoing involvement when they return home. The United Way Alternative Spring Break participants inspire others in Generation Y to action, and remind us all of what we can do when we act together to change communities.”
United Way’s Top Five Spring Break Volunteer Destinations(1)
1. New Orleans, LA
With space for 302 volunteers, New Orleans’ Habitat for Humanity
invites students to rebuild homes in this vibrant city. Accommodations
for Spring Breakers are available at the appropriately named Camp Hope.
2. Southwest Louisiana
In Lake Charles, LA, United Way’s Alternative Spring Break program
will continue reconstruction efforts following Hurricane Rita. Up to
350 volunteers may join the effort from March 1 - 29, 2008.
3. Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast
Many communities within the Gulf Coast were affected by Hurricane
Katrina, including Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean
Springs, Pascagoula and Mobile, AL. A United Way Alternative Spring
Break program will focus on these areas, with space for up to 250
volunteers from March 8 - 22, 2008.
4. New York, NY
Appalachian State University of North Carolina has coordinated with the
YMCA to bring Spring Breakers to New York City for a week mentoring
inner-city youths. Students from other universities interested in
volunteer opportunities in the New York area can visit,
http://volunteer.cheaptickets.com/.
5. Washington, DC
Students of Ohio State University are DC-bound this Spring Break, with
plans to prepare and deliver meals for those suffering from HIV/Aids,
cancer and other life-changing illnesses. Students from other
universities interested in volunteer opportunities in Washington, DC
can visit, http://volunteer.cheaptickets.com/.
Spring Break Sale ($75-Off) to Help Students Spring to Action(2)
To help Spring Breakers make the trip, CheapTickets’ Spring Sale offers $75-off qualifying flight + hotel packages of four or more nights using the promotional code CTXSPRING75. Travelers must book by April 27, 2008 for travel through June 30, 2008. For example, Spring Breakers can take advantage of the following travel packages ($75 savings have been applied)(3):
Chicago to New Orleans: Fly from Chicago to New Orleans and stay four nights at the 3-star Saint Ann Marie Antoinette Hotel from $372 per person.
Travel dates: March 17-21, 2008
Los Angeles to Washington, DC: Fly from Los Angeles to Washington, DC (BWI) and stay four nights at the 3-star Hyatt Place from $532 per person.
Travel dates: March 17-21, 2008
For more information on CheapTickets’ Spring Sale, visit: http://www.cheaptickets.com/.
University Challenge(4)
Beyond Spring Break:
CheapTickets has also teamed with United Way to launch a University Challenge — turning volunteering into a year-long, if not life-long affair. Built upon the United Way’s existing 10,000 Hours Show, the University Challenge will help motivate students at seven prominent universities to collectively volunteer 10,000 hours. At the end of the 2007-2008 school year, students from the university with the highest per capita volunteer hours will receive an alternative Spring Break, courtesy of CheapTickets.
“A shared enthusiasm for compassionate travel inspired us to join forces with United Way exactly one year ago,” said Marita Hudson Thomas of CheapTickets. “We’re elated that this partnership continues to grow as we launch the University Challenge, urging the country’s academic community to share in our passion for volunteering and traveling.”
This new initiative builds upon CheapTickets’ and United Way’s online collaboration to create http://volunteer.cheaptickets.com/, which allows travelers to research cause-specific volunteer opportunities culled from United Way’s vast national network, complemented by travel discounts from CheapTickets.
Terms & Conditions:
(1)United Way surveyed some of the leading organizations that place young people in different Alternative Spring programs, including Breakaway, Habitat for Humanity and Lutheran Disaster Services, and developed a list of the top five destinations that college students will be volunteering during Spring Break this year.
(2)Book a qualifying flight + hotel vacation package between March 3, 2008, and April 27, 2008, for 4 nights for travel between March 3, 2008, and June 30, 2008, via CheapTickets and instantly receive $75 off your purchase through the use of the promotion code. To display qualifying vacation packages, click “I have a promotion code.” and enter the promotion code, then look for vacation packages marked with the icon “COUPON.” Limit one discount per hotel room and one promotion code per purchase. Discounts are not redeemable for cash for any reason. Any attempt at fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. CheapTickets reserves the right to change or limit the promotion in its sole discretion.
Promo code: CTXSPRING75
(3)Sample rates shown were accurate and available on CheapTickets.com on 2/27/08 on the dates specified and may not represent current prices because our real-time pricing booking engine is constantly updating prices and availability. Vacation package prices shown are for one adult, based on double-occupancy, include applicable taxes and fees, and will vary by selected day of departure, departure city, length of stay, hotel selected, hotel room category, and availability. $75 promo code savings have been applied to package costs.
(4)From the seven universities participating in the United Way of America’s 10,000 Hours Show, the United Way of America will supply CheapTickets with the university that has the highest per capita volunteer hours at the end of the 2007-2008 school year. CheapTickets will award that university with a volunteer vacation. The number of students that participate and dates/location of the volunteer vacation will be determined solely by CheapTickets.com.
About CheapTickets
CheapTickets is a leading seller of discounted leisure travel products online through its Web site, http://www.cheaptickets.com/. CheapTickets provides consumers access to its collection of airfares on hundreds of airlines. In addition to air, CheapTickets’ family of discounted travel products also includes hotel accommodations, cruises, rental cars, vacation packages, condo rentals and Last Minute Trips. Founded in 1986, CheapTickets is a brand that is owned and operated by Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE:OWW) .
About United Way of America
United Way is a national network of nearly 1,300 local organizations that advance the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all by focusing on the three key building blocks of education, income and health. United Way of America is the national organization dedicated to leading the United Way movement to create long lasting community change by addressing the underlying causes of the most significant issues. Living united means being a part of the change. Give. Advocate. Volunteer. For more information about United Way, visit: http://www.unitedway.org/.
Source: CheapTickets.com/prnewswire.com
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Think Thanksgiving. Think giving. Consider combining an adventure vacation in the mountains of Belize with important volunteer work with the not-for-profit Casa Avian Support Alliance (www.casaavian.org).
A five day/four night holiday stay at Casa del Caballo Blanco eco lodge (www.casacaballoblanco.com) includes a visit to the major Mayan ceremonial site of Tikal, tubing through Xibalba, the Mayan underworld of the Caves Branch River, and hands-on work with the center’s avian rescue and rehabilitation program.
Casa del Caballo Blanco eco lodge is a six-casita accommodation on 23 scenic hilltop acres near San Ignacio, Belize. It shares space with an avian rehabilitation and release center called Casa Avian Support Alliance and offers voluntourism and adventure opportunities on premise and throughout the region.
Concerned travelers now can put words into action by booking a visit here and participating in avian rescue and rehabilitation efforts while also enjoying the culture, adventure and tranquility of a vacation in Belize. This is the first avian voluntourism program of its kind in Belize. It has been endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance sustainable Tourism Program (www.rainforest-alliance.org), Belize Audubon Society, Friends for Conservation and Development and Birds Without Borders.
The four-night Thanksgiving package, dubbed the “Toucan Tour” runs $815 per person inclusive of accommodation, most meals, planned outings and on-site volunteer work with the various ongoing avian support projects. Excluded are local taxes, optional activities and service charges. Operation of both the lodge and its avian project, both not for profit, depend partly on guest revenues from the lodge operations as well as volunteer labor and participation to fulfill its vital mission.
“Habitat destruction, the effects of global warming and the illegal poaching and capture of exotic birds are real world problems. The work we do here seeks to understand and support the biodiversity of Belize that attracts and sustains over 530 species of migratory and resident birds spotted in a given year,” explains lodge owner Vance Bente.
E.O. Wilson, citing work done by leading wildlife biologists on the destruction of rain forests in the Americas, suggests that within a century, “The stage will be set…for the inevitable loss of 12 percent of the 704 bird species in the Amazon Basin and 15 percent of the plant species in South and Central America.”
Lodge visitors are encouraged to assist with on-site nest-box building, general maintenance and feeding as well as habitat restoration, nature trail building, wild bird identification and signage. In addition, lodge guests can access numerous Mayan ruins and indigenous villages in Belize and across the border into Guatemala including Flores on Lago Peten, the World Heritage site of Tikal, and the recent Survivor site at Yaxha/Topoxte.
Casa’s hacienda-style Main House celebrates the region’s Hispanic culture with high, beamed ceilings, tile floors, hand-made furniture and interior design features hand-crafted by local artisans to evoke the footprint of an ordered, spiritual world of centuries ago. Nestled on a hillside overlooking the Mopan River Valley, the location provides a stunning view of the Mer de Verde, the “Green Ocean,” a site that could likely have been used in a similar manner by the Mayans. The guest quarters, six thatch-roofed, fully screen cabanas, all have en-suite bathrooms, refrigerators, hand-crafted furniture and Mayan-inspired fabrics.
Meals served in an airy, thatch-roofed dining room include Mayan food prepared in centuries-old Quiché, Mopan and Yucatecan traditions. Creole foods combine exotic Hispanic and Caribbean flavors. All produce is fresh from Casa’s own gardens and local markets and prepared locally by Belizeans.
On-site facilities provide a haven for avian wildlife recently freed from captivity or treated for injury or illness. Here birds can heal, rehabilitate and eventually be released back into their natural habitat. The facility is dynamic and will evolve annually with the guidance and cooperation of the Forest Department, Belize Audubon Society, Friends for Conservation and Development, Aves Sin Fronteras, and other organizations and experts from the avian community. Visit the alliance website for more information, www.casaavian.org
Lodge guests are also welcome to join its Passport Program that over time will showcase a half dozen other properties in the Americas with organizations who have similar goals and missions such as avian support.
For information on year-round educational programs and vacation packages, please visit www.casacaballoblanco.com or call 707-974-4942.
SOURCE: Widness & Wiggins PR
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".