Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Travel
Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
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Author:
“Shannon
O'Donnell left in 2008 on a year-long round the world trip. That initial trip
turned into an open-ended journey around the world and over the years she has
shared her travel stories and photography on her travel blog. In 2011 her
travel focus shifted, in addition to launching her passion project, a community
sourced database of local, sustainable organizations all over the world,
Shannon began homeschooling, traveling, and volunteering with her 12-year-old
niece.”
For more,
visit Shannon’s travel blog or her website for volunteer travel.
Description:
“The
Volunteer Traveler's Handbook guides new and veteran travelers through the
challenges of finding, vetting, and choosing their ideal volunteer experience.
The book's practical advice is interwoven with first-person narrative, stories
from a wide range of volunteers, beautiful photography, and expert interviews
to help interested volunteers find meaningful ways to give back to communities
all over the world-through volunteering, but also through social enterprises
and supporting sustainable tourism practices.”
Appraisal:
“It’s
entirely possible to go abroad and then cloister yourself away from the newness
and diversity, to take the immersive aspect out of the cultural exchange—but
really, what’s the fun in that?”
That line
from The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook
gives a good feel for how the author looks at travel, as a means to get know a
country, its culture, and people, not spending all her hanging out in hotels
and on the tourist sightseeing trail with all the other travelers. If she can
leave the country slightly improved when she leaves, so much the better, which
is where volunteering comes in.
Although
aimed primarily at travel to other countries, much of the advice would apply to
volunteer traveling domestically and some of the ideas for vetting volunteer
opportunities would make sense if you’re just volunteering in your hometown.
The book
discusses different options for volunteer traveling along with the advantages
and disadvantages of each approach. It rarely takes a stance, saying one is
better than the other, instead giving the information to decide what is best
for your particular situation and goals. Perhaps the biggest kudos I can give
are that it answers the questions I wouldn’t have realized I should have asked.
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating: ***** Five stars
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