Vacationers often aren’t focused on being cheerful givers. But that’s changing.
A growing number of travelers are interested in “voluntourism,” which combines service opportunities with their trips to a destination. Faith-based groups’ missions often align particularly well with voluntourism. The best part about seeking these opportunities is that they’re flexible — any DMO will gladly help you think of new ways to contribute your group’s time to better the community they serve.
Whether activities span an afternoon or several days, here are some ideas for voluntourism at destinations across the country.
Yosemite National Park
California
The National Park Service is a great place to look for experiences that let groups enjoy nature while giving back. Instead of simply taking a group for a scenic drive or short hike through a national park, planners should consider contacting NPS for volunteer opportunities. Yosemite National Park has a robust volunteer program that can accommodate groups as well as individual volunteers.
The park has “drop-in-days” where volunteers can show up to volunteer without an advanced application needed. One such day is Apple Picking Day, where volunteers can harvest apples at the historic orchards of Curry Village so bears can’t eat them, thus reducing bear and human interactions. There’s also Yosemite Facelift, a five-day event where volunteers show up to collect trash from the park. In 2024, over 13,000 pounds of trash were collected during this event.
Groups of about five to 25 participants can plan volunteer projects outside of these drop-in days, too, with opportunities that include planting native vegetation, removing invasive plants, maintaining campgrounds and building trails. Most work takes place from May to October, although limited opportunities are available during the offseason. Contact the park’s volunteer office to inquire about opportunities.
Denver Urban Gardens
Denver
Founded in 1985, Denver Urban Gardens is a nonprofit organization with the goal of expanding community access to healthy food and supporting food sovereignty in the Denver area. The organization creates and maintains community gardens and food forests (sections of fruit trees that provide both produce and shaded areas) for residents to harvest food for themselves and their families. It also distributes information on gardening, as well as materials for locals to create their own gardens.
Volunteer opportunities at Denver Urban Gardens are open to groups, including church groups. The work is a great way to get to know the Denver community and involves maintaining community gardens, including tasks such as weeding gardens, amending soil, cleaning garden plots, planting trees and even building raised garden beds. Team-building experiences, which may include education on urban gardening, can also be arranged.
Group leaders can fill out a volunteer inquiry on the website to arrange each experience. Volunteers are expected to secure their own transportation and come dressed for a day of gardening. The volunteer opportunities are held rain or shine — with the exception of dangerous weather conditions — and up to 15 people can work on one shift.
Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly
Chicago
The Windy City offers abundant opportunities to give back to the community, from participating in locally organized neighborhood cleanups to working with nationwide charitable nonprofits. One such organization with locations throughout the U.S. is Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly (LBFE), with a mission to relieve isolation and loneliness among older adults. In addition to its Chicago location, LBFE has locations in Boston, Cincinnati and Upper Michigan.
Groups traveling to Chicago can volunteer a variety of their services to LBFE, no matter how much time they’d like to commit. If they would like to simply devote a couple hours to the cause, large groups can create and decorate goodie bags, gifts and candy favors to be delivered to the people LBFE serves. There is no set time commitment for this activity. Smaller groups of up to 15 can arrange to visit with seniors directly for an afternoon or morning activity. LBFE also offers volunteers the chance to visit older adults during events, including birthday parties, themed lunches and family reunions, to create lively, fun experiences for all involved.
Cradles to Crayons
Newtonville, Massachusetts
Designed to combat some of the effects of child poverty in major cities, Cradles to Crayons is dedicated to providing children with essential items in their homes and schools. These range from donated clothing and shoes to brand-new backpacks and school supplies. The organization collects new or nearly new children’s items donated from the community or from online wish lists. The items are then sorted and packaged at the organization’s warehouse, The Giving Factory, and distributed to children in need.
Visitors to the Boston area will find The Giving Factory is well suited to large volunteer groups. Groups with 100-plus members can arrange to come to the warehouse for two hours to sort through and package clothing and supplies for children in need. They should bring their own reusable water bottles to stay hydrated during their shift. They can also bring clothing items they would like to donate. Volunteers aged five and up are welcome, so long as minors have adults to accompany them.
Cradles to Crayons also has locations with volunteer programs in Philadelphia and Chicago.
The Store
Nashville
Founded by country music singer Brad Paisley and his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, The Store in Nashville is a nonprofit created to address food insecurity in central Tennessee. The Paisley family was inspired by a free grocery store in California and wanted to create a similar concept in Tennessee in 2020. The Store works like a food bank but with an emphasis on fresh produce, meats and dairy products to promote a healthier diet. It’s also laid out like a grocery store rather than providing shoppers with a pre-packaged box, which allows more choice and reduces food waste. It has also expanded to provide support services and skills classes, such as counseling, cooking classes, budgeting, literacy and more.
Church, corporate and other groups can volunteer at The Store to stock shelves, bag groceries and otherwise assist in the fight against food insecurity. Contact The Store’s team to work out the details of your group’s volunteer experience.
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Galveston, Texas
Turtle Island Restoration Network aims to protect sea turtles and other marine life by protecting their habitat and promoting biodiversity. They work in Galveston, Texas, as well as the Bay Area in California, to clean and restore the habitats of coastal sea turtles and other endangered marine life. They also educate the public about the importance of maintaining marine ecosystems and raise awareness of the man-made issues these animals face.
One way for groups to volunteer with the Turtle Island Restoration Network is with a beach cleanup in Galveston. Groups of 10 or larger can register for a two-hour, guided beach cleanup on any weekday, though there is limited availability on weekends. Groups begin their volunteer experience by watching a quick presentation about pollution and marine debris. They will then comb a beach for trash to ensure it doesn’t end up in the ocean or endangering any sea turtles. At the end, volunteers will weigh their trash and conduct a patrol for nurdles, which are tiny plastic pellets that turtles and other marine life often mistake for food. Finally, the group will do a microplastics experiment. These sessions are a great volunteer experience for visitors of all ages.
