Guest post from Carolyn Lane on her journey from voluntourist to founding a non-profit using photography to connect and impact communities around the world.

In 1995, I used a small inheritance from my grandparents to take my first ever “volunteer vacation” with EarthWatch to Lombok, Indonesia. There I experienced being an “invited guest” in another country, as opposed to being strictly a tourist…

With a new year comes a desire to do something great or simply, to do something. All of us, even those who have that “greatness” quality, need to get inspired. Are you looking for some inspiration as you head into the new year?

Seth Godin, the popular author and blogger, released a new ebook, What Matters Now, a compilation of ideas from some of the most recognizable and respected thinkers today. More than 70 big thinkers, consisting of authors, entrepreneurs and bloggers, each share an idea for you to think about …

We’re a huge admirer of charity:water and have been raving about them for their simple yet life-changing mission to bring clean drinking water to people in developing nations and for their marketing and fundraising prowess. We love founder, Scott Harrison’s story even more because the seeds that spawned this whole movement were planted from a volunteer tourism trip.  We’re seeing, in real-time, the far reaching effects of voluntourism. In two years, charity:water has raised over $7 million and funded 1,247 water projects in 14 countries around the world.  You can …

There is a growing belief that one of the best solutions to eradicate poverty is through social entrepreneurship and small business economics. The premise is that being poor isn’t just about not having money — it’s really about the lack of skills and capabilities. Based on past experiences, people are sophisticated enough to recognize that handouts alone are not only ineffective, they cause dependence. There are a lot of buzz about turning free-market entrepreneurs on the poverty problem and not increase handouts. Another driver is that many non-profits are moving …

A question many have been asking and the answers vary because global citizenship means different things to different people.

Volunteer or service travel is thriving, and that is not surprising given the gratification it provides the traveler. The desire to give back however,  is not limited just for those with the greatest means. Farther Foundation is a not-for-profit scholarship organization that provides support for low income high school students to participate in educational travel programs that broaden their horizons and raise their aspirations for success. More and more, the programs their scholarship students choose contain opportunities to provide volunteer service to the communities where they travel. During 2009, the …

Ever dreamed of visiting some of the greatest natural wonders and culturally significant sites in the world?  We probably all have some ideas of what these significant places are and which ones we’re just dying to visit! UNESCO’s World Heritage Center has a list of 890 properties that they consider of having some outstanding universal value. These include 689 cultural, 176 natural, and 25 mixed sites around the world.
TripAdvisor, the travel website, did a survey of the World Heritage sites and found that more than 2,500 of the U.S. travelers …