President Obama recently called Americans to action, saying that we as Americans have a duty to serve our communities and fellow citizens. That call to service has reached all the way to the travel industry as we see more and more travelers wanting to combine vacations and volunteer work.
The newly coined word for this travel niche is "voluntourism" and I recently had a chance to participate on a trip to New Orleans. While there at the Education Travel Conference, I and a few dozen other participants paid a nominal fee to volunteer in the 9th ward for the day. The neighborhood was devastated by hurricane Katrina and three and a half years later continues to struggle to return to normalcy.
Our day started with an introduction to the volunteers of a non profit organization called OnSite Relief whose mission is to provide relief to families devastated by natural disasters. They also aim to provide not only a fulfilling volunteer experience, but an exposure to the culture and allure of the cities that the organization aids.
A bus took us to the 9th ward where we met James Brown, a homeowner who was in the process of making his home habitable again. Most of the group stayed at Mr. Brown's house either painting the exterior or cleaning up the rubble in the yard. Several others were sent to another work site to help dry wall. Within six hours the yard was clean and the entire outside painted with at least one coat. Mr. Brown was so appreciative and we all truly enjoyed the cultural exchange. His stories about the hurricane and the friends he lost brought the catastrophe up close and personal.Later we met a family who had been bilked of their relief money by an unscrupulous contractor and left with their home unfinished and uninhabitable. Onsite helped the family and we were able to hear both their gratitude and their stories of the volunteer crews that helped them.
The conference was great but the experience I had volunteering really resonated and in fact, friends and family asked about that the most as opposed to Mardi Gras or the cooking class that I took.
As more and more Americans answer the call to service volunteering is becoming a wonderful way to give back but also to interact with local cultures and people on a very personal level, especially when travelling. In fact if you are interested Epiculinary will arrange volunteer experiences for our participants wherever possible. By the way, we were told that it will take 10 more years for New Orleans to really recover. At this time, Galveston is in serious need of help.
Here's a link to Onsite Relief, one of the many volunteer agencies working in New Orleans:
