The primary resource you have, of course, is your available time. How much time do you have to spend traveling or volunteering? The amount of time and the days that you’ll be expected to contribute is an important topic to be discussed before you make a mutual agreement with your host, and of course is something to be put in writing. Don’t offer up all of your free time to something like this if you’d also like to have some time off just to relax – be honest about your desires too! Work hours vary greatly depending on the kinds of activities being requested, and also if the place is a permanent project or a temporary event. For temporary events, it’s normal for a high quantity of hours to be requested, especially if it only lasts for a few days. On the other hand, if you plan on staying for weeks or months in one place, make sure that you’ll have a healthy balance between work and free time. As volunteering is the goal of your trip, but not the only reason for it, it’s ideal for you to still have some free time for other activities you’d like to do. So discuss hours with your host and make it clear that you plan on doing different activities while there if that’s the case. You can discuss and agree upon all of this in advance.

What you can offer while traveling as a volunteer can vary. It’s worth making a list of all of them for yourself. Write down all of your intelectual, physical, and general skills. These can be languages, musical instruments, maintenance, gardening, repairs, cooking, entertainment, programming, strength, electrical, woodworking... Everything you know how to do, including things you’re interested in learning.

Is your goal to contribute to a humanitarian crisis, a natural disaster, or an organized social movement? In any case, you are the best person to say which project or initiative you’d like to support. Not sure where to start? You can always have your first social volunteering experience at projects located anywhere in your home country, and then when you feel more confident and self-assured afterwards, try out places in other countries.

After many planning, its time to contact hosts on the plataform. The best thing you can do at this point is work out all of the details in advance and get all of your questions answered by your host before arriving there. In this conversation, be honest about your questions and expectations. Ask about food, sleeping arrangements, bathrooms, clothing expectations, benefits, and whatever else comes to mind. And let them know any personal needs you may have. I’ve learned through experience that honesty will avoid a good number of misunderstandings in the future, as some volunteer positions will offer you many benefits and others not as many. After navigating through all of the possibilities of projects where you could help, keep in mind the places that you’re drawn to as destinations. Buuut (this is important!) don’t get too attached to them. With this kind of trip, it’s really essential that you be familiar with the objectives and guiding principles of the work, because I can guarantee that the location you choose is only one piece of the trip. So allow yourself to travel to a place you’ve never even dreamed of before! There are tons of collaborative opportunities and kinds of volunteer work around the world that you can’t even imagine.

Finally, it’s time to think about how much this trip will cost, because this will determine when you can make your trip a reality.

After taking all of these factors into consideration, now you know how to become a volunteer. It’s time to literally start planning your trip! I like to follow these guidelines to make sure everything goes well: