Family Volunteer Abroad Programs

Why You Should Join a Family Volunteer Abroad Program

There are vast benefits waiting for you and your family when you decide to join one of Global Crossroad’s family volunteer work abroad trips. Global Crossroad offers you and your family the unique opportunity to travel abroad, embark on an adventure, and give back to a community of people and animals in need. Some of the rewards of a family volunteer vacation are as follows.

Eye-opening and educational experience for you and your children: Exposing your children to different cultures, traditions, languages, and histories will broaden their horizons and make them wo5rldlier. Giving them the opportunities to work with people who are less fortunate will teach them gratitude and compassion. Experiencing different ways of life will instill in them tolerance. There are endless valuable life lessons to be learned while on an overseas family volunteer trip.

Family bonding experience: A family volunteer vacation is an excellent opportunity to spend some quality time with the people whom you love the most. You will surely strengthen your family bond by volunteering and traveling together.

Develop valuable life skills: During your family volunteer trip abroad, you and your children will learn and strengthen leadership, communication, social, organizational, and traveling skills. You might also take away and bring home a new passion for something like teaching or working with animals.

Create long lasting family memories: This will surely be an experience you and your family will never forget. You will feel part of something truly special when you embark on your family volunteer abroad trip. You will leave a positive mark on the lives of the people and animals that you touch and that will be something that will stay with you and your family forever.

Cultural and Language Immersion: Between volunteering and exploring, you and your family will become immersed in the culture of the country that you visit. This is a special opportunity to experience a life that is truly different from yours. It will be fascinating to embrace the culture, traditions, religions, and histories of a new country. A family volunteer abroad opportunity is also a great time to learn and practice new language skills.

Why Choose Global Crossroad?

Global Crossroad has been helping family groups embark on family volunteering abroad trips since 2003. We are highly experienced in helping all different types of families choose and apply for the best family volunteering opportunity in the best location based on the specific needs and interests of the family.

Our Experience

We have placed over 20,000 volunteers in nearly a 100 different programs in 18 different countries since 2003. Our constant mission is to provide families with the safest, most affordable, and most memorable experiences overseas.

We test everything out first to ensure it meets our high standards. Our directors and staff have traveled to the different program destinations, have stayed in the different accommodation choices, have eaten the various food options, and have participated and inspected each project. You and your family can rest assure that your trip will be exceptional.

Our team has helped thousands of first-time travelers. Our in-depth knowledge and experience is what allows us to provide you and your family with the best service, support, recommendations, and advice.

Our Highly Rated Programs

While there are hundreds of different volunteer and travel companies, we pride ourselves on being on top. We guarantee the most exceptional service from the initial application process to the last day of your family volunteering overseas trip. Our local and international staff prides themselves on facilitating a rewarding and memorable family volunteer trip for you and your family. It is our hands-on and personal approach that has kept us highly rated and at the top of reviews and recommendations for over a decade.

Price and Value

Global Crossroad offers some of the most affordable overseas family volunteer trips. We strive to keep our prices low so that our trips are affordable for families. It is our goal to inspire families to venture out in the world, have an adventure, and lend a helping hand.

Most other volunteer organizations change as much as $2500 for a two-week program. Our programs start as low as $99 (plus a $299 registration fee). With Global Crossroad, there are also no hidden fees. Our transparent fees cover all expenses like airport pickup, meals, accommodations, project donation, and local support.

While our prices may be low, our family volunteering trips are high quality!

Global Crossroad is an American Company.

Global Crossroad is a US based company and registered with the state of Texas. Federal and local laws govern us. What is important about this fact is that should something go wrong during your family volunteer abroad trip and you are volunteering for a foreign organization, they may not do anything to help you. As a US company we are fully responsible.

Our Grassroots Approach

We are fully committed to serving the communities where we work. In 2005, we collected and donated nearly $200,000 dollars for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. We typically place our volunteers with organizations that are in desperate need of volunteers and resources. We have to take care of those who need to be taken care of the most.

Customize Your Family Volunteer Trip

We are happy to help you create the perfect family volunteer overseas experience based on your family’s specific needs, interests, and skills. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. Our local in-country coordinator is a professional at picking the best local organizations and projects for each volunteer and or family. You will receive all the details of your family volunteering abroad vacation prior to your departure for your adventure.

Expert Coordinators

Our team is composed of highly experienced international coordinators who understand how to effectively and successfully operate family volunteer programs. Most of our in-country coordinators supervise local organizations. Global Crossroad also works directly with local schools, orphanages, and community organizations in each country. We have a personal and strong relationship with the local organizations and projects that we send out volunteers to.

Our staff and in-country coordinators are the best in helping you address any issues or concerns that you might have prior or during your family volunteering abroad vacation.

Responsibility

We are dedicated to ensuring that our family volunteer programs are of the highest quality. We work closely with our partners in each country to ensure that all family volunteer projects meet our high expectations. We also brief all volunteers on our expectations and standards prior to beginning a family volunteering work opportunity to ensure that everyone is on the same page. We measure the long-term impact of our programs and we work with community stakeholders to understand how specific programs support local needs. Our Head of Sustainability and Risk overseas this section of our company.

How Our Family Volunteer Abroad Programs Work

Each family volunteering abroad program will differ in its specific itinerary, but the general outline of the programs are the same. It is our mission at Global Crossroad to provide you and your family with the safest, most affordable, and most memorable family volunteer vacation. Below is a sample of what your program will likely follow.

Orientation 1-7 Days: All family volunteering opportunities begin with an orientation. The length of your orientation will vary depending upon your chosen country. A short orientation will introduce you to the culture, traditions, religion, safety issues, and day-to-day life of your country. A longer orientation will include a one-week language and cultural immersion program.

Volunteer Commitment 4 Days-12 Weeks: You will volunteer in your chosen project for your chosen amount of time. This is the core of your family volunteering abroad opportunity. Global Crossroad has almost a 100 projects to choose from, ranging from teaching English and working with orphan children to animal conservation and community development projects. Global Crossroad will provide all of the necessary information (food, safety, accommodations, location, etc.) prior to your arrival.

Travel Experience 2-12 Days: After you have completed your volunteering commitment, you and your family will embark on an adventure to explore your country’s most popular destinations, landmarks, and activities. Each country will vary, but there are opportunities to explore forests, beaches, historical sites, cities, and more. Global Crossroad is very experienced in ensuring you have the best possible opportunities to get the most out of your time abroad.

If you are a group of three or more, Global Crossroad can help you completely customize your travel, adventure, and volunteer portions of your trip. Get ready for an unforgettable experience!

Family Volunteer Abroad Trip Options

Global Crossroad has been offering family volunteer abroad programs in 18 countries since 2003.

Global Crossroad programs offer very flexible start date for family volunteer trips. Your family can start your chosen volunteer program at any day, however, still we prefer it if you start your program on Monday.

Since 2003, Global Crossroad has been offering safe, highly rated, and affordable family volunteer abroad programs. The program fee start as low as $99 (plus registration fee). We strive to keep our costs low so that our volunteers benefit from the lowered program prices. The humanitarian side of the business is our passion.

Global Crossroad's family volunteer vacation application/registration fee: US $299.

The application fee covers our cost of advertising, program promotion, and office expenses (rent, utilities, and staff salaries in USA office).

In addition to the application fee, you and your family are required to pay a weekly program fee, You will pay your weekly fee directly to our country coordinator. He allocates the fee to host families (room/food), projects, and logistic support. This way, the fees you pay will benefit those who deserve it and not for company profit.

Please follow the links to learn more about the fees

Family Volunteer Abroad Accommodations and Meals

When you join any of the Global Crossroad family volunteer programs, we will set up your accommodations and meal plans. Depending upon the country or the project that you and your choose, will either live with host family, in a volunteer house, at hostel, economy hotel, or cabin. Where ever you end up staying, your family will be provided with safe, clean, and comfortable housing.Many families prefer to stay with a host family for cultural immersion. Please let us know if you have special preference for accommodation.

Similarly, in most of the countries, your program fee covers three meals (breakfast, launch, and dinner). You will always have fresh and nutritious local meals. If you stay with a host family, your family will most likely be preparing your meals for you and your family.

Family Volunteer Abroad Free time

Free time is also a very important part of family volunteer programs. Depending upon the project or country, your family will work as a volunteer for 4-6 hours a day (5 or 6 days a week), and then the rest of the time is your free time. Your family can use this time for relaxation, language study, or exploration of the local areas and tourist attractions.

Family Volunteer Abroad Safety and Field Support

Our number #1 priority is the safety of our volunteers. Global Crossroad is a leading volunteer organization serving thousands of volunteers. We pride ourselves on providing the safest, highest quality, and most professional family volunteering abroad programs to our volunteers since 2003. Our dedicated team works closely from start to finish with each volunteer and their family to ensure a successful, satisfactory, and safe volunteering experience.

Below is a list of our safety and field support features that will demonstrate the level of support and safety each of you and your family will receive while on a family volunteering abroad trip.

1. Country Coordinator and Field Staff: In each country, where we operate, we have a very strong and dedicated team of country coordinators and local staff members to support and take care of you and your family. All of our country coordinators and field staff are highly experienced and responsible individuals. They have been running family volunteer abroad vacations for many years. They have served thousands of volunteers and their families, so they understand your needs and know how to run safe, rewarding, and meaningful overseas family volunteer trip for for you and your family.

Our In-country staff is responsible for a number of things. Below are some of the main services that they will provide:

• Airport pick-up and transfer to host family or work site
• Management of room and food in host family/hostel
• Orientation of local country, culture, host family, safety, and related issues
• Introduction to host family and project staff
• Periodic follow up visits or calls (1-2 week intervals) to ensure everything is going smoothly
• Advice for solving any issues, problems, or concerns

2. Airport Greeting: We are dedicated to keeping you and your family save and comfortable from the point of arrival until the point of departure. We will always receive our volunteers at the airport and transfer them safely. Depending upon the country in which you and your family choose to volunteer, our coordinator, local staff, or a professional transfer company employee will greet everyone at the airport.

3. Orientation and safety discussion:  Regardless of where you and your family join the Global Crossroad family volunteer abroad program, our program starts with an in depth discussion on safety, history, cultural people, religion, life, and do’s and don’ts.  Depending upon the country, these orientation programs range from a few hours to seven days.  During orientation, we explain the different aspect of safety and general guidelines to help keep you and your family safe while on your family volunteering work abroad trip.

4. Safe Host Family and Accommodation: While on your family volunteering abroad trip, the majority of the time you will reside with a local host family, hostel, or similar accommodation.  We always carefully select the host families and other forms of accommodations to make sure that you and your will be safe and comfortable. In all destinations, we have selected host families who are socially respected and responsible. Most of our host families have hosted international volunteers before, so they completely understand yours and your family’s needs. Your host family will always take care of everyone and keep you and your family safe.

Similarly, all of our volunteer houses and hostels are located in very safe locations.  These hostels are always guarded by security guards or supervised by the local staff very frequently to make sure that you and your family are safe and secure.

5. Comprehensive Insurance and Evacuation Plan: While on a family volunteering abroad vacation, everyone will be covered by international insurance. This protects everyone in case something unforeseen happens. It is mandatory that all volunteers obtain a travel insurance policy when joining a family volunteering abroad trip. Global Crossroad offers one of the most comprehensive insurance packages from a third party. Our insurance policy provides excellent protection in the event that a health-related issue occurs, an accident, or other unpredictable incidences.

6. Placement with Other Volunteers: Global Crossroad is happy to place you and your family with other volunteers (depending on availability) if this is something that would make everyone feel safer.

Any international travel requires caution and awareness; family volunteering abroad is no exception. We suggest that all volunteers consult their own government advisory office before making the decision to participate in any overseas volunteering opportunities. International travel presents risks, especially with the modern day threat of international terrorism.

The U.S. State Department issues travel warnings and advisories in many countries for American travelers. These travel advisories and warnings frequently change, as situations in each country transform.

These links provide valuable travel information:
British Foreign Office Advice
American State Department Advice
Australian Government Advice
Canadian Government Advice

It is also wise to consult the Center for Disease Control for health related information and issues that might come up during your time family volunteering abroad. Check out www.cdc.gov for possible health risks. One must also keep in mind that the sanitary conditions in developing countries are likely very different from those in your home country. It is also strongly advised that you do not drink the tap water and do not eat food from street vendors.

Our in-country coordinator is available, to ensure everyone’s safety, comfort, and satisfaction while part of a family volunteering abroad experience. You will have all of the necessary contact information for that person prior to your arrival. Global Crossroad has been organizing overseas volunteering opportunities since 2003 and is adamant about providing you will all of the necessary information and support that will ensure you and your family has the best experience whether you commit to a family medical volunteer abroad program, a family volunteer with community development project, or a family teaching English overseas opportunity.