National Geographic Traveler Magazine

In Traveler On Campus's debut issue, writer Daniel Chang reports on a different kind of vacation—a volunteer trip, where instead of lounging on the beach for a week, you're teaching English in India, promoting environmental education in Mexico, or assisting a doctor in Kenya, to name a few of the many experiences out there. Here we offer a guide to companies that offer various volunteer trips throughout the world.

CharityGuide.org
Assist various charities, from helping orphaned children in Poland, India, and Romania to caring for endangered animals in Australia, Costa Rica, and Belize.

Council on International Educational Exchange
Work on team-oriented projects—building a playground for kids in Wales, protecting marine life in Mexico, and renovating a 19th-century French museum—in more than 30 countries.

Cross-Cultural Solutions
Work side-by-side with local people in schools, nursing homes, and more, in such countries as Costa Rica, Brazil, China, and Ghana.

Earthwatch Institute
Embark on field-research projects, including tracking wildlife in Alaska to chart conservation efforts and unearthing artifacts from early inhabitants in India.

Explorations in Travel, Inc.
Promote environmental education in Mexico, care for sick children in Nepal, maintain an organic farm in New Zealand, and more.

Global Volunteers
Work in the fields of child care, teaching, environmental study, construction, and health care, in the U.S. and abroad.

Habitat for Humanity International
Help build houses for needy families in more than 100 countries.

Idealist.org: Action Without Borders
Join up with one of the 40,000 nonprofit and community organizations listed here to assist on projects and humanitarian efforts in 165 countries.

International Volunteer Programs Association
Paint Aboriginal houses in Australia, teach English in Tanzania, crusade for minorities' equal rights in Serbia, and more.

VolunteerAbroad.com
Work with special needs children in India, build sanctuaries for bears in Croatia, harvest rice with local farmers in Thailand, and more.

Volunteer America
Maintain hiking trails, work as an interpreter for foreign visitors, assist local visitors, and more, on various public lands in the U.S.

VolunteerMatch
Mentor children with incarcerated parents in Washington, DC, deliver meals to the needy in Los Angeles, referee a charity basketball tournament in Portland, and more. Includes a search engine that enables users to find volunteer opportunities close to home.

Voluntouramerica.com
Build new infrastructure in Nicaragua, construct homes in San Diego, and more; trips are all scheduled over holiday, summer, and spring breaks.