"I found my life needed something to contribute to God’s green Earth and not only help my adventure-lust be fulfilled, but help others in the process.
So if you were like me, you probably have so many questions about how I am doing this and where to start. So many people talk about how bad the world is, but the answer is: You can change the world by taking action, and that action is volunteering. I didn’t want a simple volunteer job like planting a tree and that’s it. I’m not saying that’s bad or that there’s anything wrong with that, but I wanted something more from my volunteering. So I decided on volunteering at a community and helping others, not only the planet. So the first thing I did was pray. I prayed for inspiration and an answer. I waited a month to decide. I thought long and hard about it and just went for it.
The fact is, I was just as curious as you are now. The best way to start is research. Not only online, but visit your local library and get books, ask other volunteers, visit a community center and they could point you to who to contact. That should get you started on just what kind of volunteering you want to do.
I started on Peace Corps, but I needed something easier to begin on. Two years is a long commitment and I had never even left the country or did anything like this before. So I found Cross Cultural Solutions after more research and decided to try it out and picked Costa Rica for my first destination. http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org
After you find what you want to do, you need to figure out how much you will most likely need to fundraise, including airfare and traveler’s insurance. And if you can get a group of volunteers (friends and even family) to join, you can often get huge discounts!
I made various crafts to sell on Etsy and craft fairs and conventions and sold some of my collections of DVDs and items on eBay and Craigslist first. I wrote donation letters, asked local businesses to host an event night, and connected my blog with my facebook to share every blog entry so more people would read and follow me.
For motivation, I thought of being there and having a great time. I pinned photos of Costa Rica on pinterest and Instagram and my facebook. I read other volunteering blogs.
I hope to update my blog even as I am volunteering in Costa Rica for three months. Thanks for reading and subscribe to get updates and follow me!" =)
