Volunteering is a rewarding experience that has lasting benefits. For some, it’s an opportunity to make new friends and better understand other cultures. Others hope to find a personal connection with the people they help or want to experience something different from their day-to-day life. Whatever your motivation, Volunteer Abroad Programs can positively affect both you and the community you help.

Still, people who participate in one of the many Volunteer Abroad programs realize that they must raise funds to go overseas. Yet, fundraising isn’t something that many people do, so they might not know about unique fundraising ideas. In this article, we want to share the story of Kaitlyn Michalek. She raised funds with us doing a shoe drive fundraiser as she prepared herself for one of the volunteer abroad programs of Vida Volunteer.

Before sharing Kaitlyn’s story with her shoe drive fundraiser, let’s discuss the benefits of participating in volunteer abroad programs. The idea could be of interest to you.

1) Volunteering Changes Your Perspective

Volunteering abroad can make you feel like you’re making a difference. In the process, it may help you discover your purpose in life. It strengthens your character while allowing you to learn new skills. Further, it provides you with opportunities to travel and experience something entirely different from what’s typical at home. Another advantage of volunteering abroad is that it allows you to grow as a person.

If you volunteer overseas, it helps you become more self-aware and open-minded. As a result, it can provide valuable insight into how people worldwide think about their lives and their needs and give us a better understanding of our own culture. Remember, when Americans travel overseas, they take the ideas others think of the country with them. You’ll have the chance to see how other cultures live and understand how they view the world differently than Americans. You’ll also have many people asking you questions about America in the process.

2) You Have the Chance to Explore New Cultures

Volunteering abroad provides a wide range of benefits to the community you serve and you. For example, volunteering overseas can improve people’s lives in developing nations. As you might know, many Americans travel overseas to build houses, schools, and teach English. All of these activities offer people worldwide opportunities to better their lives. Of course, it also improves the lives of Americans who travel abroad to volunteer.

Volunteering abroad is an opportunity to explore a culture that isn’t possible by always staying in the U.S. As a result, you can experience another country’s cuisine, language, and customs. You may find that your volunteer activity improves your connections with other people you meet. You might even find that you better understand yourself through your time as a volunteer.

A Vida Volunteer’s Story in Guatemala

Now let’s share Kaitlyn’s story of her dental mission trip to Guatemala through Vida Volunteer. During the journey, Kaitlyn worked alongside a dental professional to provide free dental care and education to patients living in underserved communities in Sololá and Sacatepéquez. As mentioned earlier, volunteers who travel abroad often have to raise funds for their travel costs. Many ideas exist for raising funds. However, Kaitlyn decided on a shoe drive fundraiser.

Kaitlyn decided to do it because she heard from another student who successfully raised funds for their Vida trip by partnering with us. She also loved that the fundraiser supports micro-entrepreneurs in developing nations and helps people help themselves out of poverty. You see, when our partners do a shoe drive fundraiser, eventually, the shoes get consolidated and shipped to more than a dozen developing countries around the world.

One of the essential paths out of poverty is ensuring commerce. So, we partner with over 4,000 micro-entrepreneurs, and they sell the shoes in their communities for profit. Kaitlyn’s original goal was to collect at least 2,500 pairs of shoes. However, she received immense support from friends, family, and people in her community. She collected more than 4,000 pairs of shoes and received a check from Funds2Orgs for over $1,500.

How Kaitlyn Collected Shoes for Her Fundraiser

Kaitlyn found the best way to collect shoes in her community was by spreading the word through social media. She frequently posted on numerous community Facebook groups sharing her story and encouraging people to donate shoes at one of the donation boxes she set up at several stores. As a result, Kaitlyn received many messages and emails from people who wanted to help! She also had a phone interview with the local newspaper to have an article written about her fundraiser.

Kaitlyn explained the benefit of doing a shoe drive fundraiser seeing the good in the world—despite the news. She shared, “2020 was a rough year with the rise of the pandemic, increasing political tension with the presidential election, and the death of George Floyd. Yet I found myself uplifted more than ever as I received so many kindly written letters and generous money donations along with the thousands of shoes that had been donated towards my cause. The vast amount of love and support I received from my community made 2020 one of the best years of my life.”

As a result of the mission trip, Kaitlyn treated 68 patients at two clinic locations in Guatemala. She provided education on preventative dentistry. Kaitlyn assisted with various dental procedures, including prophylaxis, ultrasonic scaling, and tooth reconstructions. She said doing a shoe drive fundraiser for one of the volunteer abroad programs she selected was the highlight of her year.

Further, the trip helped Kaitlyn improve her Spanish-speaking skills. She learned about the systemic causes of health disparities in Guatemala and gained an appreciation for the things we often take for granted in the U.S. As Kaitlyn noted, those things are clean water, a stable and functional sewage system, and access to high-quality healthcare.

The Top Benefit of Going Abroad

As Kaitlyn’s story exemplifies, volunteering abroad can help you develop a new perspective on life and make you feel more fulfilled. People who volunteer abroad often describe the experience as “life-changing.” This change is likely because your experience overseas is different from what you’re used to at home. The sense of growth that accompanies this experience makes it worth it for many people.

Do you need help with your marketing and fundraising? If so, visit our free webinars and ebooks and make it a point to follow us on social on YouTube or Facebook.

© 2022 Funds2Orgs. All Rights Reserved.

The post Volunteer Abroad Programs: One Fundraising Story appeared first on funds2orgs.com.