Global Volunteers

Located in the Little Canada neighborhood, this non-profit organization that arranges short-term volunteer vacations (or volun-tourism trips). A pioneer in the industry, the company was the first to offer such trips, and today it has volunteers in more than 19 countries across the globe. Trip options include a one-to-three-week stint in Rarotonga, where volunteers live the locals walking, biking, or taking public transit from a modest waterfront hotel to the daily worksite. Work ranges from reading to schoolchildren to curating library collections at the local historical society, even clearing trails at a conservation site. The company was granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations in 1999 and UNICEF in 2008.