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Monday 8am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm Thursday 8am - 4:30pm Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Global Volunteers

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Global Volunteers

Working on six continents in over 100 host communities, we have engaged volunteers in life-affirming service opportunities since 1984.

Engaging volunteers under local leadership since 1984 on comprehensive development projects to create, nurture and sustain the wellbeing of the world's children. Global Volunteers is a private, non-profit (501C-3) tax-exempt organization working at the invitation and under the direction of local leaders to deliver the 12 Essential Services to partner communities worldwide.

08/25/2026

Every conversation has the potential to change something.

When volunteers help students strengthen their conversational English, they're doing more than practicing pronunciation or expanding vocabulary. They're helping build the confidence to ask questions, express ideas, and engage with the world in new ways.

Language can create opportunities that extend far beyond the classroom. It can support future education, broaden career possibilities, and help people connect across cultures with greater confidence and understanding.

Teaching conversational English is about more than words. It's about encouraging people to discover and use their own voice.

What skill has someone taught you that made a lasting difference in your life?

08/24/2026

What brings volunteers back year after year?

For many, it's not just the places they've served. It's the people they've met, the relationships they've built, and the opportunity to continue contributing alongside communities they care deeply about.

With every service program comes new experiences, new perspectives, and new opportunities to grow. Volunteers often describe returning home with greater confidence, adaptability, and a deeper appreciation for cultures different from their own.

If you've volunteered with Global Volunteers before, what is the biggest reason you would go back? We'd love to hear your story in the comments.

08/19/2026

Creating a better world doesn't always begin with a grand gesture.

Sometimes it begins with choosing to help one person. Sharing your knowledge. Offering encouragement. Saying yes to an opportunity to serve.

Meaningful change is built through everyday actions that ripple outward over time. A single act of kindness can inspire another. One volunteer can strengthen a classroom. One conversation can open the door to new possibilities.

Tag someone who inspires you to make the world a little better, one act of kindness at a time.

08/12/2026

A smile doesn't need a translation.

Some of the strongest connections are built without perfect words.

Volunteers often discover that while cultures and languages may differ, compassion, encouragement, and joy are understood everywhere. It's these moments of genuine human connection that make service so meaningful and memorable.

Because at the end of the day, kindness is something we all recognize.

Have you ever shared a meaningful moment with someone, even though you didn't speak the same language? We'd love to hear your story in the comments.

08/10/2026

Sometimes the decision to volunteer doesn't end with one service program. It becomes the beginning of a lasting relationship.

After retiring from a career in education, Karen joined a Global Volunteers service program in St. Lucia, expecting to make a difference for a short time. Instead, she found a community that felt like home.

Year after year, she returned to support students, encourage teachers, and build meaningful relationships with children and families.

Along the way, her commitment inspired friends and family to become part of the journey as well, supporting the community through fundraising and encouragement even when travel wasn't possible.

Her story is a reminder that the impact of service doesn't end when a program does. It continues through the relationships we nurture, the promises we keep, and the people we inspire to join us in making a difference.

One decision truly can create a ripple effect that reaches farther than we ever imagine.

08/07/2026

Big decisions often begin with small thoughts.

A quiet feeling that you want your time to matter more. A desire to experience the world differently. A curiosity about what might happen if you stepped outside your comfort zone.

For many Global Volunteers alumni, that's exactly how their journey began.

Volunteering abroad isn't about having all the answers or knowing exactly what to expect. It's about saying yes to growth, meaningful relationships, and the opportunity to contribute alongside communities working toward their own goals.

Which of these thoughts resonates with you most?

08/05/2026

Twenty years of service offers countless lessons.

Inspired by longtime Global Volunteers alumna Phyllis Thompson's reflections after 50 service programs, this post highlights three qualities that help make every volunteer experience more meaningful.

These values have shaped the experiences of volunteers around the world and continue to remind us that meaningful service is built through connection, openness, and shared purpose.

Which of these qualities do you think is most important when volunteering abroad: friendship, flexibility, or fun? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

07/30/2026

Some friendships begin in the most unexpected places.

Through service, people from different backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences come together with a shared purpose.

Years later, many volunteers still keep in touch with people they met while serving, a reminder that human connection is one of the most valuable gifts of the experience.

On this International Friendship Day, we're celebrating the relationships that continue long after the program ends.

Global Volunteers alumni, who is someone you met through service that you'll never forget? Tell us their story in the comments below.

07/27/2026

Meaningful change rarely happens all at once.

It starts with one child gaining access to support, encouragement, or opportunity. From there, the impact extends outward, strengthening families, empowering caregivers, and contributing to healthier, more resilient communities.

That’s the power of the ripple effect. When a child is given the chance to thrive, the benefits often reach far beyond a single life. Over time, small moments of support can lead to lasting change that touches generations.

At Global Volunteers, we’ve seen how investing in children can help create stronger futures for entire communities.

What’s one person who made a positive difference in your life when you were growing up?

07/22/2026

Some decisions shape your life in ways you could never predict.

For one volunteer, that decision was spending two weeks serving in Ghana as a teenager. What seemed like a short experience at the time became a foundation for personal growth, lasting friendships, greater confidence, and a deeper understanding of the world.

Service has a unique way of expanding perspectives. It challenges us to step outside our routines, connect with people from different backgrounds, and discover strengths we didn't know we had.

Years later, the lessons remain. Not because of how long the experience lasted, but because of how deeply it influenced the way she sees the world and her place within it.

Some of life's most important lessons aren't learned from a textbook. They're learned through experience, connection, and the willingness to say yes to something new.

What is one experience that changed the direction of your life?

Address

375 Little Canada Road E
Saint Paul, MN
55117

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8am - 4:30pm
Friday	8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+16514076100

Website

https://globalvolunteers.org/

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