Social
Our social responsibility starts at home through the pre-departure briefings we give to all our travellers. This helps our volunteers understand local customs and cultural etiquette and, thus, creates a positive and rewarding interaction with the host community. This could be as simple as learning how to say “please” and “thank you” in South America, or knowing how to dress respectfully in certain parts of Africa.
Our sports volunteer projects have a direct social impact in Africa, Asia and South America, whether it’s allowing young athletes to play more sport or providing teaching assistance in understaffed schools. Our staff also work directly with local people to ensure that the right help reaches the right areas. Our steady stream of volunteers from around the world ensures that these sports projects remain sustainable year after year.
Economic
We channel your funds into the local community by using local accommodation, food, equipment, transport, staff, social activities and much more besides. The spending power of our volunteers while abroad is also considerable, especially when enjoying personal travel, socialising and buying gifts and souvenirs. This is a big support for local tourism, businesses and families.
Part of the fee you pay goes directly into buying decent equipment for the community in which you work, such as sports kit or teaching materials. Our volunteers use this equipment during their projects and it is always left behind with the community afterwards.
Environmental
We are always trying to help reduce the negative effects of tourism on the environment. One way is to encourage all our volunteers to offset the carbon emissions from their flights. We also provide lots of pre-departure information on low impact tourism so you too can be a responsible traveller.
The Small Stuff
Although it’s not building schools or volunteering in townships, we try to do our bit back in the office! Whether it’s using recycled paper, drinking fair trade tea with our elevenses or organising sponsored runs for our staff, we believe the small stuff counts too!