Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

Summer’s almost gone but that doesn’t mean cruise season is over. You can always find a warm port somewhere. And now you can also find some opportunities for volunteerism and charity as part of your vacation. USA Today printed a story with 10 cruises where you can give back. Here's some information on them: Crystal Cruises: On every cruise there are complimentary "You Care, We Care" excursions where guests and crew participate in volunteer activities. You can create crafts with the elderly in Cartagena, do a neighborhood cleanup in Puerto Vallarta or rescue sea turtles in Athens. On World Cruises, the line also has knitting or other crafting classes where guest make blankets for various children's charities around the world. MSC Cruises: The Italian-style line is a booster of UNICEF. The "Get on Board for Children" initiative encourages adult passengers on all the line's ships to make contributions. Plus there's a day of "edutainm...

Have you been looking forward to your vacation for months? Going to a new place in the states or to another country?   As of right now, we’re not planning to take a vacation unless it’s a weekend trip nearby, but I would love one day to do a volunteer vacation.   You can go as an individual, group or even as a family. Like any vacation, you get to see a new place but with volunteer vacations you can also make a positive impact on that place.   The opportunities range widely, from tapping maple syrup at a Native American reservation in America to constructing a health center in Kenya. The Volunteer Family provides a list of companies that give families an opportunity to do a project together.   That’s the kind of trip I would really like to take. Another good source is Volunteer Guide because it categorizes the type of projects so you can choose between animal welfare, helping children, community development, environmental protection, health and sa...