BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES, August 31, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- As high school graduates and young adults explore the many options for their gap year, volunteering abroad emerges as an unparalleled choice. Offering a transformative blend of adventure, personal growth, cultural immersion, and meaningful impact, volunteering abroad presents a unique opportunity for young individuals to make their gap year a life-changing experience. For many students, a gap year is their first attempt at a solo trip abroad, especially because volunteer travel is one of the most affordable and safest ways to see the world.

Volunteering abroad elevates the gap year experience. Instead of just traveling, participants engage in projects that directly contribute to local communities, wildlife conservation, education, healthcare, and various other vital sectors.

Here are seven reasons why volunteering abroad is a great option for a gap year:

1. It’s Cheaper Than the Cost of Living in the US.
The cost of volunteering abroad for one year is lower than the average cost to live and study in the U.S. for a year. The average cost of living in the U.S. combined with college tuition for a year is around $106,000 while volunteering abroad for a year costs around $15,000.

2. Immerse Yourself in a New Culture.
Taking a gap year abroad allows people to get immersed in the life of the local community and build meaningful relationships. During volunteering, they’ll have the chance to connect with volunteers from all over the world, local community members, the people running the volunteer project, or the community members they’re volunteering with.

3. Create Unforgettable Memories
Not only will people have the chance to take part in numerous wonderful activities and adventures, but imagine sharing stories with their friends and family about teaching English to children in rural villages, helping with wildlife conservation efforts, or providing much-needed healthcare to small communities. The stories they'll gather during their volunteer journey will be unlike any others.

4. Develop Your Professional Skills
Depending on someone’s volunteer work, they could gain practical skills like project management, teamwork, leadership, event planning, and more – all of which are highly valuable in any professional setting. Whether planning to work in healthcare, education, administration, or any other field, volunteer work will provide hands-on experience that will look great on any resume.

5. Expand Your International Network
Meet people from all walks of life, including other volunteers, local community members, and even professionals in the field while volunteering. As volunteers connect with people from different parts of the world, they become more knowledgeable about global issues, current events, and cultural developments, making them a well-rounded global citizen. These international connections can be incredibly valuable for their future career and their personal life.

6. Improve Your Language Skills
Being immersed in a foreign country is one of the best ways to learn or improve a language. Language skills will improve significantly as volunteers navigate daily life and engage with locals. While they’re abroad, they can oftentimes take language classes and immediately practice it once they head into town!

7. Learn More About Yourself.
Identifying what someone is passionate about can be a challenging task. Many students choose their college major based on what they perceive their interests to be at the time, but the truth is that they’re still evolving their interests and skills at this point in their life. A gap year allows people to explore their interests and experience new things!

United Planet long-term volunteer alumnus Isabella shares her gap year experience in Denmark: “Overall, taking a gap year helped me to grow and become surer of myself, to become more multicultural, and to add to my love for learning languages. While being the one person to take a gap year from my high school scared me and the idea of being away from home for six months was terrifying, in the end, I wouldn’t trade the experience of my gap year for anything.”

So, whether someone is seeking career development, personal growth, cultural enrichment, or simply an adventure that goes beyond the ordinary, a gap year dedicated to volunteering abroad offers a wealth of practical benefits that can set them on a path to success and fulfillment.

To learn more about gap year volunteer opportunities, please visit https://www.unitedplanet.org/gap-year-volunteering.

ABOUT UNITED PLANET

United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. United Planet offers personalized, immersive, service-learning, project-based learning, and experiential learning programs, including volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual classroom exchange in more than 40 countries. Volunteers and interns have helped address important global issues—such as health, children and education, and environmental sustainability while developing leadership and other 21st-century skills, building bridges across divides, and forging cohesive and productive cross-border relationships both in-person and online. For more information about United Planet, please visit www.unitedplanet.org.

Mohammad Hijazi
United Planet
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