Alternatives to the Peace Corps: A Guide of Global Volunteer Opportunities, 11th Edition (Paperback)

by Paul Backhurst (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Make Your Commitment Count! Want to work on a volunteer project that really matters but don't know where to start looking? Alternatives to the Peace Corps is the original resource for finding community-based, grassroots volunteer work-the kind of work that changes the world, one person at at time. Thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated in its tenth edition, Alternatives to the Peace Corps has:

* listings for over 100 carefully selected national and international organizations

* NEW tips on researching and evaluating organizations

* NEW help with budgeting and fundraising

* an extensive resource section full of books, websites, and organizations for further reading and research and much more. Whether you want to volunteer at home or abroad, and whether you can spend two years or two weeks, Alternatives to the Peace Corps will help you find a volunteer experience to match your highest ideals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Food First (October 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935028994
• ISBN-13: 978-0935028997
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #452,457 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Resource, January 29, 2009

By	Peter Bass - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An essential resource for anyone looking for volunteering, responsible travel or internship opportunities. Two-thirds of the book is simply a list of organizations that the author considers credible, with a short description and contact information for each. Opportunities range from the professional (Doctors Without Borders, and similar groups) to entry-level internships to glorified tourism. I found the book's analysis to be reasonable and practical, as far as could be seen from a simple read-through. I've been looking to get involved in this sort of work for some time, but I've always been wary of giving my time and money to an organization that I know nothing about. This book introduced me to several organizations that appear to be serious and to know what they're doing. Without this book, I likely would've joined the Peace Corps simply for lack of a better option (and I still might).

The first 30 pages or so is a series of essays on various aspects of volunteering, which, if nothing else, lets you know whether you can agree with the author's approach. The political analysis was on the liberal side, though many of the organizations listed are clearly not (Mennonites and other anabaptists were surprisingly well-represented). I highly recommend this book as an practical introduction to volunteering; I can't think of anything about it that could be improved.

8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT!, November 30, 2007

By	Margaret N. Lobenstine "Renaissance Soul" (AMHERST [Belchertown], MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One What could be more exhilerating than to live in a completely different culture, meeting completely different people, and contributing in a way that may be completely new to us? This book shows us lots of ways to do that without having to be part of a government program. In fact the biggest problem this book presents is how to choose which alternative to pick. Fortunately enough specifics are included to differentiate between the options and who says we can only do one?