International student volunteers
Encyclopedia
International Student Volunteers (ISV) is a California
-based not-for-profit organization that provides educational volunteer and travel adventure programs to university students and youth internationally. ISV has offices in London and each ISV host country. ISV is also established in Australia as International Student Volunteers Pty Ltd with a head office in Sydney.
Founded in 1982 by Randy Sykes under the name ‘Youth in Action’, ISV has been offering volunteer and adventure programs since 2002. Since 2002 over 20,000 students have traveled with ISV and contributed nearly two million hours of volunteer service to projects in Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia, the USA, Thailand, Ecuador and South Africa. It has been selected as one of the top ten volunteer organizations by the International Voluntary Service Task Force, part of the US Center for Citizen Diplomacy.
Most of ISV’s participants are university students in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The ISV program is open to all interested individuals 18 and over (i.e. not limited to students), is offered during the summer months (both Northern and Southern Hemisphere summers), and is composed of a four or six week program in selected countries.
Projects may be conservation, humanitarian (social community development) or a mixture of both. Past projects have included children’s education programs, bush land regeneration, sea turtle conservation, working at Elephant Nature Park
, teaching English, house building projects, sustainable development and education projects and wildlife surveys and data collection. International Student Volunteers forms long-term relationships with many of the host organizations, such as with the Wild Mountains Trust, a non-profit organization in Australia focused on environmental education where ISV volunteers have been working for 8 years.
, glacier
treks, waterfall rappelling, cultural shows, etc.
However, it is an educational program for all participants regardless of whether or not they are earning credit. The program incorporates group discussions, daily journaling, guest speakers, etc., to facilitate and encourage participants to gain as much from their experience as possible.
, New Zealand
, Costa Rica
, Dominican Republic
, Ecuador
, South Africa
, Eastern Europe
and Thailand
.
ISV is represented on 800 Colleges and Universities across the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand.
ISV has offices throughout the world and is established as International Student Volunteer Pty Ltd (in Australia and New Zealand) and as International Student Volunteers Inc (in Ecuador).
University students around the world are starting up ISV campus clubs to promote volunteerism on a local and international level. ISV campus clubs have been established on 19 university campuses as of August 2009. These clubs aim to bring the values and lessons learned on the ISV program into a local setting.
In 2007, ISV students reached the milestone of 1 million hours of volunteer service.
In 2008, ISV volunteers planted nearly 140,000 trees for conservation efforts around the world, and built about 140 structures for communities in developing countries such as playgrounds, schools, housing and sanitation systems.
ISV's staff are first aid
certified and must pass an intensive training session run by ISV.
Because ISV is a California-based non-profit public benefit corporation 501(c), students residing in the USA may also raise funds for the program thorough tax deductible sponsorship donations. ISV is registered as a non-profit organization with the IRS in Yorba Linda, California. This is also where their United States office is located. As of March 2011, International Student Volunteers holds a Better Business Bureau
rating of 'A-' and has been accredited on their website since 1998.
International Student Volunteers has been featured in published books. ISV appears as a resource in the Lonely Planet
: Costa Rica guide book
. ISV is also discussed in a book that investigates the growing industry of volunteer travel
.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based not-for-profit organization that provides educational volunteer and travel adventure programs to university students and youth internationally. ISV has offices in London and each ISV host country. ISV is also established in Australia as International Student Volunteers Pty Ltd with a head office in Sydney.
Founded in 1982 by Randy Sykes under the name ‘Youth in Action’, ISV has been offering volunteer and adventure programs since 2002. Since 2002 over 20,000 students have traveled with ISV and contributed nearly two million hours of volunteer service to projects in Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia, the USA, Thailand, Ecuador and South Africa. It has been selected as one of the top ten volunteer organizations by the International Voluntary Service Task Force, part of the US Center for Citizen Diplomacy.
Most of ISV’s participants are university students in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The ISV program is open to all interested individuals 18 and over (i.e. not limited to students), is offered during the summer months (both Northern and Southern Hemisphere summers), and is composed of a four or six week program in selected countries.
Volunteer project
Participants spend their first two weeks in groups of about 10 plus an ISV leader/instructor, doing hands-on volunteer activities directly with selected partner host organizations. These are generally small, grass-roots organizations working to improve their local environment and/or the lives of the local community members. Some of the more internationally recognizable host organizations that ISV works with include: Habitat for Humanity, Conservation International and Conservation Volunteers Australia. ISV also runs several of its own grassroots volunteer projects internationally. ISV personally assesses each project that they choose for safety and sustainability, among other areas.Projects may be conservation, humanitarian (social community development) or a mixture of both. Past projects have included children’s education programs, bush land regeneration, sea turtle conservation, working at Elephant Nature Park
Elephant Nature Park
Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary and rescue centre for elephants in the Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai Province, approximately from Chiang Mai City. Founded in the 1990s, the project's aim is to provide sanctuary for distressed elephants from all over Thailand...
, teaching English, house building projects, sustainable development and education projects and wildlife surveys and data collection. International Student Volunteers forms long-term relationships with many of the host organizations, such as with the Wild Mountains Trust, a non-profit organization in Australia focused on environmental education where ISV volunteers have been working for 8 years.
Adventure tour
The second component of the program consists of two weeks of travel, exploration, discovery and adventure in the host country. Tour group sizes are generally larger, bringing together multiple project groups to meet and interact on the tour component. The tour is run and operated by ISV with an ISV tour leader. Participants travel extensively throughout their host country and learn about the environment and culture of the country, while they partake in activities such as white water rafting, city tours, horseback riding, snorkelingSnorkeling
Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...
, glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
treks, waterfall rappelling, cultural shows, etc.
Academic Credit
In 2009, 143 Universites offered academic credit through independent study. In addition to the option of independent study, since 2002 various Universities within the USA, UK and Australia have offered academic credit in accordance with the ISV Program Syllabus which has been approved by the accrediting institutions. The educational focus of the program is in the area of Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Development, capitalising on the program's many opportunities for experiential education in an international volunteer setting.However, it is an educational program for all participants regardless of whether or not they are earning credit. The program incorporates group discussions, daily journaling, guest speakers, etc., to facilitate and encourage participants to gain as much from their experience as possible.
Other points of interest
ISV currently offers programs in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
ISV is represented on 800 Colleges and Universities across the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand.
ISV has offices throughout the world and is established as International Student Volunteer Pty Ltd (in Australia and New Zealand) and as International Student Volunteers Inc (in Ecuador).
University students around the world are starting up ISV campus clubs to promote volunteerism on a local and international level. ISV campus clubs have been established on 19 university campuses as of August 2009. These clubs aim to bring the values and lessons learned on the ISV program into a local setting.
In 2007, ISV students reached the milestone of 1 million hours of volunteer service.
In 2008, ISV volunteers planted nearly 140,000 trees for conservation efforts around the world, and built about 140 structures for communities in developing countries such as playgrounds, schools, housing and sanitation systems.
ISV's staff are first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
certified and must pass an intensive training session run by ISV.
Because ISV is a California-based non-profit public benefit corporation 501(c), students residing in the USA may also raise funds for the program thorough tax deductible sponsorship donations. ISV is registered as a non-profit organization with the IRS in Yorba Linda, California. This is also where their United States office is located. As of March 2011, International Student Volunteers holds a Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
rating of 'A-' and has been accredited on their website since 1998.
International Student Volunteers has been featured in published books. ISV appears as a resource in the Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
: Costa Rica guide book
Guide book
A guide book is a book for tourists or travelers that provides details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide...
. ISV is also discussed in a book that investigates the growing industry of volunteer travel
Volunteer travel
Volunteer travel, volunteer vacations, voluntourism, or vacanteerism is travel which includes volunteering for a charitable cause. In recent years, "bite-sized" volunteer vacations have grown in popularity. The types of volunteer vacations are diverse, from low-skill work cleaning up local...
.