Yes. We believe that everyone has something valuable to contribute. If you do not have previous experience, we offer you the opportunity to have a great start with us. We suggest that you explore our programs to discover the range of opportunities available to you.

Yes. Many of our programs are designed to offer highly-skilled professionals the opportunity to contribute their expertise while growing professionally and personally. We suggest that you explore our programs to discover the range of opportunities available to you.

As of the date you submit your application to us you must be at least 18. There is no maximum age requirement. Whether you are a student or have recently retired, or whether you are a young professional or a middle-aged housewife, we encourage you to explore our programs and find an opportunity that is right for you.

No. We are an international organization offering programs for people of all nationalities. In addition, we can communicate with you in English, French or Spanish.

Washington, DC is one of the most important international volunteering centers in the world. Our network is strong and we have unparalleled resources at our fingertips. Most notably, the city is home to influential development organizations, government agencies, embassies, think-tanks and universities. We tap heavily into these networks to help us design safe, affordable and high-quality programs.

For our Immersion program, you will nearly always be living and working with other volunteers. For our Expedition program, you will be part of a group of eight to ten people led by our Expedition Leaders.

Yes. All groups, including couples, families and friends, can join any of our programs and participate together. Every year we have many corporate, university and religious groups of up to 60 people join our programs.

-For groups of less than six people, each person must complete their own application. Each person must tell us in their application the names of the other people in the group and any needed special arrangements (for example, a private bedroom for couples or identical work schedules).

-For groups of six or more people, contact us first for group application details.

As international travel and volunteering carry inherent risks, we cannot guarantee your safety. However, your safety is our top priority and we work hard to minimize the risks. We design our programs so that you are surrounded by five layers of protection:

1. Comprehensive program set up
All our programs are personally inspected by a member of our team who goes through an extensive field checklist. We evaluate the local staff, inspect the living facilities, ride the public transportation, speak to former and current participants, taste the food, visit the work sites and walk the neighborhoods, among many other activities. The program set-up process is long and thorough, but we consider it the most important part of our work. Our philosophy is to only offer placements where we would feel comfortable sending our own families.

2. Your preparation
When you sign up for a program we send you a Preparation Briefing. The briefing offers a wealth of information and helpful tips to help you prepare for your experience. Topics range from health, safety and visa issues to the local development challenges in your hosting community.

On Immersion projects we pair you with a UBELONG Mentor, a highly experienced member of our team who works closely with you throughout your UBELONG experience. From coordinating details like airport pickup and housing preferences to preparing you for your role as an international volunteer to guiding you through the many opportunities open to UBELONG volunteers, your mentor is there for you. 

On our Expeditions you work closely with your Expedition Leaders. They help you in all facets of your UBELONG experience, from pre-departure preparation to in-country guidance to post-placement support.

Additionally, prior to your departure you have a safety meeting with your UBELONG Mentor or Expedition Leaders. You go over staying safe during your placement, as well as tips for getting the most out of your experience. The meetings generally occur over the phone or Skype, but if you are in the same location as your UBELONG Mentor or Expedition Leaders they can occur in person.

3. Local partners
We work with a range of local partners, including community organizations, NGOs, private citizens and schools, because they are well positioned to look after your day-to-day safety and comfort. They have extensive local contacts, understand how things work on the ground and implement appropriate safety measures.

4. Continual program monitoring
We are proactive in identifying and dealing with issues that may affect your safety. We monitor local conditions where our programs are located and continuously communicate with our local partners to determine if any safety steps need to be taken. Our team also spends many months on the road every year supervising placements and checking the safety of our programs.

5. Communication with you
Throughout your experience, we work with our local partners to provide you with any assistance that you may need. Whether you have a question about where to travel on the weekend or have an issue that requires immediate assistance, staff is reachable 24/7.

We encourage you to connect with others in the rapidly growing UBELONG community. It is a great way for you to hear firsthand about what it is like to be a UBELONG volunteer, as well as a valuable networking tool.

There are three principle ways to meet UBELONG volunteers and reach out to them:

1. We frequently publish Volunteer Abroad Voices interviews in our news  and video section. These interviews are with former, current and future UBELONG volunteers, and give the interviewees the opportunity to publicly share their thoughts about being part of the UBELONG community.

2. Many people connect with each other via our rapidly growing UBELONG Facebook page. In particular, we suggest visiting the "discussions" tab and browsing through the topics. If you have a comment or question, do not be shy, start a new topic.

3. Read some of our volunteers' testimonials. Or, contact us and  we will  provide you with references. 

For all of our programs we require that you have travel medical insurance, including emergency evacuation, throughout your experience.

For our Immersion placements we do not include it because there are many different plans available and you know best what is right for you. Before your departure we will ask you for general information about your policy, but it is your sole responsibility to determine its adequacy and any associated details like coverage levels and deductibles.

For our Expeditions we include travel medical insurance, as it is more practical from a risk management perspective if the entire team has the same insurance carrier since the team will be travelling as one.

You are not "paying to volunteer." Among other services, you are paying for your pre-departure preparation with a UBELONG Mentor, project supervision, housing and meals. Additionally, your fee goes towards the extensive structure we put in place to support you. Offering safe, comfortable and meaningful volunteering experiences in developing countries takes an enormous amount of resources. From large details to ones you will never notice but that are still crucial, we make sure that you can focus on discovering new places and making a difference instead of worrying about logistics.

Additionally, in many cases it is significantly cheaper to volunteer on a UBELONG placement than traveling alone and trying to plan logistics like airport pickup, housing and meals on your own. For example, if you volunteer in Cambodia for one month you pay US$770 or about US$25 a day. Not even counting UBELONG services like pre-departure preparation, project supervision and volunteer flight discounts, it is very difficult to travel on your own and make US$25 a day give you the same comfort, security and support that UBELONG volunteers receive. 

To see how affordable our programs are, see our program  cost section.

A fundamental part of our mission is to offer the highest quality experiences at the lowest possible cost. We are able to do so for two principal reasons:

1. There are very few organizations offering one week to six month international volunteering opportunities. As a result, even those claiming to be nonprofit get away charging exorbitantly high prices. Strong demand and low supply means elevated prices.

We believe that a new approach is needed. We are a social venture, which means we aim to advance our social mission in a sustainable manner instead of widening our profit margins. Moreover, being led by former international volunteers with extensive academic, international development and management experience, we can keep our overhead costs low while focusing on the quality of our programs. Simply put, we do much more with much less.

2. The resources we have as a Washington, DC-based organization are unmatchable. We have access to embassies, governmental organizations, NGOs and universities that allow us to build the highest quality programs in the most cost-effective manner. Additionally, considering that the majority of international volunteers come from North America and Europe, our being a DC company led by North Americans and Europeans lets us reach volunteers very easily. Instead of spending resources on marketing we can focus on building our programs and supporting our volunteers.

To learn more about our core values, see our Why UBELONG section.

Expeditions are very different from Immersion placements. They have a strong academic focus and follow a planned itinerary. Expedition are organized educational trips with a full agenda of field activities which include project visits, class instruction, tutoring and mentoring, volunteer service and social outings. UBELONG invests significant time and financial resources to carry out each Expedition:

-Expeditions feature tightly knit teams of eight to ten people led by two highly qualified Expedition Leaders who travel with the team and provide 24/7 instruction, guidance and support.

-Whereas Immersion placements are in one location, for example Lima, Peru or Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Expeditions journey to many destinations. Expedition fees include these transport costs, which may include airfare within a country, bus rides and private car transport.

-Expedition fees include touristic visits, for example a tour of Iguazu Falls, Machu Picchu or the Taj Mahal. These visits also often include professional guides.

Nonetheless, when compared with other guided educational trips abroad, for example those offered by universities, UBELONG Expeditions remain extremely affordable for the extensive service they offer.

Yes, when UBELONG volunteers travel to and from their placements they are eligible to receive humanitarian flight discounts through Fly for Good, a leading provider of discounted airline tickets for international volunteers. 

Here is further information about our partnership with Fly for Good: 
 
Why did we choose to partner with Fly for Good?
-Fly for Good shares in our mission to make international volunteering more accessible. By helping to lower the cost of travel for volunteers, Fly for Good empowers more people to volunteer abroad.
 
-Fly for Good is made up of hard-working individuals who are genuinely dedicated to making the world a better place. In addition to their work providing airlines discounts to volunteers, they are actively involved in humanitarian work in both the United States and abroad. Simply put, they’re good people.
 
-Fly for Good shares our passion for excellent client service. Its team is experienced, friendly and driven to be the best in their field.
 
What are the benefits for UBELONG volunteers?
-Fly for Good works with over 20 major airlines serving points throughout the world. Chances are that if a humanitarian discount exists, it will be available to UBELONG volunteers through Fly for Good. Discounts can make humanitarian tickets significantly cheaper than the regular published fares.
 
-Groups of 10 or more UBELONG volunteers are eligible for humanitarian group discounts that may otherwise not be available to individuals or smaller groups.
 
-For complicated multi-leg itineraries or if help is needed in general, Fly for Good has travel agents that UBELONG volunteers can work with directly over the phone.
 
-If a humanitarian flight discount is not available, Fly for Good presents regularly priced tickets as any other online airline booking company would.
 
How does it work?
Upon joining a UBELONG program, we send volunteers the UBELONG access code for them to sign up on the Fly for Good website. If they purchase a humanitarian ticket, they should let us know so that we can email them a verification letter to be presented to the airline at the airport upon check in.
 
Important points to remember
-Humanitarian discounts are not available on all flights. In fact, most humanitarian discounts are only available on flights to Asia and Africa.
 
-Fly for Good does not always offer the cheapest tickets, so UBELONG volunteers should still explore other resources before booking their flight. In the Preparation Briefing that volunteers receive when they join a UBELONG program we give them an extensive list of ticket purchasing resources, in addition to Fly for Good.
 
-We do not receive any sort of compensation from Fly for Good for tickets our volunteers purchase through them. Our partnership with them is based solely on our belief in the good that they do and our dedication to offer UBELONG volunteers the best opportunities to get out and make a difference.

To learn more about Fly for Good, please visit their website.

The United States President's Volunteer Service Award was created by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation to recognize the contributions of American volunteers and encourage others to serve. There are various award levels, depending on the number of hours served, and the award package for UBELONG volunteers includes:

-A United State's President's Volunteer Service Award lapel pin.
-A personalized certificate of achievement.
-A congratulatory letter from the President of the United States.

UBELONG has been certified to give the award to UBELONG volunteers. UBELONG successfully passed the selection process as a U.S. based international volunteering organization committed to the highest standards.

The award can be bestowed to U.S. citizens, and we award it to UBELONG volunteers who have demonstrated a high commitment to helping advance the UBELONG mission of inspiring people of all backgrounds to volunteer abroad. UBELONG Campus Leader are eligible for the award, as well as UBELONG volunteers who share their stories in our Volunteer Abroad Voices interview series, which we publish in our news and video section.

Even with our programs being so affordable, we still offer numerous fundraising opportunities:

University students can become UBELONG Campus Leaders. If they recruit a team of eight or more of their classmates they do not pay the UBELONG fees.

Additionally, UBELONG alumni are invited to take part in our Share the Good Campaign whereby they can help us mobilize volunteers to support our programs. In return for their help we offer cash and discounts.

To learn more, see our UBELONG Fund section.

For most of our programs you can apply at any time. However, we suggest that you apply as soon as possible because our programs have limited capacity and fill up very quickly. To learn more about the application process, see our how to apply section.

Yes. We believe that discovering different places, experiencing new cultures and meeting other people are an important part of your experience. We encourage you to take advantage of your free time while you are in the field.