When the following Forbes article by Rebecca Ruiz “Eight Hot Spots For Volunteer Travel” arrived in my Outlook, I was intrigued. The teaser read:
These trips will improve your cultural literacy and likely make you a better business leader.

Could we be looking for something bigger than our daily lives and jobs?

A Travelocity survey of 1,017 people in late 2007 found that 17.7% of respondents had previously taken a vacation with a volunteer or philanthropic component. Of those, trips with a focus on conservation, education and health care were the most popular.

There are a number of references and sources in the article but one that caught my attention was the Cross-Cultural Solutions , a recognized leader in the field of international volunteering, with over 4,000 volunteers each year. Founded in 1995, CCS is international not-for-profit organization with no political or religious affiliations.

Most “voluntourists” prefer philanthropic traveling to traditional vacations, and executives are no different. Executives frequently hope the experience will further define their career, according to Dava Antoniotti, director of program enrollment for CCS.”A lot of people are used to the daily grind, and they’re questioning the direction of altruism in their careers,” says Antoniotti. She notes that executives often find trips more fulfilling than just donating money, and that some take their families as well.

We are all looking to create meaning in our lives and we would love to do this at work. As the title of my post suggests, I think that this is a wonderful way for us all to get beyond ourselves and our own privileged life.  That said, isn’t it sad that we don’t look closer to home to find a way of giving back?  Instead of only looking to leave a legacy through volunteering during one’s vacation, executives should seek out the opportunities to build a legacy in their own organizations.