Bright Light Volunteers

Strong Connections

Bright Light Volunteers makes the world a brighter place by facilitating cross-cultural experiences between student volunteer groups and host communities abroad. Our mission is to promote international volunteerism and cross-cultural understanding and give students the ability to make a difference in a global way, develop international citizenship skills, and learn hands-on about other cultures.

We have developed strong relationships with a number of host communities, diligently working with them to identify key community needs and develop service projects that are safe, genuinely beneficial to the community, and promote sustainability. The communities in which we work are enthusiastic about sharing their culture and excited to have the help of volunteers to achieve their goals.

Careful Planning

Collectively, Bright Light Volunteers' team of staff bring over 15 years of experience organizing these service oriented excursions. Our focus is on the quality of the experiences and opportunities provided, not the quantity of programs offered. Our volunteer placements are designed to empower the host communities by providing funding and manpower to get projects done while at the same time taking care not to create dependency in the communities in which we work.

Authentic Experience, Profound Change

We are proud to offer quality, safe, and culturally-sensitive programs, working exclusively with student groups to provide authentic and meaningful cultural exchanges that will create a positive impact on the lives of all involved. Participation in our programs will change the way your students see and experience the world around them and give them the tools necessary to become leaders in the global community.

Our Core Organizational Beliefs:

Our volunteer excursions are customized for each particular group, working with the group leaders and the host community to structure a program that benefits all involved, while staying true to our core organizational beliefs:

• Volunteering abroad provides an opportunity to experience the world in a much deeper context than traditional tourism. It facilitates a cross-cultural awareness and understanding and promotes positive change in our global community.
• The global community is more interconnected and interrelated than ever before. Ideas, customs, money, and people traverse borders daily at ever increasing speeds. When students participate in international volunteer opportunities they are able to more fully appreciate how every act, whether at home or abroad, has a profound impact on all of the world's peoples.
• Volunteer activities shall always support the goals and initiatives of the host community. Sustainability must be a central theme to every volunteer project. The idea is to go into a community and offer knowledge and manpower to get projects done, using the host community's available resources while also conserving the environment and ensuring that the community's natural resources are not depleted.
• Cross-cultural experiences promote peace and unity among the world's peoples. When one can experience the truths, both the beauties and difficulties of another way of life, one is able to take that learned experience into the world and the work force, to be agents of change in their home communities.