At Give & Getaways we also support churches and individuals who wish to serve in a religious capacity.  Oftentimes individuals, couples or families can't get the time off to participate in their church's annual mission trip.  Or there are those who are interested in missions work but aren't ready to make a long-term commitment. 

At Give and Getaways, our mission is to awaken individuals to the plight of other cultures; to inspire individuals to help others in need… whoever they are and whatever their need and religious beliefs.

Here is a sample project looking for volunteers…

God’s Footprints in Nicaragua:  Helping to create a community for the underprivileged in Manchester and Tipitopa, Nicaragua.  From the ground up, building structures and providing support to children and families without shelter, food, and clothing. 

This non-profit began its work in Nicaragua by supporting a Pre-K, three level school in the barrio of Manchester (in the capital of Managua).  The school itself was started in February of 2006 and GFN has been supporting it since August of 2008.  In February, they began the new school year with 120 children; 4, 5, and 6 year olds.  After graduating from the 3rd level, they can then attend the community school, which all of their graduates have done.  They have 3 wonderful Nicaraguan teachers who take care of this.  They also have an Administrator over the whole program, which includes a feeding program for the school children plus some older very needy children next door to the school.  Additionally, there are sewing classes for older girls and women (21 registered for this new year). The graduates from 2008 all got jobs in the local clothing factory.  The 15 who graduated this December are now making clothes to sell.
 
In October 2008, Central America suffered from severe flooding.  Since the barrio of Manchester is located on the banks of Lake Managua, 75% of the families had to be evacuated and have since been relocated to a huge open field close to the town of Tipitopa some 50+ miles from Manchester.  Those families (360) are creating a community literally from the ground up:  Huellas de Jesus (that is the name the Manchester people named their section of the new community.....Footprints of Jesus). 

This project needs groups of volunteers to help with the development of the new community.  Lodging for volunteers would be in a shared dormitory style setting in hostels and ground transportation would be included.

Community Development in Vietnam:  Supporting orphans, disabled children and underprivileged peoples by building, painting, creating water wells and tanks.  Lodging is a shared room in a basic hotel and includes simple sightseeing, translator throughout visit, a Vietnamese phrasebook for each person, transfer from/to airport, and transfer from/to project site each day.

Again, VOLUNTEER WORK can be based on your skills or preferences or we can design a more general program for you.   We can also help to arrange vision trips if your overall goal is to observe first hand some of the work being done around the globe.  For example, if you have it on your heart to support orphanages in Romania, we can arrange a group trip to spend time visiting orphanages and meeting with the leaders there to learn about their needs.  Or perhaps you are most interested in seed capital grant programs in Africa.  We know of life changing programs there as well.  Whatever cause or country you are interested in, we would be honored to talk with you further.