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"Volunteer vacations" allow volunteers to spend a short but concentrated amount of their free time on projects that will benefit others, such as building low-income homes or helping with immunization campaigns. This concept of using one's recreational time for a more meaningful purpose than occupying a beach chair is not new, but its popularity has increased in recent years.

This article describes volunteer vacationers in the context of US national volunteering trends and research on volunteer motivations. The body of empirical research on volunteer programs grows at an exciting rate, and someday most likely will include a full understanding of how well volunteer vacations serve organizational needs, meet long-term goals and foster volunteerism. In the meantime, current research on the characteristics of successful volunteer programs can be used to evaluate this popular model to advance some preliminary hypotheses about benefits and drawbacks. This article focuses on how the needs and motivations of the volunteer vacationer have required organizations to change their internal climates, programs and recruitment strategies, with implications for how this might be applied to any type of volunteer involvement.

This article was published in e-Volunteerism: The Electronic Journal of the Volunteer Community. To learn more about e-Volunteerism or subscribe to the journal, visit its Website at http://e-Volunteerism.com

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