National and International Service Opportunities

There are many opportunities to participate in national and international service programs during or after your college career. Here is a sampling of national and international programs, we also have an extensive resource library in our office of brochures, books, and other resources. We suggest you search through some of these opportunities and find the right match for you. 

If you need further assistance finding the right opportunity contact Dan Colleran, National and International Service Coordinator, to discuss the possibilities at colleran@wisc.edu.

National Service Programs

AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a network of national one-year service programs that engage Americans in intensive service to meet critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. AmeriCorps members serve through more than 2,100 nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based organizations. They tutor and mentor youth, build affordable housing, teach computer skills, clean parks and streams, run after-school programs, and help communities respond to disasters.

City Year
City Year, an AmeriCorps program, unites a diverse group of 17 to 24 year-old young people for a year of full-time, rigorous community service, leadership development, and civic engagement.

Coro
Coro's mission is to strengthen communities and the democratic process by preparing individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena. Coro offers structured fellowship and internship opportunities in major U.S. cities. 

Jesuit Volunteer Corps
Jesuit Volunteers serve the homeless, the unemployed, refugees, people with AIDS, the elderly, street youth, abused women and children, the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled. JVC has become the largest Catholic lay volunteer program in the country. Social justice, simple lifestyle, community and spirituality are key components to JVC.

Lutheran Volunteer Corps
The Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) is a one-year domestic volunteer service program. It is for men and women who want to explore their spirituality while working for social justice, living in intentional community with other volunteers, and simplifying their lifestyles.

Student Conservation Association
Student Conservation Association (SCA) is the nation's leading provider of conservation service opportunities, outdoor skills and leadership training for young women and men. Every year, in all 50 states, thousands of high school, college, graduate students and others join together through SCA to care for our national parks and forests, historic and cultural resources, and urban green spaces.

Teach for America
Teach For America (TFA) is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand opportunity for children.

International Service Programs & Information

Amigos de las Américas
Amigos is an international, nonprofit organization that was founded in 1965 and has 40 years of experience in facilitating community development programs.  We train and provide opportunities for high school and college students to participate in service projects in Latin America.  We are dedicated to building partnerships to empower young leaders, advance community development, and strengthen multicultural understanding in the Americas.

Center for Cultural Interchange
Established in 1985, The Center for Cultural Interchange (CCI) is a non-profit international education exchange organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding, academic development and world peace. CCI’s Volunteer Abroad programs combine rewarding service work with unmatched opportunities to learn about fascinating cultures from the inside, instead of just through the windows of a tour bus.

Cross-Cultural Solutions
CCS's mission is to operate volunteer programs around the world in partnership with sustainable community initiatives, bringing people together to work side-by-side while sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding. We are an international not-for-profit organization with no political or religious affiliations.

Global Volunteers
At the request of local leaders and indigenous host organizations, Global Volunteers sends teams of volunteers to live and work with local people on human and economic development projects identified by the community as important to its long-term development. Our trained volunteer coordinators will help you select a service program that suits your abilities and interests.

Global Volunteer Network
The Global Volunteer Network (GVN) is a private nonprofit based in Wellington, New Zealand. GVN currently has volunteer positions available through partner organizations in China, Ecuador, Ghana, Nepal, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Thailand and Uganda. Their vision is to support the work of local community organizations in developing countries through the placement of international volunteers.

Go Global! The International Careers Website (Coordinated by UW-Madison Global Studies Program)
A compilation of resources about programs that combine service-learning or volunteerism with travel opportunities.

Idealist.org (Action Without Borders)
Idealist.org lists over 32,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 153 countries, which you can search or browse by name, location or mission. It also lists volunteer opportunities in your community and around the world, and a list of organizations that can help you volunteer abroad. Additionally, it has a Nonprofit Career Center, with hundreds of job and internship listings.

Info Nepal
INFO’s mission is to provide volunteers with a customized program that will enable them to make an important contribution to the people of Nepal, while gaining an in-depth experience of Nepal's language and culture, that will stay with the volunteers for the rest of their lives. 

International Partnership for Service-Learning
Offered in 14 countries, IPS-L programs unite academic study and volunteer service, giving students a fully integrated study abroad experience. By studying at a local university and serving 15-20 hours per week in a school, orphanage, health clinic or other agency addressing human needs, students find their knowledge of the host culture - and of themselves - take on greater depth and meaning.

i-to-i
i-to-i provides TEFL training (Teach English as a Foreign Language) for travelers and recruits international volunteers to teach English, work in conservation and community development, or gain experience in media, medicine or business. Programs run from 2 weeks to 6 months.

LaGloria English School
Isla Mujeres, Mexico, is a prospering tourist destination, but many of its native Mayan residents struggle with poverty. Learning English will help them to better support themselves now, and create a future for their children. With this in mind, in 2004, the La Gloria English School was established. The Friends of La Gloria English School Inc is the U.S. non-profit organization set up to support it.

Service-Learning in Costa Rica: Rainforest Science & Policy Interfaces (UW-Green Bay)
This service-learning travel course puts UW-Green Bay’s vision and values into action by inviting students and faculty from a broad cross section of disciplines to participate in hands-on service-learning with the facilities and staff of the Carara National Park in Costa Rica.

The Division of International Studies, UW- Madison
The Division of International Studies is the campus-level office that coordinates international activity at the UW-Madison, promotes international education in all schools and colleges, and promotes cross-college cooperation.

Peace Corps
Peace Corps volunteers serve for two years in countries around the world. Currently, 6,678 Peace Corps volunteers are serving in 70 countries, working to bring clean water to communities, teach children, help start new small businesses, and stop the spread of AIDS. Since 1961, more than 168,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, serving in 136 nations. Volunteers receive intensive language and cross-cultural training in order to become part of the communities where they live. They speak the local language and adapt to the cultures and customs of the people with whom they work.

Peace Corps @ University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison has consistently had the greatest or one of the greatest number of Peace Corps volunteers currently serving overseas. You can reach the UW-Madison campus recruiter for the Peace Corps at peacecorps@cals.wisc.edu, or stop by the office at Agriculture Hall Room 240. Brochures and applications are also available in the Morgridge Center.

SOS Children's Villages
SOS is an international nonprofit organization building homes and communities for orphaned and abandoned children. We have 456 villages in 132 countries, and have been operating around the world for more than 60 years.  In addition to providing loving homes for these children, we work in the community to provide education, health care, vocational training, and family strengthening. SOS Children's Villages has a long-standing role providing emergency relief as well. 

Transitions Abroad
This magazine and website is a guide to volunteer, work and study abroad, immersion travel overseas and international living.

Travel Alive
International volunteering through travel alive offers travelers an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live, work, and study in another culture experiencing life from the viewpoint of local residents and new found friends. Participants live in a Latin American community either in Nicaragua or Ecuador, where they can study with native teachers to improve Spanish language and communication skills, and give back to a deserving community as a volunteer. Travel Alive hosts a diverse range of participants including students, professionals, seniors, groups, and families.