There are lots of meaningful goals for a travel experience with girl scouts. You can visit colleges, learn about history, experience another culture and attend a special event but one of the most amazing trips we ever took was to volunteer at a camp for kids with life threatening diseases and their families.  The girls worked really hard and came home with an incredible sense of accomplishment and appreciation for their own lives and health. I can honestly say that it was a life changing experience for all of us. We combined the service with a trip to Boston to see colleges, walk the freedom trail and have fun and it was a great trip!

Any place you are traveling probably has organizations that could use some help. Contact the local girl scout council for some ideas, have your girls investigate what kinds of camps and shelters are nearby and plan to spend some time making a difference in the world!

Those who say that “it is better to give than to receive” may well be right when it comes to the personal satisfaction you will get from giving of your time and services during a volunteer vacation. Not only do you gain the invaluable experience of travel, but more often than not you are immersed in a local culture, meeting local people and sharing their lives. At the end of the stay, your greatest reward will be to know that you have made a difference in the lives of others (and they in yours), contributed to their community and helped sustain their development. By Charis Atlas Heelan, Frommers

• Discover Corps inspires travelers to become advocates for our planet’s natural wonders, cultural treasures, and local communities through immersive and sustainable vacations with purpose.
• GoOverseas.com has virtual volunteer options as well as ecological trips and links to other educational and volunteer trips.
• Homebuilding with Habitat for Humanity – Our houses are simple, decent, and affordable to low-income families around the world. See what Habitat houses are like around the world.  Whenever possible, we build sustainable, energy-efficient and healthy housing. Learn more about our construction technologies.
• Camp Sunshine – Casco, Maine – Camp for children with life threatening diseases and their families. 
• The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) conducts summer camps for special needs children affected by neuromuscular disease. Camp activities can include sports, arts and crafts, talent shows, and cookouts. Volunteers give both physical and emotional support to their camper, and training includes wheelchair techniques, lifting and transfers, personal hygiene, and emergency procedures. Camp dates and locations can be obtained from your local MDA representative.
• Easter Seals camps serve people with physical or cognitive disabilities. Activities at these camps for children with special needs range from nature studies and aquatics to adventures such as canoeing and rock climbing. To learn about locations and volunteer opportunities, contact one of the many camp locations and ask to speak to the camp director.
• Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times offers activities to kids and teens who have or have had cancer. The camp is located in the pine-filled valleys of the San Jacinto Mountains in Southern California. Volunteers are asked to commit for one nine-day session, including two days of on-site staff training and orientation.
• Camp Ronald McDonald at Eagle Lake provides traditional camping activities for children with physical, emotional, developmental, or medical needs. The camp is located in Northern California on the shores of Eagle Lake in the middle of Lassen National Forest.
• Camp C.A.M.P. (Children’s Association for Maximum Potential) seeks volunteer camp counselors age 14 and older for its five-day summer camp sessions for children with special needs and their siblings. Counselors receive pre-camp training in health, safety, daily living needs of the special-needs camper, and helping participants to have fun. Programs take place in Center Point, Texas, along the Guadalupe River.
• The website http://www.kidscamps.com/specialneeds-camps.camp allows you to search for camps serving children with particular special needs, such as camps for children with visual impairment, camps for children who have suffered burns, and camps for children with developmental disabilities. After clicking on the special-needs area of interest, you can click on a state to view camps in that region.

Alternatively, you can search for volunteer counselor opportunities based on the special-need served by the camp:

• burn victim camps
• cancer victim camps
• developmental disability camps
• diabetes camps
• epilepsy camps
• learning disabilities and ADHD camps
• physical disabilities camps
• speech and hearing impairment camps
• visual impairment camps
• weight loss camps

• Transformational Journeys dedicated to overseas travel and humanitarian service in the countries of Brazil, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, and Kenya.  Headquarters are in Kansas City, Missouri.
• Action Without Borders’ Ideas List (www.idealist.org) is a membership website that provides details about volunteering opportunities throughout the world. There are 51,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries listed, and you can search or browse by name, location or mission. Membership is free and you can choose to receive personal e-mail updates of options that suit your requirements or even post a volunteer profile so appropriate organizations can find you. There are links to volunteer programs abroad and family volunteering ideas. Depending on the particular project, ideally, volunteers are encouraged to stay for a minimum of two to four weeks.
• For the environmentally and socially conscious traveler, Earthwatch (tel. 800/776-188; www.earthwatch.org) volunteer expeditions allow you to select a project by month, geographic location or scientific field of study. These fields include archaeology, biodiversity, conservation, cultural diversity, endangered ecosystems, global change, oceans and world health. A one-week minimum time commitment is required.
• Global Volunteers (tel. 800/487-1074; www.globalvolunteers.org) offers a huge selection of volunteer vacations and their expansive network covers volunteer opportunities in 20 countries on six continents with projects including village construction, childcare teaching, environment, healthcare, and legal services.
  • Elephant Sanctuaries: Save Asian and African Elephants
  • Protect Wild Horses and Burros
  • Research and Protect Manatees
  • Bird Migration: Help Track Migratory Birds
  • Animal Havens: Rehab Rescued Animals at Wildlife Sanctuaries
  • Big Cat Rescue: Save Exotic Felines
  • Save the Rhinoceros
  • Whale Watching: Save Whales by Tracking Migration
  • Save Chimpanzees from Extinction
  • Help Park Services Preserve National Treasures
  • Conduct Environmental Studies Research Projects
  • Protect Endangered Animals
  • Save Bottlenose Dolphins
  • Save Sea Turtles and Sea Turtle Habitats
  • Save Vanishing Wetlands
  • Turn Deforestation Into Reforestation
  • Save the Rainforest
  • Restore Coral Reefs
  • Conserve Wildlife
  • Photojournalists: Use Photojournalism to Help Charities Tell Their Story
  • Volunteer on Vacation – lots more ideas!

You might also consider volunteering at one of our world centers for the summer! What a cool job that would be!