If you have realized the most satisfying things in life involve giving, then think about a volunteering vacation for you and your family. Traveling to destinations such as Peru, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cuba, Nepal, Brazil, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Jamaica, Romania, Ghana, Mexico, and China and getting involved in a community will teach you first hand about cultural-awareness and sustainability. No special skills are required and in some cases your expenses are fully deductible.Getting started:

• USA -
Explore your own backyard with opportunities from the Adirondacks and Rockies to the Everglades and pacific coast line. Start with researching opportunities and destinations, if your time is limited look into national parks nearby or an area of interest you have been meaning to explore and contact that organization. Some helpful links that will expand your horizons:

Sierra Club - Founded in 1892 the Sierra Club is the go-to source in environmental conservation that takes action. With hundreds of initiatives from energy to wildlife, joining the Sierra Club and getting involved is an endless learning experience. Their easy to navigate site allows you to start with your a desired State where you then can research their National Outing Programs (focusing on location learning) or their Service Trips (getting involved) and find the perfect match for you and your family.

Habitat For Humanity -Habitat has built more than 250,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. Though they offer international volunteering programs Habitat for Humanity offers a great local volunteer program that offers opportunities for giving and learning. From youth programs to Women Build Habitat has a program for individuals, families or church organizations no construction skills are needed and you can still make a great impact, all training will be provided. Habitat is great way to make an impact in a community and see your results first hand, so gather your friends or family and meet others to create not just shelter but a home.
American Hiking Society -The American Hiking Society offers a week of building and maintaining trails in exciting and diverse locations across the country. You will need to bring your camping gear, they provide the rest. When you visit this site you can choose your state as well as other options such as dates and they will provide you with choices to participate and information needed for the project such as difficulty, location information, and registration information. NATIONAL TRAILS DAY® Is American Hiking Society’s signature trail awareness program, National Trails Day® (NTD), inspires the public and trail enthusiasts nationwide to seek out their favorite trails to discover, learn about, and celebrate trails while participating in educational exhibits, trail dedications, gear demonstrations, instructional workshops and trail work projects. NTD also provides an opportunity to thank volunteers, land managing agencies, and outdoor-minded businesses for their support in developing and maintaining trails.

•INTERNATIONAL
Global Volunteers - has been quoted by USA Today as the “Granddaddy of the volunteer vacation movement” . Mobilizing more than 22,000 volunteers on six continents since 1984 these folks are a private, non-profit, non-sectarian, non-governmental organization engaging short-term volunteers around the globe. Volunteers work in close partnership with local people worldwide to uphold a simple philosophy of basically -A foundation for world peace can be built through understanding and respect fostered by service. Short-term volunteers can be important resources to community development projects and Self-reliance is the ultimate objective in development. Applying this simple philosophy allows you to understand and learn from other cultures while making a difference. Global Volunteers allows you to choose a continent then an area, choose a time frame then choose from a list of what you can do:
Teach Conversational English
Care For At-Risk Children
Paint, Build And Repair Buildings
Provide Health Care Services
Work With Infants and Toddlers
Work With Young Children
Work With Teens and Adults
Work With Community Elders
Sponsor A Child or Classroom
Stay Active and Help at Home
After you have made your choices you will see a list of projects that meet your criteria which then you can then request more information, or for you non computer people simply call 800-487-1074.
Visit Eco-Travel Guide for more ideas on eco-travel.