Gap Year Volunteering: How You Can Give Back While on Break

The notion of a service gap year typically conjures up images of far-off destinations. But it’s entirely possible – and more affordable – to spend a gap year volunteering in your home country. Students who choose this option may have an easier time with the adjustment and potentially keep a part-time job. On the other hand, international volunteering opens you up to a different culture and way of life, and possibly the chance to practice a foreign language.

Despite the term “gap year”, time away from school doesn’t need to be a full 365 days. Many schools allow deferred enrollment or a break during degree programs for one quarter or one semester. At the same time, the entirety of your gap year doesn’t need to be spent volunteering. It can be nice to mix it up with a few months of a volunteer placement followed by some free travel or work time.

When deciding to volunteer for a gap year, it’s crucial to think about what kind of service you can actually provide. It might sound great to teach English in a foreign country, but if you don’t have any teaching experience, it’s probably not the best use of your time. Think not only about what skills you bring to the table but also what type of service is needed and where. Answering these questions will take dedicated research time.

Similar to considering how and where your skills are needed, you should also think about what kind of volunteer work interests you. Caring for children? Environmental conservation? Refugee relief? The possibilities are endless. At the end of the day, it’s important to find a volunteer opportunity that’s both good for you and for the community you’ll be working with.

After high school and before starting college is a common time for taking a gap year, though certainly not the only. Students who are excited by the idea of a volunteering gap year but not quite ready immediately after high school should consider taking one later down the road (refer to the next section for a more in-depth look at the different times you can take a gap year.)

Don’t leave this detail until the end! Although most American colleges allow deferred enrollment for admitted students, you’ll want to research your school’s policies first and foremost (if that applies to your situation, of course). Deferred enrollment isn’t always guaranteed even at schools that offer it: you may need to apply for deferment and pay a tuition deposit.

Costs for a volunteering gap year can add up quickly, so setting a budget at the beginning is key. Factor in travel and living expenses, program costs (if going through a structured volunteer program), visa fees (if applicable), and leave a cushion for emergencies and unexpected costs.

Most, if not all, international volunteer programs come with participation costs. Knowing what services are included in the program fees (Travel insurance? Lodging?) will impact your budget. A portion of the fees will likely go towards running the program in the community, which you’ll want to verify to avoid unethical volunteer schemes (refer to the Finding Ethical Volunteering Gap Year Opportunities section below).

Given the fact that over 3,000 colleges in America now allow deferments for a gap year, and that countless other universities now include a gap semester as part of their freshman year, gap year participation has certainly increased. However, European and South Pacific countries still seem to have a higher number of students taking a gap year over American students. The Gap Year Association saw a huge increase in gap year interest the spring that Malia Obama decided to take a gap year deferring her entrance into Harvard. Compared to 1974-75 when I took my own gap year, gap years are now considered more of an opportunity for growth through experiential learning rather than a “year off” or alternative option to secondary education. I credit my college for having the insight to encourage me to move forward with my gap year, as I was much more focused on my studies at college upon arrival and I am certain did much better academically. Interest in volunteering has also increased in high schools, due in part to the required community service hours and to parents identifying service as a way to augment and diversify their childrens’ transcripts for college. But I also think that young students truly want to learn and be exposed to other cultures through travel, community immersion, and learning service. As a gap advisor, I encourage students to live with a family in a homestay to truly understand how the majority of the world lives outside of the U.S.

Some of the most common projects that students (ages 18-19) participate in include: wilderness programs, language immersion, travel-community service-homestay-language 3 month programs, environmental /marine conservation, and community service with women’s empowerment projects, with school children, elderly, and justice projects.

My best advice is for students to talk to former gap students and or adults who have taken a gap experience – whatever it was. Ask them what they learned about themselves and about life; what mistakes they made; and how the gap experience impacted their education, professional choices, and values. Then I encourage students to attend a gap year fair in one of the 45 cities across the U.S. during January and February in order to visit and talk with staff and alumni participants from the gap program. If a student feels overwhelmed by the fairs and/or by Googling “gap year”, then seek out the expertise of a gap year counselor, who has years of experience working with gap students, as well as vetting of gap programs in the field, in order to assist and guide with planning. Gap programs begin to fill up between March-July prior to the fall, so it is best to narrow one’s choices in the spring and early summer. But I always emphasize how important it is to make sure it is the right “fit” based on the students’ passions, interests, and goals.

My most important tip is to keep an open mind and remain flexible. It is really important to go with the mindset of learning, not “helping” or “saving.” At 18 and 19 years old, most students do not have the skillset to go into a community and make a difference. It is best to live with a family, learn about their values and culture, and observe differences and problems. This exposure and awareness-raising can set a student up for more focused learning in college with specific areas of study based on their gap year experiences. It is helpful to have some goals in mind, so that a student can work towards achieving those, such as becoming more proficient in a language, acquiring a skill such as PADI or WFR certification, learning about urgent issues such as climate change, human trafficking, malnutrition, and deforestation. Most students this age want to be with their peers, and I find most learn a lot about themselves during these challenging and life-changing gap experiences.