$15 pays for the food, housing, local transportation, tools, materials and management costs of one volunteer for one day.

Our standard workday while on-project is seven hours.

$18.04 is the accepted value of donated general labor.

Each day the initial $15 it costs to keep one volunteer in the field gets turned into $126.28 worth of work. That’s a multiplier of over 800%!

Local Economic Benefit

Many times after a disaster strikes, the local economy slows or stops, and just as any town would benefit economically from a new business moving in, so do the communities we work in.

On average our volunteers spend five dollars per day in the local economy, supporting small business and community development. Volunteers help jump-start the economy by supporting local markets with an extra infusion of cash.

Cultural Exchange

Often the poorest communities are those hardest hit after a disaster, and working hand-in-hand with international communities lets us pass on marketable skills. Members of the local communities we work with benefit by exposure to things like:

• Language Tutoring
• Computer Operation
• Heavy Machinery Operation
• Team Management Experience

The Emotional Effect

Alongside the measurable effects of volunteers (cleared rubble, constructed schools, produced water filters, etc.) there is another equally important, immeasurable aspect: the effect of volunteering on the life of the volunteer. One our central beliefs as an organization is that the act of volunteering changes a person for the better.

Many volunteers who come out to projects do so for the first time. By presenting them with an opportunity to help and showing them how easy and rewarding it can be, we build a confidence in people that will carry for the rest of their lives.