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December 10, 2025

In this episode of Non-Profit Digital Success, Kimberly Haley-Coleman of Globe Aware explains how authentic storytelling, real volunteer experiences, and behind-the-scenes content, shared across social platforms, build genuine donor trust and long-term engagement. This transparency builds confidence, strengthens relationships, and inspires donor action.

We dive into global volunteerism, digital storytelling, and how real on-the-ground moments fuel trust and engagement online with our guest, Kimberly Haley-Coleman of Globe Aware.

Learn how short-term service projects spark authentic content that keeps volunteers connected to communities long after they return home, why meeting people face-to-face still wins in a digital world, and how simple channels like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and a well-used podcast can knit it all together. You will hear practical ideas to encourage organic sharing at your own programs, tips for preparing participants with multi-format content, and a powerful reminder to build for joy, not just information.

Seventeen-year-old Madison Leatherwood took a two-week working vacation in the rainforest of Costa Rica with Globe Aware. She relates her remarkable adventure with the  Morris Daily Herald of Morris, Illinois:

MINOOKA — When some people go on vacation, they think of relaxation — but not 17-year-old Madison Leatherwood of Channahon, a senior at Minooka Community High School.

This summer, Leatherwood took a two-week working vacation in the rainforest of Costa Rica. She could have opted for working with turtles on the beach in Guatemala or a surfing vacation.

Instead she chose a remote village, high up in the mountains, with only 60 residents scattered around a tiny “town” called El Sur.

The residents of El Sur originally lived deeper in the rainforest, but were forced to relocate as part of a movement to preserve the land.

“A lot of people left (the community) because they didn’t want to re-establish their lives,” Leatherwood said. “They are very poor.”

As they try to rebuild in a different area, residents are aided by volunteers through an organization called Globe Aware.

Leatherwood used the opportunity to work with Globe Aware so that she could travel. In this way, she can satisfy her travel bug and help people around the world at the same time.

“I really wanted to experience a different culture and felt like this was the best option for me,” she said.

There is only one phone, a pay phone, in El Sur. Just five years ago, they got flush toilets; seven of them serve the community. They have electricity, even some TVs, but the power goes off and on.

The town has a church, a store that doubles as a tavern with an adjacent make-shift pool hall, a one-room school and a town hall building used for community dinners and meetings. The library inside the town hall is a single shelf lined with books.

Leatherwood stayed the first week in a large (by El Sur standards), one-bedroom cabin built for Globe Aware volunteers, along with a small group from three different states. The bathroom and shower, sans hot water, were underneath the raised living area.

The other volunteers went home during Leatherwood’s second week, so she stayed in the home of Gilda, a resident and representative for Globe Aware. Because she is underage, Gilda and Leatherwood’s guide Mario worried for her safety.

Gilda’s home was much smaller and more run down than the volunteer cabin. An opening between the walls and roof allowed air to circulate, but it also made it easy for critters to get inside. A huge spider didn’t faze Gilda as she swatted it off Leatherwood’s bed, saying it was nothing.

Two of the nights she was visited by a vampire bat while she was in bed. She had to keep shining a flashlight on it to startle it away.

“I didn’t sleep much,” she said.

The work Leatherwood did to aid the people of El Sur was varied. She milk cows and learned to make cheese from it. She worked at the town sugar mill, helping to prod along the oxen as they walked in a circle, turning gears that ran rollers to pulverize the sugar cane.

Some days she worked directly with the cane, straining it as it liquefied or stirring it as it turned to a consistency of syrup.

She dug shallow drainage ditches alongside the roads and helped construct small wood boxes that were used as frames and filled with cement. The cement squares were then embedded with water pipes to use in homes, protecting the pipes from swelling and bursting.

“I tried pretty much all the jobs,” Leatherwood said.

Every bit of supplies were used and re-used, she said.

“We took all the nails out of the wood, scraped the cement off and reused it,” Leatherwood said. “We also reused all the nails. That’s how limited they are.”

Leatherwood learned an entirely different way of life in El Sur. She awoke at 5 a.m. to get her work done before the rains set in around noon. During the down time, residents did a lot of relaxing, she said.

By late afternoon, the sun came back out and it was time for dinner and a little fun, like a community soccer game most nights.

Leatherwood often went horseback riding when she had free time. One day her group followed a stream through the rainforest to a waterfall. They jumped into the lake below and swam.

The locals chose a specific horse for Leatherwood to ride — white with black spots.

“They said it was like me because it had freckles,” she said.

The best part of her adventure was the many people she met and came to care about. Like her guide Mario, who did much of the construction around town; and Robert, the town carpenter who built amazing pieces of furniture with not much more than an electric saw and a few hand tools.

Gilda taught her to make cheese, peel cocoa beans for hot chocolate and strain fruit from the rainforest into delicious juices.

“Everyone was so nice. I met friends I would like to go back and see again,” she said. “(But) there’s also places like Australia. Someday I want to go to Ireland or New Zealand. I want to see how different it is from here, in as many places I can afford to go.”

Idaho Senator Brent Hill shares the profound impact a Globe Aware volunteer vacation he took to Vietnam with his sons had on him.

What Vietnam taught me about Idaho

By Sen. Brent Hill | Guest columnist Apr 25, 2019

Vietnam. The very word sent chills down the back of every young man facing possible military draft during the sixties. It summoned to the mind other words like guerrilla warfare, Vietcong, communism, casualties. Over a quarter of a million American families lost a loved one in the Vietnam War. Four times that many Vietnamese were killed.

As a boy growing up in the 1960s, I never expected to visit Vietnam — at least not for peaceful purposes. But earlier this month, three of our sons and one of my brothers traveled with me to an island in Vietnam.

We were there to conduct service projects in a country still recovering from decades of war. Through an organization called Globe Aware, we spent long days working at a school for deaf children, building a home for an elderly widow, teaching English and other activities. Because Idaho’s legislative session persisted longer than expected, I finally asked Eric Erickson of Rexburg to fill in for me for what I assumed would be the last day or two, so I could keep my other commitment in Vietnam.

Mixing mortar with shovels and laying brick in 95-degree weather with 88 percent humidity was difficult compared to sitting in airconditioned committee meetings at the statehouse. But it was also therapeutic. Surrounded by deaf and hard-of-hearing children longing for attention and starving for affection helped put life’s challenges back into perspective.

Mai McCann is a dedicated nurse from Australia. She works three months each year in Australia so she can spend the other nine months in Hoi An, Vietnam, helping hearing-impaired children. Through her school known as Hearing and Beyond, she teaches 26 students, ages 3-16, with many more on a waiting list — children who would otherwise remain uneducated, lonely, socially isolated and sometimes abandoned.

In a rundown building with limited facilities, the children are taught social and life skills while learning Vietnamese sign language, reading, writing and math. They are fed modest meals, some of which comes from a small garden behind the school. We spent one day building a chicken coop so they could have eggs and meat for some meals. But the best part came the next day when we unexpectedly showed up with two dozen hens, five hundred pounds of rice and a bag full of small toys and games for the children.

I have enjoyed smiles before — I have cherished expressions of appreciation — but none have been more poignant than the smiles of joy and shouts of gratitude from excited children who had so little to be grateful for.

Although most of the work was completed, I felt bad about leaving the legislative session before final adjournment. But the few hours I missed surrounded by skilled colleagues within the walls of the Capitol were surpassed by the days I spent laying brick and constructing a modest chicken coop surrounded by children who could neither hear nor speak, but who effectively communicated life’s most important lessons.

In contrast to what I saw in Hoi An, Idaho’s economy is near the top nationally and our poverty rate is one of the lowest. This is one of the safest places in the world to live. We continue to attract businesses and families wanting to relocate in a state that values education, workforce development, quality of life, freedom and family.

I love this state. And the short time I spent away from Idaho, in a country I grew up despising, not only taught me to cherish the people there but also deepened my love for Idaho. I needed to be reminded again how blessed we are and, for a time at least, I will feel more grateful, smile more often, serve more willingly and love more compassionately.

Brent Hill is the Pro Tem of the Idaho Senate.

September 4, 2024

As a second-generation orthodontist, Dr. Drew Lombardi had an orthodontic practice in Fort Lee and Jersey City, New Jersey for 40 years until his transition to retirement in October 2023. Considering how to spend his time in retirement, Dr. Lombardi was eager to use his professional knowledge to give back to people in need.

“When I was in practice, as a way to serve the community I performed dental screenings in local schools and participated in the AAO Donated Orthodontic Services program (now Gifted Smiles),” says Dr. Lombardi. “As a retiree, I liked the idea of doing humanitarian work in other countries – but the issue you encounter is that organizations with overseas programs want general dentistry services and long-term commitments, because that is what people in very poor regions need.

“It was difficult to find something fitting my skill set, or welcoming to an orthodontist,” adds Dr. Lombardi. “I didn’t wish to personally do the restorative work myself on these young children, not having done it in 40 years.”

After contacting a few non-profit service organizations, he connected with Globe Aware, which focuses on international volunteerism for individuals and groups such as health professionals, construction workers, educators and business experts.

Globe Aware volunteers bring a variety of skills to places where they are needed. The organization arranges volunteer experiences, for one week or longer, in countries such as Peru, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Romania. Working with Globe Aware, Dr. Lombardi developed a plan to help children using his knowledge of dentistry.

“I went to Cuzco, a large city in Peru, and the starting point to reach Machu Picchu, which gave us access to rural areas of Peru where many residents lack awareness and resources for oral health,” he says. “Globe Aware’s local coordinator served as my interpreter with knowledge of both Spanish and the native Incan (indigenous) language spoken in the rural communities. Globe Aware hired a driver and we traveled to villages located up to two hours away.”

As Dr. Lombardi had expected, in conducting dental screenings at schools he found many children with severe dental problems, including rampant caries, abscesses and need for extractions. Living conditions usually included a lack of running water in homes and a cultural preference for beverages such as sweetened tea and soda, in the students’ water bottles that they brought to school. Many adults were unaware how these choices impacted children’s dental health.

Starting the Process of Improved Oral Health in Rural Villages
“Through Globe Aware, I networked with dentists in nearby towns and arranged to pay for the needed services for those I identified as having the most severe dental needs,” says Dr. Lombardi. “It does take time to gain trust from everyone you meet in these communities. When we would ask to have children brought to school on a Saturday morning for transportation to a dentist, not all of the kids showed up. When we followed up to ask why, responses included that some of the parents could not take off work, or that the kids had to take the sheep to the mountains.”

Oral health presentations that Dr. Lombardi offered at schools with the help of his interpreter included distribution of toothbrushes and toothpastes. He found the students enthusiastic and receptive to his information and the dental care products. Many students did not own toothbrushes.

“Before the school presentations, Globe Aware’s coordinator, Rocio, took me to a Walmart-like store where I purchased cases of toothbrushes and toothpaste to give away,” says Dr. Lombardi. “It turned out that these gifts were helpful in convincing many boy students to be examined.

“It will require regular effort over a long period to get the rural communities committed to both oral hygiene and visiting dentists,” adds Dr. Lombardi. “I found it very rewarding to start the process of educating people in the villages and educating the school principals and teachers. For the teachers, I brought thank-you gifts of popular U.S. magazines, which they enjoyed.”

Following his introduction to international humanitarian work in Peru, Dr. Lombardi spent two weeks in the Galapagos Islands. That portion of his trip included volunteer work in sea turtle conservation, also through Globe Aware.

Dr. Lombardi suggests that the approach he used for humanitarian work could work well for retired orthodontists as well as those in practice who are interested in spending a vacation doing humanitarian work.

“It was very exciting to me to find a way to use my knowledge of dentistry to help young people in a very poor region,” says Dr. Lombardi. “I really appreciated Globe Aware’s help, organization and flexibility that made this possible.

“The main reason I wish to share this, in addition to helping Globe Aware gain exposure, is to inform other AAO members that we DO have skills to share internationally,” adds Dr. Lombardi. “Our years of experience in dentistry, and ability to screen and examine patients quickly, permits us an opportunity to take that on the road internationally – and without doing dental procedures that we haven’t done in 40 years!”

Dr. Lombardi points out that the need for help is massive. Many young children in numerous countries have great need, no access to dental care, and no knowledge of the impact of lack of oral hygiene, especially when combined with heavy sugar intake.

“For AAO members, there are enormous rewards from doing this work,” he says. “Just going and teaching dental hygiene, warning of the negative effects of all those sugars, and their direct cause of dental pain leading to a lifetime of future trouble, is a wonderful and rewarding experience. By helping me partner with local dentists, Globe Aware helped me bring much needed assistance to this problem. By paying for the local dentists to do the work, I helped start a ‘dental home’ for the children with the greatest needs. And while I did this work alone, some might consider including staff or family desiring international service experience.”

Hockaday travel program connects with alumna Kimberly Haley-Coleman’s organization Globe Aware

By Megan Philips
Features Editor
THE HOCKADAY SCHOOL

Downoad Article

When alumna Kimberly Haley-Coleman ‘88 was a Hockaday student, she was involved in many local community service projects from candy stripping at hospitals to working in women’s shelters. Today, she is giving Hockaday the opportunity she never had: to do community service abroad.

Haley-Coleman found interest in other cultures and languages from a young age, and her five years at Hockaday “helped wet [her] appetite for learning about and understanding other cultures,” Haley-Coleman said.

After graduating, Haley-Coleman continued her education in international cultures and held many jobs that required her international relations skills. She received her masters in French and Art History and got her MBA in international business.

“It was all related to other cultures from the earliest I can remember, and Hockaday was certainly an integral piece of that,” Haley-Coleman said.

From this foundation, Haley-Coleman founded Globe Aware in 2000.

This past summer, 13 Hockaday Upper School students traveled to Peru, in connection with Globe Aware, to expand their learning about other cultures through hands-on service while visiting two communities, San Pedro and Cuzco.

Junior Allie Charlton, one of the students who traveled with the program, found the organization’s guidance crucial to her trip experience.

“[Globe Aware] had a lot of connections within the cities because people had gone there before us, people were waiting for us to help. If we had just gone to Peru and said

‘Oh, we are going to go help this place” no one there would have known us. It was nice because they already had an established organization there that we could help without intruding,” Charlton said.

According to Haley-Coleman, around 15 to 25 percent of those who participate in Globe Aware programs outside of their school community are teenagers.

“I think it’s critical that in order to be a really involved, successful person, I feel it almost requires that one be a globally aware citizen. It helps find resolutions, on a global scale, to conflicts that are important, whether it’s political peace or bringing groups and different nationalities together to find a solution to problems that we all face,” Haley-Coleman said, “But it’s also a huge source of joy for someone for their whole life, to have those wonderful moments of cultural understanding.”

Community Service Director Laura Day felt that students learned similar valuable lessons from their experiences with Peruvian culture.

“I think the girls learned what you really need to be happy. I think we learned about material possessions and what people, in general, need to be happy, because we saw people who didn’t have anything who were having happy and wonderful lives,” Day said.

The Peru trip, still in connection with Globe Aware, is offered again in Hockaday’s travel program for next year. For Haley-Coleman, this recurring trip connects the school community in which she formed the foundations of her passion for international cultures, and the organization she founded to facilitate this passion for others.

“It’s such a wonderful, full circle feeling of kind of a bit alpha-omega to get a chance to come back to a place that was so instrumental in shaping my life,” Haley-Coleman said. “It’s such a wonderful feeling. I’m so grateful.”

Other projects Globe Aware is organizing include assembling wheelchairs in Cambodia, building adobe stoves in rural Peru, installing concrete floors in single-mother households in Guatemala and working with elephants in Thailand.

Students who are interested in getting involved with Globe Aware besides through a travel program can apply for internships. Globe Aware will find ways to help based on the applicant’s interests and strengths.

“We are really open to creating various internships and volunteer opportunities that can be done either at home or in our offices as well. We try and structure it based on something that the student is already interested in,” Haley-Coleman said.

Contact Haley-Coleman at kimberly_haleycoleman@yahoo.com to learn more about the internship opportunities. F

Megan Philips

Features Editor

Click here to view article.

Globe Aware founder Kimberly Haley-Coleman was offered the opportunity to explain the attraction of volunteer vacations with Globe Aware to Perrault magazine readers. Kimberly uses her not-for-profit company's Thailand destination to illustrate her points.

READ THE ARTICLE - CLICK HERE

Globe Aware founder and executive director Kimberly Haley-Coleman wrote an article for Everyday Ambassador's “Wednesday Wisdom”, a weekly series curated by Everyday Ambassador Partnerships Manager Anjana Sreedhar. In her article, Kimberlyhighlights central values such as empathy and patience, and how they all relate to building a comprehensive cultural understanding about our environment.

As a high school student in Dallas at Hocakday, I was fortunate to be able to travel internationally and to be involved in many lo­cal community service projects from candy striping at hos­pitals to working in women’s shelters. I was interested in other cultures and languages from a young age, and perhaps most specifically how cultural conditioning dictates such a great amount of our behaviors. It is something we don’t often examine, that our actions are often largely LEARNED. It may be something as simple as how much free time is considered a humane and normal amount to have in one’s life. The answer is hugely divergent even based on the country in which one was born, or the culture to which one is attached. I find this important because it also shows how a person can change their perspective. The kind of message that has the ability to completely change your life – to be happier, healthier and to have a greater impact helping others achieve their goals – which in itself has a coronation to happiness.

After high school, I went to Emory University and continued educa­tion in international cultures and held many jobs that re­quired multi-cultural skills. I then went onto receive my Masters in French and Art His­tory and my MBA in inter­national business then worked for a variety of corporations. Like many, I saw my pocket book expand, but felt my soul shrinking. I would find myself in a country like Brazil over the weekend on business, and looking to fill free time. Beyond tourist activities, I wanted to connect to the local communities by volunteering. I found that most organizations simply do not want to accept anyone short term, as the amount of time and resources it takes just to organize fro or train someone for a few days is more trouble than its worth. I did understand. But my appetite grew. I called every organization I could and kept coming up against the same response. Eventually I started organizing my own short term programs and found there was a huge response by others to join me. Once I was able to live on the income from my spouse, I left prior work and set about creating these experiences full time.

Globe Aware’s objectives are two-fold. One is to promote cultural awareness; essentially to allow the participant to get a more complete understanding of the real beauties and challenges faced in a different culture, rather than just a tourist, post-card view. The other goal is to promote sustainability, which is to say to help people stand on their own two feet. To that end, we work side-by-side with locals, as equals, working on projects that are important to them. They choose the projects, the materials, and how we go about doing it. The experiences are all one week. not because that is the ideal amount of time to spend to get to know a culture, but because it is what is feasible for most North Americans. I am frequently asked if working with the Peace Corps for 2 and a half years might not be a better experience. Of course that length of time will give you a much deeper comprehension and allow significantly more time to make a meaningful contribution.

My hope is that our one week experiences light the lamp of inspiration for participants to want to come back and discover and give back to more and more cultures. We have programs in 17 countries around the world and are always expanding. In Cambodia we assemble and distribute wheelchairs for landmine victims, in Peru we build adobe lorena stoves that greatly reduce deforestation and decrease smoke inhalation inside the home, in Guatemala we install concrete floors in the homes of single mothers, we have built schools, homes, hygiene stations, the spectrum is large and each program is very different. We spend about 40 hours a week working, and still have 3 to 5 planned but optional cultural excursions. We purposefully do not work in orphanages. A quick google about “orphanage tourism” will explain why. We do, however, work with and for needy children in many of our programs. It’s a wonderful, organic learning process.

Occasionally people will ask if it’s really a good thing when volunteering abroad benefits the volunteer. Our feeling is that is a full 50% of why we exist – YES! To expand the minds of the volunteer so that they understand the real challenges of the world and return home reinvigorated to make a difference and continue giving back. While we definitely want to provide for those in need, we are not heroes. We are not coming in to save the world. Usually the locals are faster and better at every activity we take on, which in itself provides a wonderful learning experience. The goal is that our work benefits the community where we are working and the volunteer doing the work. I think it’s critical that in order to be a really involved, successful person, one should also be a globally aware. citizen. We want more people who are able to care about the globe, who are trying to help find resolutions, on a global scale, to conflicts that are im­portant, whether it’s political peace or bringing groups and different nationalities together to find a solution to problems that we all face.

Last but not least, participating in a travel abroad program can be a huge source of joy for someone for their whole life, to have those wonderful moments of cultur­al understanding.

December 9, 2025
Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley

How can meaningful travel go beyond sightseeing to create lasting impact? Brains, Borders, and Betterment dives into how immersive volunteer experiences can transform both the communities served and the travelers themselves. Together, we’ll discuss how to use intelligence, creativity, and compassion to approach global challenges, break down borders, and create better outcomes for all involved. Our speaker, Kimberly Haley-Coleman, is the Founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, a nonprofit that has been creating short-term, immersive volunteer programs in 26 countries for over 25 years. Under her leadership, Globe Aware has partnered with universities, corporations, and philanthropic networks to provide volunteers with well-organized, impactful opportunities to serve communities worldwide. In addition to leading Globe Aware, Kimberly chairs the Volunteer Programs Association, which provides a "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval for volunteer programs that meet rigorous quality and accountability standards. She is passionate about connecting people across cultures, advocating for ethical and sustainable travel, and empowering individuals to make a measurable difference through hands-on service.

Growing Business Online

The Guest Speaker is Kimberly Haley-Coleman, Executive Director of Globe Aware 

Kimberly Haley Coleman is the Founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, an international nonprofit organization leading volunteer service projects in more than 25 countries. In this episode of The KSM Podcast Growing Business Online with Kristina, Kimberly shares her journey from international business and finance to building one of the most respected global volunteer organizations.

With leadership experience at CNBC.com, Space Services International, and Investtools, along with advanced degrees in international business and art history, Kimberly offers a powerful perspective on purpose-driven leadership, nonprofit innovation, and sustainable global development. She also discusses how Globe Aware has mobilized volunteers for short-term international service projects since 2000.

A multiple patent holder, SMU Guest Lecturer, and Texas Business Hall of Fame Award recipient, Kimberly explains how mission-driven organizations can create meaningful social impact while achieving long term growth. This episode is packed with insight for small business owners, nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in global service, leadership, and making a difference worldwide.

Special ceremony held to make Peter Sheehan a chief of Mafi-Wudukpo, a rural community located within the North Tongu District of the Volta region of Ghana.

Peter, and his wife Colleen Sheehan, 29, a senior associate producer at Oprah Winfrey Show, were in Ghana with Globe Aware (www.globeaware.org) on a one-week volunteer vacation, July 3-9, 2010. Colleen taught in the village while Peter helped construct sanitation facilities, including digging trenches, laying conduits, drainage, and mixing concrete.

If you would like more information about taking a volunteer vacation to Costa Rica, Romania, Peru, China, India, or you are interested in voluntourism in another country or on another continent, please visit Globe Aware's Destinations Gallery for program and trip descriptions, dates and Minimum Contribution Fees.

Was there a lull in East Dallas last week? My neighbors commented on how quiet it was on our block.

Maybe it had something to do with the "senior" spring break trip I took with 66 East Dallas neighbors to Mexico. Woodrow Wilson High seniors, that is. At least one friend heard it wrong and misunderstood it to be a group of senior citizens.
All the relaxation may have shocked my system. My days consisted of lounging on the beach and reading. The most difficult decision was what to eat. Next time, maybe I need to combine a little work with pleasure just to keep my body in sync.
East Dallas resident Kimberly Haley-Coleman, 38, might have just the combination for such a vacation. She is the founder of Globe Aware, a nonprofit vacation business that offers volunteer vacations in Brazil, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ghana, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Romania, Thailand and Vietnam.
Globe Aware offers a one-week adventure in service with a focus on cultural awareness and sustainability. The trips are often compared to a "mini Peace Corps." All program costs, including airfare, are tax-deductible.
Kimberly holds an M.B.A. in international business from the University of Dallas. She is a recipient of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Scholarship Award, and has an M.A. from Southern Methodist University and a B.A. from Emory University.
As a third-generation White Rock Lake resident, Kimberly's love of international escape stems from traveling abroad as a young girl with her grandmother. The area known as Jackson Point at White Rock Lake was where Kimberly's grandparents, Margaret and A.A. Jackson III, lived for many years.
"Unlike a regular vacation, during which you may spend a good deal of time on a tourist bus and in lines at museums, our trips allow you to learn things such as how to cook local cuisine, sing with local schoolchildren, work side by side on local community projects," Kimberly said. "Few vacations provide a way to bond so closely with local cultures in so short a time. The experience will likely change how you see the world."
The road of life takes us to many destinations. Thank goodness sometimes the destinations are as predictable as a spring break excursion. With a little ingenuity and open-mindedness, the destination can be a life-changing experience.
For more information on Globe Aware vacations, go to www.globeaware.org.
Chris Gresback is a freelance writer in Lakewood.

Stanford’s Executive Director of Sustainability Utilities and Infrastructure interviews Kimberly Haley-Coleman about how international development work can be done in a way that truly serves local communities and respects their culture, rather than imposing external solutions. Lincoln and Kimberly discuss the importance of fostering cultural connections and empathy through international service, the evolution of Globe Aware's projects over 25 years, and the significance of understanding community needs. The conversation highlights the challenges and rewards of volunteer work, the sustainability of projects, and the transformative experiences for volunteers. Kimberly emphasizes the need for deep listening and collaboration with local communities to ensure meaningful outcomes.

How can international development work be done in a way that truly serves local communities and respects their culture, rather than imposing external solutions?

"YES!" says Kimberly Haley-Coleman, founder and CEO of Globe Aware, a charity that promotes sustainable volunteer tourism. In episode 59 of the Climate+ Podcast, Lincoln and Kimberly discuss the importance of fostering cultural connections and empathy through international service, the evolution of Globe Aware's projects over 25 years, and the significance of understanding community needs. The conversation highlights the challenges and rewards of volunteer work, the sustainability of projects, and the transformative experiences for volunteers. Kimberly emphasizes the need for deep listening and collaboration with local communities to ensure meaningful outcomes.

Globe Aware is 100% volunteer funded!  Please help us help you Have fun and Help people!  Click on http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000830583813#!/ChaseCommunityGiving?v=app_162065369655&ref=ts

 and in the box that says charity name type Globe Aware and press enter.  When the page opens scroll down once more and click on the blue Globe Aware link and after a new page opens one last time look to the top right and click a green box that says "Vote Now" make sure to say allow when the Chase pop up window comes up or your vote will not count! 

Thank you so so very much if you vote!! You are basically donating to a GREAT cause with just a few clicks! 

Kimberly has been speaking to various groups about the deep, enduring impact of soft power, vs hard power, something every one of us has the power to use. We fed her comments into an AI generator to see how it would sum up her thoughts, and they did a pretty darn good job! Use this as a little inspiration on how you can use thoughtful human engagement to enact lasting, positive change.

Ian Tilling, a retired British policeman, went to Romania to help children in need. His nonprofit Casa Ioana is a place where women and children can go to feel safe and learn how to rebuild their lives. Ian was so inspired and pleased with the impact and success of his efforts, he never left Romania. Here is his story from the The Christian Science Monitor.

World People Making a Difference

By Kit Gillet, Correspondent

Bucharest, Romania — It’s been a journey to Romania of a quarter-century-and-counting for Ian Tilling. During that time he has been instrumental in setting up long-term shelters in Bucharest, the capital, initially for orphans, later for the homeless, and later still for families suffering from domestic abuse.

Casa Ioana, which he founded 20 years ago, recently opened a second night shelter in Bucharest, where women and children can go to feel safe and start to rebuild their lives. The charity is also about to roll out a series of courses to help recovering women develop job skills.

“Without a job the chances of changing the situation [for these women] is quite remote. The only way out really is through employment,” says Mr. Tilling, sitting in the historic Old Town neighborhood in the heart of downtown Bucharest.
Recommended: 11 quotes from difference makers

Tilling, a retired police detective from England, first came to Romania after seeing disturbing televised images of institutionalized children that were broadcast around the world following the Romanian revolution in December 1989.

“My wife asked me if I had seen the pictures coming out of Romania, the awful images of children languishing in orphanages,” says Tilling, explaining his first glimpse of the country that would come to dominate his life.

Within six weeks he and a British nurse had gathered up supplies and were driving across Europe in a borrowed van filled with donated baby food, diapers, toys, and medicine. They ended up at an orphanage called Plataresti, a “hellhole 40 minutes drive outside Bucharest,” Tilling recalls.

At Plataresti, Tilling was asked to help with a group of twenty 7- to- 9-year-olds who lived together in one room. Their cots were lined up 10 on each wall “like a row of prison cells” and the children never left them, he says. Most were still being bottle fed. The smell was awful. Tilling was tasked with talking with the children and keeping them clean, neither an easy task.

“For the month I was working there I was numb,” he says. Yet during the drive back across the Continent to Britain he decided he must go back to Romania. A little while later he did return, this time with 298 other people and a convoy of 100 trucks with supplies.

At the time of his first visit Tilling had been coming to the end of a long police career and wondering what to do next.

“I joined the police at 16 as a cadet. It was all I knew,” he says. He was living in the south of England with his wife and four children. Then in 1991 his eldest son, just 19, died in a motorbike accident and Tilling’s life fell apart.

In 1992 he took early retirement and moved to Romania to run a British charity he had established to provide lifelong care to some of the children from Plataresti.

“Looking back I was clearly escaping the hurt I felt back home,” he says.

However, rather than helping to heal his pain the project proved to be a nightmare itself, with the Romanian government breaking promises and officials demanding bribes. He was left trying to manage a small apartment block in Ferentari, a district of Bucharest that was fast becoming a ghetto inhabited primarily by desperately poor Roma (commonly called Gypsy) families.

“It was all unraveling, and my personal demons were coming to the front, and I was having to deal with that, too,” Tilling says.

In the winter of 1994-95 he lived with 300 Roma families in a collection of dilapidated apartment buildings. To top it off his marriage was breaking up.

“It was the lowest point in my life, but I was fortunate in that I finished my grieving process,” he says today.

Near the end of that winter friends gathered to urge him to leave, even going so far as collecting money for his plane ticket. But he didn’t want to return to England defeated. Instead he regrouped, creating a new charity – a Romanian one – that would pick up where the British charity had left off.

Casa Ioana was born. Over the next few years it became a halfway house for formerly institutionalized young adults and a resource center that helped local organizations set up a school for children with profound disabilities, as well as a kindergarten for local Roma families.

In 1997 Tilling was approached by the mayor of Bucharest with a request to open a night shelter for homeless men, who had become a growing problem in the city. He eventually agreed after the mayor offered to supply a building to house the shelter.

It opened as an emergency shelter for homeless men. But after a few years Tilling noticed the large number of women who came looking for a place to stay together with their children.

Recognizing that the system was failing these families at a time when they needed to keep together he refocused his efforts. Today, Casa Ioana is the largest provider of temporary shelter for survivors of domestic abuse in Bucharest. “I do what I do out of a profound sense of justice,” he says. “I hate to see people suffering.”

Those who know Tilling say he works day and night. “He is a one-man tornado,” says Nigel Bell, a British expatriate businessman who volunteers his time and expertise to Casa Ioana. “He tries to do everything himself; it is absolutely personal to him.”

Despite having the title of president of Casa Ioana, Tilling is often found painting the walls or cleaning the toilets.

Women and children who arrive at the shelters are left alone for the first few weeks. When they are ready they sit down with members of his team, which includes psychologists working pro bono, to develop a plan for moving forward.

Families can stay for as long as a year but Tilling says the vast majority move on within six to eight months. The women get jobs and are able to afford their own places, he says.

Casa Ioana perpetually faces challenges of space and money. It has room for 20 families and nine single women; last year it had to turn away 200 families. “We simply didn’t have room,” Tilling says.

His charity has a budget of about $100,000 a year; 80 percent of its funding comes from private donors and 20 percent from the Romanian government. It employs six staff members. Tilling himself takes no salary and lives on his British pension.

“Ian keeps us together. He brings people in from outside, and he opens the right doors,” says Monica Breazu, one of the social workers employed at Casa Ioana.

Parts of Romania are very traditional, and domestic abuse is often swept under the rug. Women who break away from abusive relationships and end up at Casa Ioana are likely to have been almost completely reliant financially on their husbands.

“Many haven’t got high school diplomas, and without that they can’t access formal training,” Tilling says. “So we created the opportunity for them to return to school. We give them the equivalent of a minimum salary in order to study.” Casa Ioana is also developing a financial-literacy program and six other courses that cover what employers will be looking for from new hires.

Tilling’s journey has never been easy. In 1998 the first Casa Ioana was ransacked by outsiders; everything was stolen right down to the fixtures and electrical wiring. “There were many occasions when I was close to saying enough is enough,” he says. “I’ve invested so much of myself. The good thing was I literally had nothing to go back to, so that was a good incentive to persevere.”

In 2000 Tilling was honored with an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II, shortly after Prince Charles visited Casa Ioana. Two years later he was awarded Romania’s equivalent.

Tilling knows that eventually he’ll have to pass the responsibility for Casa Ioana along to someone else. But it appears that it isn’t going to be anytime soon.

How to take action

Universal Giving helps people give to and volunteer for top-performing charitable organizations around the world. All the projects are vetted by Universal Giving; 100 percent of each donation goes directly to the listed cause. Below are links to groups that help children worldwide:

• Globe Aware helps people and communities prosper without becoming dependent on outside aid. Take action: Volunteer to work helping the underprivileged in Romania.
• Eastern Congo Initiative works with the people of eastern Congo, where local, community-based approaches are creating a sustainable society. Take action: Support access to education for girls in eastern Congo.
• Half the Sky Foundation enriches the lives of orphans in China, offering loving, family-like care. Every orphaned child should have a caring adult in his or her life. Take action: Help a teen in Half the Sky’s youth services program.

KRASANG ROLEUNG, Cambodia - Andrew Krupp doesn't speak a word of Cambodian. And, for the most part, the dozens of happy-faced children racing across the dusty schoolyard to greet him don't speak a word of English.

But that doesn't stop Krupp from winning them over immediately.

It doesn't take much, after all, to get across the basics of the hokeypokey, which it turns out is just as big a crowd-pleaser in the poorest thatched-roof villages of Cambodia as it is in the manicured suburb near Chicago where Krupp lives.

"I'm like a novelty act riding into town," says the 39-year-old manufacturing executive, laughing as his frenzied "right foot in" sends the children into hysterics. "Everybody loves a lunatic."

This song of joy and gratitude for Globe Aware volunteers was written and sung by Emma Peraulta, one of our community program recipients, in December of 2023 in the Philippines. 

Everyday Ways to Give Back

Give Back While You're on Vacation

Your heart is full of wanderlust, but your bank account is empty.
Travel the globe (Europe? Indonesia? Yes!) for the cost of airfare through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. You'll get your hands dirty picking crops or tending livestock, but you can arrange day trips, too. Lodgings aren't luxurious, but, then again, they're totally free.

You're ready to try your first solo vacay.
Sixty-five percent of Globe Aware volunteers are single travelers, so you won't feel awkward showing up alone to construct schools in Ghana or distribute wheelchairs in Cambodia. Each weeklong trip ($1,190 and up) offers three to five cultural excursions, too.

You don't consider it a vacation unless there's a spa nearby.
Why forgo luxury? At the Ritz-Carlton, call the concierge a few days ahead of your trip to ask about devoting a day to volunteering. Visitors to Washington, D.C., can head to the DC Central Kitchen and help feed the homeless; travelers in Shanghai can pitch in at a local school.

You're all about hiking somewhere beautiful.
Hit the trails with the Sierra Club at the Virgin Islands National Park on St. John ($1,125). You'll hike and snorkel to your heart's content for seven days, while also helping to maintain walking paths and clear beaches for turtle nesting. Trailblazing experience isn't required, but good boots and sunscreen are!

You're into mingling with the locals.
Grab a mosquito net and head to Guatemala for nine days with Habitat for Humanity ($1,310 to $1,450). You'll build houses and take your Spanish beyond "Una cerveza, por favor." Some trips are BYOSB (bring your own sleeping bag), so be ready to rough it.

The beach is calling your name.
You can flaunt your new bikini and save the dolphins on an eight-day trip to Greece with Earthwatch ($2,575). You'll board a research vessel to track dolphin pods. The early outings mean time later for the beach and a little ouzo. —Amanda Woerner