When Bud Philbrook and Michele Gran were married in 1979, they had chosen a Caribbean cruise as their honeymoon. But during the planning stages, evening newscasts spotlighting the tragic exodus of Cambodians from their terrorized homeland made the couple rethink the frivolity of their honeymoon plans.
They decided then they wanted a more meaningful vacation.
“We spent five days indulging Bud’s childhood dream of visiting Orlando theme parks and five days in an impoverished Guatemalan village,” says Michele. This blending of fantasy and reality led the couple to a life change that today is exemplified in Global Volunteers, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports 20 countries year-round on six continents through volunteer teams, direct project funding and child sponsorship.
Since its inception in 1984, Global Volunteers has sent more than 20,000 volunteers to more than 100 communities and was the first and one of the only one of its kind to be granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations.
“It’s been a huge learning curve for us,” says Bud. “We set out to do this, originally planning to take a group of friends once a year, but it grew tremendously from the little business I ran out of my law office.” Now 61, Philbrook closed his law practice in 1994 to run Global Volunteers full time. “The financial rewards aren’t as great as practising law,” he says, “but the gratification is a far more important reward.” The couple has taken their three sons to more than 15 countries over the years, making their volunteer work a real family affair.
No new business is easy and, as Michele says, “there were times when we looked bankruptcy in the eye, but bankruptcy blinked.”
Local people are in charge
The philosophy of Global Volunteers is a belief that to be truly successful in making a contribution to a developing community, the assistance must be under the direction of the host community. In many cases, Global Volunteers returns to the same community at the invitation of local leaders up to 17 times a year. The ultimate goal of the program is to foster self-reliance with short-term volunteers as resources and the development of inter-cultural friendships that build understanding and respect. With experts in development and service on staff, the organization makes a point of translating local leaders’ goals into volunteer strategies and adjusting work projects for maximum benefit.
The organization invests in host partners’ projects financially and supports ongoing enhancements to a community’s quality of life, with the emphasis on serving the vulnerable and at-risk.
“Local people are always in charge” is the mantra of Global Volunteers, with the emphasis on protecting the host community’s independence, preventing exploitation of local people and minimizing the cultural impact of outsiders.
How it works
