Voluntourism, or long-distance volunteering, is a growing trend both nationally and globally, with more than 3.7 million Americans (about six percent of the total volunteer force) volunteering more than 120 miles from their homes in 2007. So finds the Corporation for National & Community Service's new Volunteering in America report, which contains six years of data on volunteering, rankings of states and cities, and volunteer trends and demographic information for every state and 162 large and mid-sized cities.

Not surprisingly, many of the same factors associated with volunteering for an organization are also associated with long-distance volunteering. Like adult volunteers in general, volunteers who serve 120 miles or farther from their homes are most likely to be white, well-educated, more affluent, employed, and from the Midwest.

However, there are several key differences between long-distance volunteers and adult volunteers in general. A greater number of voluntourists are male, single, and without children. The Corporation suggests these findings may illustrate that voluntourism is more challenging for families or individuals with children, or that long-distance volunteer opportunities attract a different type of volunteer than community-based volunteering.

Similarly, college-age volunteers -- those under age 25 -- comprise a much larger proportion of voluntourists than adult volunteers in general. The report hypothesizes that this may reflect the loose ties that many young adults have with the community or communities in which they live. It may also reflect the popularity of "Alternative Spring Breaks" and other service opportunities targeted at young people.

The most committed volunteers in general are also the most likely to engage in long-distance volunteering. For example, individuals who volunteer more than 100 hours per year, serve more than 12 weeks per year with their main organization, or serve with more than one organization, are much more likely to serve as voluntourists.

When it comes to the types of organizations that are most likely to feature long-distance volunteers, voluntourists share an interest with general volunteers in serving with religious, educational, and community service organizations. However, they are more likely than other volunteers to serve primarily with organizations devoted to such causes as the environment, animal welfare, sports, culture, and the arts, as well as with civic, political, and professional organizations.

Voluntourists are unlikely to specialize in the activities that are the most common specialties among all volunteers, instead opting to participate in activities that require specialized skills such as professional or management assistance, music and arts performances, counseling and medical care, and mentoring youth.

And where do voluntourists serve? When asked to name up to five states where they engaged in long-distance volunteering, nearly three-fourths of all voluntourists served in only one state. In fact, 34 percent of the voluntourists surveyed served 120 miles or more away from home, but exclusively within their home state. But among long-distance volunteers who traveled outside their home state to serve, the 10 most popular destinations included several of the most populous states, plus the five states affected by the 2005 Gulf hurricanes -- Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

The effect of efforts to bring volunteers to areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina also continues to be felt. In 2007, more than 140,000 people traveled over 120 miles from their homes to volunteer in Mississippi, and more than 166,000 long-distance volunteers traveled to Louisiana to help out. More than 1 million volunteers served with organizations located overseas in 2007.

"If, as many people argue, 'voluntourism' and other forms of long-distance volunteering provides a new model for volunteer service, one can already see its potential in places like Mississippi and Louisiana," observes the Corporation. "How long this pattern holds, and where the future hot spots for long-distance volunteering will be located, are questions to follow for the future."

Suggested Volunteer Resources

• VolunTourism
• Global Volunteers
• Break Away

Much of the information in this article is taken from the Corporation for National & Community Service's research brief on "Long-Distance Volunteering in the United States, 2007", as well as from "Engaging the Voluntourist," a workshop presented by Geneva Marney, Associate Director for Hands On New Orleans at the 2008 National Conference on Volunteering and Service.