How Ethical Volunteer Vacations Transform Communities & the People Who Serve

In this Ready Living Podcast episode, Kimberly Haley-Coleman, founder and Executive Director of Globe Aware, reveals how short-term international volunteer vacations can transform communities and reshape the way people see the world and their place in it.She talks about the importance of “soft power,” the quiet influence of relationships formed through dignity, trust, and shared labor, and why these can counter fear and dehumanization in ways policy alone cannot.Active in over twenty-five counties, Globe Aware’s service experiences are centered around local leadership and helping in ways most beneficial to the people living there, with volunteers working alongside communities as equals.By participating in daily life with local community members, the volunteers themselves often undergo transformations that shift assumptions which they then share with others back home.In addition to her work at Globe Aware, Kimberly is a Southern Methodist University Guest Lecturer, recipient of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Award and long-time Hall of Fame member, Chairman of the Executive Board for the International Volunteer Programs Association, and actively engaged with organizations like the Building Bridges Coalition and United Nations ESOC Consultative Status Committee. She holds a BA from Emory University, an MA in Art History, and an MBA in International Business.LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST