By Foresee Foundation
Many of us have gone on vacations with half-empty suitcases, because we leave space for our intended shopping, or in the case of travelling to St. Maarten, all you need is a swimsuit, some light clothing, and sunscreen. But, for a growing number of travel conscious, volunteer-minded individuals, this suitcase space represents the perfect opportunity to contribute to their destination in a tangible way.
Annapia McCarthy-Peters PhD is one such traveller who did exactly that with the help of the island’s social consciousness volunteer platform: Volunteer.sx. As she planned for her vacation to St. Maarten, she googled “volunteer opportunities on St. Maarten” and her first point of contact was volunteer.sx.
Within minutes, she was connected to three volunteer opportunities that resonated with her: Player Development’s "Visit the children" and Dutch teacher needed; National Institute of Arts NIA’s Art Material Needed, and SXM Doet.
Annnpia has a PhD in Early Childhood Development and Education, valuable and needed skill sets for work with Coach Tom’s Player Development. Those skills are even more needed for his behavioural challenged children.
Within hours of dropping off art supplies to NIA, Annapia met with Coach Tom to plan an afternoon of volunteering. Her insight, knowledge and enthusiasm to help were wonderful for Coach Tom. She has committed to continue helping the children through online consultations.
Annapia operates parentingcoachoncall.com in the United States. After spending many years in the childcare and teaching field, she decided to support parents who face challenges daily with their children.
Having worked with children in many different capacities and undertaking extensive graduate studies, Annapia felt she was in the unique position to help parents with their children, hence making the world a better place. St. Maarten now benefits from her expertise, along with her commitment to visit the island again.
Volunteer.sx streamlined Annapia’s volunteer experience on St. Maarten. Her next volunteer opportunity was helping with a SXM Doet project at NIA. She was very happy to see all the work carried out by non-profit organisations NPOs on the island, and looks forward to visiting and volunteering again.
NPOwer, a programme of Foresee Foundation, partnered with St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) to develop volunteer.sx with one intention being to facilitate voluntourism opportunities.
Within a few months, more than 200 people have signed up on the platform, expressing their willingness to volunteer for worthy causes. Forty organisations and counting have registered to facilitate such volunteering opportunities.
Nine opportunities are currently listed on the platform and are awaiting eager volunteers and voluntourists.
Seeking volunteers or do you want to volunteer?
Does your organisation need a helping hand or two? Go to volunteer.sx to create an organisation listing and post your needs.
For volunteers, all you need is an email address and name to create an account. When browse and select volunteer opportunities that resonate with you. It’s that easy!
The idea of volunteer.sx is that a volunteer or organisation can sign up to participate in an event or opportunity with just a few clicks and very little effort.
