Venture with Impact

Just got back from a month in San Miguel de Allende. I had a fabulous experience volunteering at a daycare/preschool for children from low income families. VWI provided me with beautiful accommodations near the city center and gave me all the support I needed...from putting together day trips and tours, finding a teacher for a few Spanish lessons, and just helping me find my way around.
I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone considering it...and I look forward to my next opportuni… See more

Had an awesome time in Mexico City for the October program. Pau, our program manager, was very helpful and social. She took us to a lot of great spots. I volunteered with a dog shelter and wrote social media posts to help get dogs adopted and some were so definitely made an impact. The other venturers were great to live with and I'm happy to say I've made life-long friends while in Mexico. Our accommodation was also spacious, clean, and had workspace with good wi-fi and in a great location.

Venture with Impact removes the friction that would otherwise be involved in finding a place to live and work, a charitable organization to work with, and the inevitable challenges of adjusting to daily life in a new environment, so that you can focus on making the most of your adventure, personally and professionally
I’ve been a part of programs in Medellin and Lisbon, each time with a diverse group of volunteers from all over the world, and have formed enduring relationsh… See more

I spent 6 weeks in Medellin, Colombia interning at a local government organization through with Venture with Impact. I would highly recommend the experience - Medellin is an amazing city and VWI were really helpful in designing a programme to suit my needs. Lindsay was also very knowledgeable about the local area, and helped me get to know the city and find my feet when I arrived. Thanks heaps!

I had the chance to travel to Medellin, Colombia with Venture with Impact in June and highly recommend it! This is definitely the way that I want to travel in the future. Immediately having like-minded friends, a city expert (thanks Lindsay!), a great place to stay and a way to authentically connect to the community through volunteering is invaluable and makes it so much more more than just a trip. I also highly recommend Medellin it is such a progressive city! The publi… See more

I love traveling and moved around quite a bit on my own so far, but the experience offered by Venture with Impact has an extra layer of close immersion in the local culture - like tile making classes, or electric bike tours in a portuguese fishermen village - that I would've otherwise not gotten a chance to do. On top of that I got to learn a lot about the workings of non-profits and education in Portugal through my wonderful volunteer opportunity. Our program manager gave us… See more

In conjunction with Venture with Impact, I delivered a series of career seminars as part of a weeklong retreat in Lisbon this past May. Ann Davis was amazing to work with. I appreciated her taking such great care of the retreat from planning to logistics of the stay. She was calm and professional, clear and concise in her communications, well organized, and fun! Ann was also very good at working with me on creating the retreat itinerary which incorporated both career and … See more

I participated in the month-long program in Lisbon, Portugal, during June of 2019. Our trip was well-organized with beautiful accommodations, plus I loved getting to know my travel companions! The org I volunteered with will always have a special place in my heart; I'm thankful for our partnership. I couldn't have planned a more fun and meaningful experience on my own

I had the honor of co-leading Wander Within — a travel, charity, and wellness retreat — alongside Venture with Impact in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I cannot recommend this group enough! The weeklong retreat was a once in a lifetime experience full of inner reflection, cultural immersion, and adventure! From traditional Thai cooking classes to visiting an ethical Elephant Sanctuary, and inner growth via yoga, meditation, journaling, and giving back the retreat was an experience lik… See more

I participated in the May 2019 Career Exploration & Soul Search Retreat in Lisbon, Portugal. It was a powerful combination of experiencing a different culture/place and working with a renowned career consultant that opened me up to the possibilities for new professional paths. Plus the camaraderie with the other participants made the trip even more profound. Extremely well run. I highly recommend!

I would highly recommend VWI - for those that seek adventure internationally, want to make a social impact, meet incredible people, get introduced to new cultures, and who simply just want to do something different. I had researched several digital nomad programs before deciding on VWI, but ultimately decided on VWI because of the non-profit program pairing and the flexibility of doing one month minimum at a time. I couldn’t have been more happy with the decision to choose th… See more

I participated in the Venture With Impact November 2018 Lisbon, Portugal program. Unfortunately my experience wasn't good and ended up being a waste of money. I really liked the concept of their program, but I learned the hard way that it's a gamble when you let a third party book your accommodations. Prior to arrival I was told I would be in a first floor apartment, but I was actually placed in a musty, moldy, ant infested basement apartment that wasn't suitable to live or work in.

When I asked the founder, Ann Davis, to place me in a different apartment because the mold in the apartment was making me sick, she said the situation was out of her control. Her only effort was to try to make the current apartment work by placing a dehumidifier and fan inside. Neither do anything to eliminate mold. She actually told me "We would have taken more care with thinking about this, if we knew about this allergy before." So the standard is to place participants in unlivable apartments unless you tell them about your allergies? I found that a bit unsettling as no one, with or without an allergy, should be surrounded by mold.

Because the living conditions were making me so sick, I had no choice but to leave the apartment after only a few days and find my own accommodations for the rest of the month. I wasn't compensated for the extra cost and any request for some type of refund was denied. The way the whole situation was handled was unprofessional and disappointing.

These days there are so many great ways for digital nomads to travel. Rather than considering Venture With Impact, I suggest looking into co-living/co-working places like Outsite or Roam. I stayed at the Lisbon Outside location and had a really good experience there. Those types of places offer great communities for travelers. Not only do you have access to a co-working space (which VWI didn't provide), but the cost is significantly less than VWI. If you like the volunteering aspect that VWI offers, then I suggest doing a little research beforehand to find out what kind of options are available in the city you're considering visiting.

The folks at vwi did everything in their power to help me with my personal goals. my only downfall was not letting them know when i had concerns. ie: i had a concern about my volunteering which i stuck out for a couple of days before saying anything to my surprise, the issue was cleared up by the end of the workday, (if i wasn't so nervous about saying something).when i got to trujillo i was nervous and wondering what i got myself into, but i quickly made friends with the locals (who are very helpful and friendly) which helped to fill any voids in my schedule. i have everything! great food, volunteering, friends, day trips, gym time, space to work on my studies, adventure, i could go on...i'm really happy to have been involved in this. i plan on doing it as long as i can work from my computer!

VWI was an amazing experience. I was able to work with inspiring non-profit organizations and immerse myself in their ongoing projects, and felt like I had many opportunities to connect with locals.
I also loved the VWI group - it was wonderful meeting motivated, interesting people from lots of different backgrounds who shared a common passion for serving others. I felt like I gained something valuable from each person I met in the program.
The coordinator also did a great job of setting up fun activities and excursions - there was always something going on, from happy hours to high-altitude hikes!
I highly recommend this experience to anyone who has the time and opportunity to participate.

The folks at VWI did everything in their power to help me with my personal goals. My only downfall was not letting them know when I had concerns. ie: I had a concern about my volunteering which I stuck out for a couple of days before saying anything to my surprise, the issue was cleared up by the end of the workday, (if I wasn't so nervous about saying something).
When I got to Trujillo I was nervous and wondering what I got myself into, but I quickly made friends with the locals (who are VERY helpful and friendly) which helped to fill the any voids in my schedule. I have everything! Great food, volunteering, friends, day trips, gym time, space to work on my studies, adventure, I could go on...
I'm really happy to have been involved in this. I plan on doing it as long as I can work from my computer!