Join The Village
A team walks toward giant granite boulders under a wide sky

Boarding the plane home is the hardest part

Travel with us to visit our partners, listen well and build friendships which last long after the trip ends.

Upcoming trips

Want your travel to truly help?

Good trips start with good questions. We have asked them all too, and here is how we answer the three we hear most.

Read our trip FAQs

  • Will I really help?

    You work alongside leaders who already know what their community needs, so your hands go where they are wanted and your time counts.

  • Is it safe?

    We plan every detail with people on the ground who know the roads, the weather and the neighbors, and safety comes first in every decision.

  • Can I afford it?

    We help you build a fundraising page and share your story, so the friends and family who believe in you can send you, one step at a time.

Team members dig inside a fence of wooden stakes with dry hills beyond

Relationships matter

We do not travel because our friends need help painting or handing out food. They are more than capable. We go to sit with people, hear their stories and see their work up close.

There is almost always physical work on a trip, but the goal is long term friendship, not a quick project.

“The fact you would come all this way just to care.”

Someone our team met in Ukraine. Read the story

Joining a trip is simple

  1. The wing of a plane above a city far below

    Apply for a trip.

    Tell us a little about yourself and where you would love to go. We follow up on every application personally and answer every question.

  2. A traveler with a backpack sits on a rope swing under palm trees

    Get ready together.

    We help you prepare, pack and raise support from friends and family, so you arrive rested, ready and curious.

  3. Two volunteers hammer boards beneath a home raised on stilts

    Go and listen.

    Share meals, work beside local leaders and hear their stories where they live. Then comes the hardest part: the flight home.

Red and yellow duffel bags in the bow of a wooden boat on open water

Pack light. Bring an open heart.

Duffels in the bow, open water ahead and friends waiting on the far shore. Hundreds of travelers have set out with us since 2021, from Haiti and Brazil to Uganda, and every one of them started with a simple yes.

Upcoming trips

On every trip you can expect

Trips are planned with the people who host us, so the schedule supports their work rather than interrupting it.

  • Time with local leaders

    Leaders share the history, culture and hopes of their community, in their homes and in their own words.

  • Hands on work

    Practical tasks beside the people who serve there every day, always the work our hosts ask us to do.

  • Project visits

    See how long term work grows over the years in the places we serve, and meet the families it reaches.

  • Shared meals

    Real conversation around the table, plus time before and after the trip to prepare and reflect together.

Where we go next

Two trips are taking shape for 2027. Dates are tentative until our partners confirm them.

  • A young volunteer works beside a bundle of rebar at a building site

    Ukraine

    July 15 – 30, 2027

    Two weeks beside our friends in Ukraine, helping with homes and meals and sitting with families who have carried on through the war.

  • A woman carries two baskets of bread and oranges through tall golden grass

    Eswatini

    August 1 – 15, 2027

    Two weeks in the hills of Eswatini with homesteads, caregivers and the children of an orphanage we are learning how to support.

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed of future trips to Uganda, India, Haiti, Belize and many, many more places.

Guides for the journey

Short reads to help travelers and their families get ready, from packing and fundraising to telling stories with care.

Tell us about yourself and the trip you have in mind. Have your passport nearby for its photo.

About you

Exactly as it appears on your passport, middle name included

Emergency contactParent or guardian

Because you will be under 18 on the trip, a parent or guardian is also your emergency contact, and signs the agreement below.

Passport

Photo of your passport

The main information page, clear and readable. A JPEG, PNG or PDF.

A little more

Food restrictions too, so we can plan meals and care

Agreement

Authorization and Agreement

The information on this application is accurate and true to the best of my knowledge. I understand that I am giving 501 Collective the right to use my picture, voice and/or testimony in any form of promotional advertising materials.

I also understand that once accepted to this trip, I am responsible for the full price of the trip.

I understand that to remain tax deductible, donations cannot be refunded for any reason.

I understand all donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law, so far as not goods or services were exchanged.

I also understand that withdrawing from the trip after plane tickets, etc are purchased will forfeit any funds raised. You will receive a receipt recognizing your donation in January following the year of donation.

In consideration for receiving permission of 501 Collective, to participate in the trip, I hereby release, waive, discharge and covenant not to sue, 501 Collective, The Board, Their officers, agents, servants, or employees (hereinafter referred to as releasees) from any and all liability, claims, demands, actions, and causes of action whatsoever arising out of or related to any loss, damage, or injury, including death, that may be sustained by me, or any of the property belonging to me, whether caused by the negligence of the releasees, or otherwise, while participating in such activity, or while in, on or upon the duration of the trip.

Waiver

Liability Release

RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY RELEASE OF LIABILITY, WAIVER OF CLAIMS, EXPRESS ASSUMPTION OF RISK AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT.

Please read and be certain you understand the implications of signing. Express Assumption of Risk Associated with All Recreational Activities.

In signing this release form I am stating that 501 Collective is not responsible for any injuries to my person or property. I understand all inherent hazards and risks associated with all activities, including nonscheduled recreational activities, scheduled events led by or associated with 501 Collective, and any extreme sports. Including the rental of equipment and transportation associated therewith in which I am about to engage. I am going to a country at war and there are risks associated with my trip, including severe injury and death.

Inherent hazards and risks (include but are not limited to):

1. Risk of injury from the activity and equipment utilized is significant including the potential for permanent disability and death.

2. Possible equipment failure and/or malfunction of my own or others' equipment.

3. If this activity takes place outdoors and therefore includes risks associated with exposure to elements, excessive heat, hypothermia, impact of the body upon water, injection of water into my body orifices, encountering objects either natural or manmade, exposure to animals with the attendant risk of kicking, biting, shying away, running or otherwise moving in an unanticipated manner causing injury and/or death.

4. My own negligence and/or negligence of others, including but not limited to operator error and guide decision making including misjudging terrain, rapids, weather, trails, or route location.

5. Attack by or encounter with insects, reptiles, and/or animals, including any virus or illness they transmit.

6. Accidents or illness occurring in remote places where there are no available medical facilities.

7. Fatigue, chill, and/or dizziness, which may diminish my/our reaction time and increase the risk of accident.

*I understand the description of these risks is not complete and unknown or unanticipated risks may result in injury, illness, or death.

Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims and Indemnity Agreement

In consideration for being permitted to participate in the activity (ies) described above and related activities, I hereby agree, acknowledge and appreciate that:

Liability Release:

1. I HEREBY RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS WITH RESPECT TO ANY AND ALL INJURY, DISABILITY, DEATH, or loss or damage to person or property, WHETHER CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE, the following named persons or entities, herein referred to as the releasee: 501 Collective.

2. To release the releasee, their directors, employees, representatives, agents, and volunteers, and vessels from liability and responsibility whatsoever and for any claims or causes of action that I, my estate, heirs, survivors, executors, or assigns may have for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death arising from the above activities whether caused by active or passive negligence of the releasee, outbreak of a contagious disease, government lockdowns, war, acts of God or otherwise. By executing this document, I agree to hold the releasee harmless and indemnify them in conjunction with any injury, disability, death, or loss or damage to person or property that may occur as a result of engaging in the above activities.

3. By entering into this Agreement, I am not relying on any oral or written representation or statements made by the releasee, other than what is set forth in this Agreement. This release shall be binding to the fullest extent permitted by law. If any provision of this release is found to be unenforceable, the remaining terms shall be enforceable.

Donation Acknowledgment

I agree and understand that all donations, support, and gifts to my trip or 501 Collective, with an expression of a preference for my trip expenses, are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. All donations are nonrefundable.

Photography Consent

I hereby grant, voluntarily and with full understanding, to 501 Collective the license to use and store my name and image, by means of digital or film photography, video photography, audio recording or other documentation, with respect to the selected activities, hosted by 501 Collective. I also grant use of any stored data including my name and image in printed publications, electronic publications, social media outlets and / or in any website created by or for 501 Collective for its sole benefit.

I HAVE READ THIS RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT, AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND ITS TERMS, AND UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE GIVEN UP LEGAL RIGHTS BY SIGNING IT, AND I SIGN IT FREELY AND VOLUNTARILY WITHOUT ANY INDUCEMENT.

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Open the door for someone else

Some travelers work hard to join a trip but still face a gap. Help one of them step into a new place and meet remarkable people.

Support a traveler Raising for your own trip?

Tell us a little about what you have in mind and we will connect you with the right person on our team.