08 Mar Celebrating Female-Founded Volunteer Organizations on International Women’s Day

Today is International Women’s Day – and in the spirit of the worldwide celebration of women, we are thrilled to highlight some of the female-founded Give A Day Global organizations. At Give A Day Global, we are lucky to partner with women across the globe who are architects of change, founding and leading volunteer organizations that address a myriad of social, environmental, and health-related issues. 

Through their work with these organizations and the surrounding communities, these women, among many others, have harnessed the spirit of volunteerism to make a difference in the world.

Join us as we explore a selection of these remarkable organizations. We hope that today, on International Women’s Day,  you are inspired to support or join their causes, fostering a global community of volunteers eager to contribute to a more equitable and just world.

Elma School – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Jacquie Lawrence and Very Law founded The Elma School in Siem Reap Cambodia in 2006; Jacquie is also the founder and Trustee Chair of the ELMA Trust. She devotes her time to the fundraising and management of the ELMA Trust projects. The Elma School offers English lessons, school materials, and health lessons to poor and vulnerable students. The school has 3 classrooms, a library, and 7 teachers that serve over 400 students in the community. Elma School often welcomes volunteers to help teach English for the day in the classroom. This may involve facilitating games, reading books, practicing pronunciation and vocabulary, giving a presentation and supporting the teacher in the regular curriculum. Students and teachers greatly benefit from practicing English with fluent English speakers.

CREAR – Playa Samara, Costa Rica

CREAR – which stands for  CREATIVIty, ART & Social RESPONsibility,  was founded by three women in 2009 – Andrea Keith, Lindsay Lavelle, and Laura Ellington. CREAR’s mission is to provide free, high-quality, supplementary educational opportunities for the youth of Playa Samara and El Torito while serving as a space for mutual cultural enrichment between its students and volunteers. Asociación CREAR offers after school programs as an opportunity for growth. These classes enrich the lives of 200 students from Playa Samara and the surrounding areas with a wide variety of innovative programs focusing on academic and artistic education, environmental consciousness, health, and socio-cultural development. Through these programs, CREAR seeks to enhance not only the children’s lives, but that of the town’s future as well.

Give A Day Global volunteers can spend the day with local staff to prepare for and assist after school programs. Volunteers can also help organize and shelve books for the library that CREAR operates, and prepare supplies to be used in their classes.

Huellas de Pan – Cancún, Mexico

Elena Ortegón, a mother of five, founded Huellas de Pan in 2006, initially as a community kitchen to nourish vulnerable people in urban areas. Today, its unique programs link nutritional food to education and personal development, offering improved well-being for the people it serves both now and in the future.

On weekdays, volunteers help by preparing food in the kitchen, serving food to children and elderly people, organizing the pantry, sharing information about their hometown and engaging with the community members. On Saturdays, volunteers play with the children and participate in cultural activities in the local park.

Fundacion Calicanto – Casco Antiguo, Panama

In addition to promoting the restoration and preservation of the Historic Center of Panama City, the Fundacion Calicanto provides training for local women with a series of workshops focusing on life skills and career development, as well as after-school performing arts classes for children. The founder, Hildegard Vasquez, established the organization not only to help women find jobs, but also to give them the skills, confidence, and avenues to help themselves and their families to chart new economic and social destinies.

Calicanto welcomes volunteers to participate in classes as part of the CAPTA program which provides training and personal development for at-risk women. This may include joining an English class and practicing conversational English. In addition, volunteers who don’t speak Spanish are invited to lend a hand in their offices with administrative work.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let us carry forward the spirit of empowerment embodied by these pioneering female-founded volunteer organizations. By supporting these organizations, whether through donations, volunteerism, or simply spreading the word, we contribute to a legacy of inclusivity, empathy, and resilience. We invite you to honor these women not just today, but every day, by engaging with their missions and becoming part of the transformative power of volunteer travel.