Experiences curated to provide the knowledge to lead change and build peace.
Learn, Serve and Lead!
Learn with curiosity
Bright Light Volunteers create opportunities to learn through experiential cultural immersion. Upon arrival in the host community, students explore historic and natural landmarks, tour museums, enjoy local cuisine, enroll in dance lessons, visit markets, and participate in cooking lessons with the local people. These are just a few examples of the immersive learning experiences enjoyed by Bright Light Volunteers program participants.
Learn
Serve
Serve with compassion
Bright Light Volunteers creates opportunities to serve by working side by side with our local partners on community-led, service projects. Community service allows students to develop a deeper understanding of the host community and culture. Bright Light Volunteers can expect to serve between 42-110 hours, depending on the length and location of the program.
Lead
Lead with confidence
Bright Light Volunteers creates opportunities to lead by providing life-altering experiences that cultivate a global perspective and open-mindedness in students that will ultimately inspire them to become global leaders and critical thinkers who create solutions to global social problems. Here, at Bright Light Volunteers, we believe that the most effective global leaders begin as global citizens.
Custom-Curated Global Experiences That Develop Leaders and Build Peace
Bright Light Volunteers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to empowering participants and community partners through education and service. Bright Light Volunteers designs intentionally structured service-learning programs in partnership with local communities — equipping participants with the knowledge, humility, and leadership skills to create meaningful change at home and abroad.
We are not a trip provider. We are a global leadership and peacebuilding education organization.
Every Bright Light Volunteers experience is carefully curated around educational objectives, community partnership, and ethical engagement. Participants do not “volunteer” for a week — they enter structured learning environments designed to foster global competency, systems awareness, and responsible leadership.
This is service-learning with intention.
OUR FOUR PILLARS OF PROGRAMMING
Intentional Design
Programs are built around clear learning goals, structured preparation, and guided reflection.
Community Partnership
Projects are developed in collaboration with vetted local leaders and organizations.
Leadership Development
Participants build cross-cultural communication skills and ethical decision-making capacity.
Peacebuilding in Practice
We believe understanding, partnership, and humility are foundations for long-term peace.
Join us in our vision to make the world a brighter place by creating a more peaceful, just, interconnected world where
global challenges and opportunities are met by educated, compassionate, global citizens and leaders.
Contact us to discuss a program tailored to fit your group's objectives!
Learn more about how we work:
Our Educator Packet is a comprehensive resource guide packed with tools to help teachers lead safe, meaningful, and impactful international service-learning programs with Bright Light Volunteers!
Global Service Learning Adventures
Curated Global Leadership Experiences
Our programs are intentionally designed learning environments where service, cultural immersion, and structured reflection intersect. Participants develop the knowledge, humility, and skills necessary to lead responsibly in an interconnected world.
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Our Community Testimonies
Brandi W., TX
"Bright Light Volunteers is passionate about their mission to provide students who attend Title 1 designated schools with access to global service learning initiatives. These opportunities allow students to develop an understanding of economic, cultural, political and environmental influences in order to 'compete' in an every-changing world and job market. I have been fortunate to collaborate with such a passionate organization toward a common goal of developing global leaders through education and service for a more peaceful and sustainable and equitable world."
Natalie M., TN
"Bright Light Volunteers has been an extraordinarily beautiful program since the day that it popped into my life here at Bethel University. I have travelled with BLV to some absolutely breathtaking places, like Cuba, Colombia, and most recently Costa Rica. Each opportunity holds so many lessons about life, allows the students to gain cultural competence and awareness, introduces a foreign language, teaches independence and courage, provides experience for future schools and/or jobs, and overall gives the students a better sense of themselves. I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in traveling and studying abroad because you are sure to leave with much more knowledge and experience of the world than when you came."
Amanda M., TN
"I recently completed my third service program with Bright Light Volunteers. Our group went to Costa Rica. We learned a lot about our need to conserve and reduce our use of plastic. We cleaned up beaches of microplastics and implemented permaculture farming at a local high school. This organization puts together the BEST global service learning programs! I highly recommend Bright Light Volunteers!"