Volunteer travel involves taking a trip     1     all or part of the purpose is to participate in an arranged service opportunity helping others. Usually, these trips are arranged by church organizations, human interest groups,     2     non-profits.

Charitable interests often go far beyond national boundaries and sometimes, donating money is not enough     3     (satisfy) the need to help. Volunteer travel is a way to combine a visit to a new location     4     meaningful work that has a direct impact on communities in other parts of the world.

This type of travel has been     5     option for many years.     6     (historic), church groups made up a large part of this market. Once a year a religious organization would organize a trip to another country. The primary purpose of the trip was very specific. For example, it would be to help build a school, dig wells or engage in hundreds of other     7     (project) that would impact those less fortunate.

As international travel becomes by far     8     (easy), volunteering in other countries has become as accessible as browsing a website and signing up. Instead of     9     (travel) with a group that is organized at the volunteers home base, the volunteer may join a group that gathers at the worksite from all over the world. This sort of volunteer travel     10     (refer) to as voluntourism or vacanteerism from time to time.

I drove to a local supermarket the other day. My shopping list was long and my wallet was light. Still, I needed to get a week’s worth of groceries for my family. I parked my car, looked down at my list, and hoped I     1     pay for it all.

As I walked the door, I saw a man with kind     2    (eye) and a gentle smile. He said he was     3    (collect) for a local food bank that helped to feed the hungry in my area. He handed me a second shopping list of things they could use and asked me to help if I could. I smiled back, took the list and walked into the store. I really wanted to help,     4     wasn’t sure if I could this time.

I walked through the store, picking up vegetables, soup, spaghetti, bread, milk, cereal, macaroni, bananas, and a dozen other things. I slowly marked each item off my list until I was done. When I looked down at my full cart(购物车) I wondered again     5     I even had enough to pay for it all. Then, as I put my own list back into my pocket, I saw the food-bank list under it. I smiled and     6    (decide) to trust my heart.

With the food bank in mind, I went over and picked two of the biggest boxes of rice the store had and put     7    (they) in my cart. It took another six dollars out of my wallet to pay for them, but my heart felt six times     8    (large) when I did. And when everything was added up, I had just enough to pay for it all.

It takes so little to make our world a better place. A few dollars can help to fill a     9    (child) hungry stomach.     10    (kind) can change another’s day and life. It is up to us, though. We can save a few dollars on rice, or we can share a love that will last forever.

Taking the volunteer trip to the Wildlife Sanctuary project was something I had wanted to do for several years. Unfortunately, I was busy with work. As     1     result, it was always something that I might do eventually rather than actually doing. Then, I decided it had     2     (happen) because it was of great importance to me. I made preparations, booked my trip and slightly hesitantly headed off to the airport.

Literally after one day of volunteering, I was already regretting only having two weeks to stay. Every day was amazing and full of wonderful     3    (experience). The days flew by because we were so busy working on the farm, hanging out and making new friends, and     4     (learn) about the wildlife in a hands-on manner. In reality, the actual project was exciting and the people I met were similarly incredible.     5     is crazy that in just a few weeks you can develop friendships that seem like you     6     (have) for years. Leaving can make people sad, but still, I cannot recommend the trip enough to anyone     7     is considering it. I'm sure they will fall in love with it. Besides, volunteering can be really     8     (benefit) to people.

    9     (arrive) home, I always miss my days that were filled with things related to South Africa. I find myself     10     (constant) looking back at photos. I look forward to taking another trip.