When disaster strikes, we are all asked to give money to help in the immediate aftermath. But once a disaster zone shifts to a recovery zone, you are also able to donate time and your own sweat. In this episode, we speak with Josiah Johnson and Riley Piva, two incredible gap year alums who dedicated time to disaster recovery with the international relief organization All Hands and Hearts. They open up about the experience volunteering in disaster relief, the mental health benefits of serving others and how you can get involved!
About All Hands and Hearts:
All Hands and Hearts effectively and efficiently addresses the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure.
Riley and Josiah mentioned they received free flights to their projects. As of 2020, travel assistance is limited to certain programs for volunteers who can commit to a predetermined length of service. Check out AHAH FAQs for more information on travel assistance.
Interested in volunteering? Check out the All Hands and Hearts active programs here.