Cross-Cultural Solutions Reaches Niche Markets in Canada
December 22, 2008
Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS) is seeing record numbers of Canadian volunteers from all walks of life, along with a spike in new media coverage across the country.
With over 500 volunteers from Canada this year already, recent stories in Outpost Magazine, the Toronto Star, New Outlook, The Canadian Press and Brazil News, CCS will help to reach new communities that are becoming more interested in volunteering abroad.
Outpost, Canada’s adventure travel magazine, highlighted several aspects of CCS in its Global Travel Guide, including volunteer opportunities in Morocco, Russia, and Thailand. In their “Guide to Global Change,” Outpost honoured previous CCS program participant Cathy Churchill as a “star volunteer.” Churchill, 68 of British Columbia, volunteered at a centre for people with disabilities in New Delhi, India.
The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper, featured CCS in a story about volunteer opportunities for LGBT travellers. Two LGBT CCS staff members were interviewed for the story and they explained their insightful experiences in-country, as well as CCS’s ability to address individual concerns, including questions on identifying as LGBT, because of the expertise of in-country staff and thorough pre-departure preparation.
Sears Advantage publication, New Outlook, for the 50-plus audience, showcased a new group that is choosing to volunteer abroad instead of taking typical vacations—families. The story followed the volunteering adventure of the Hawkes family from Toronto. While in Tanzania, the pre-teen daughters volunteered with their mother at an orphanage and their father shared his professional skills with a microfinance organisation working with low-income women trying to start small businesses.
In the same vein, but on the opposite side of the spectrum, was a story by The Canadian Press which highlighted the recent trend of young people giving up holiday time, traditionally spent with family, to volunteer overseas. The Canadian Press, akin to a smaller, Canada-specific Associated Press, is a not-for-profit, multimedia news agency that reaches hundreds of thousands of Canadians each year through 100 daily newspapers and 500 radio and television stations.
The Brazil News, a weekly publication based in Toronto, published an opinion editorial by former CCS volunteer, Sonia Marques. Marques, 28, wrote the article in Portuguese, enabling this small Canadian population to learn more about volunteering abroad through her experience teaching in Salvador, Brazil.
The growing popularity of volunteering abroad in the mainstream has enacted a domino effect of interest that is reaching all types of markets. Whether young or old, single or married, a student or a retiree, and everything in between, the phenomenon of volunteering time to meaningful projects overseas is catching on across Canada through the reach of CCS.
The organization’s Canadian office is located in the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto, Ontario and its headquarters is located in New Rochelle, NY, USA. CCS started operating in Canada in 2006 but has worked with over 1,500 Canadian volunteers since its founding in 1995.
About Cross-Cultural Solutions
Cross-Cultural Solutions was founded in 1995 and operates volunteer programs in 12 countries around the world in partnership with sustainable community initiatives. As a not-for-profit organization with no religious or political affiliations, Cross-Cultural Solutions brings people together to work side-by-side while sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding.
Contact Info
Kam Santos, Director of Communications
1-914-632-0022
kam@crossculturalsolutions.org
