Giving a HelpStay volunteering membership as a holiday gift is a great way to encourage sustainable travel for friends and family, especially for birthdays or during hectic holiday seasons.
For those who love new adventures, it’s an ideal way to make immersive travel experiences easy and exciting.
Giving someone the opportunity to explore the world while supporting local communities with their free time is a special thing.
Let’s talk more about why a HelpStay volunteering membership makes for a great travel gift.
What Is HelpStay Volunteering?
HelpStay is an online platform that has work exchange opportunities available around the world.
It’s a place where locals can connect with travelers, for an exchange of help for free accommodation and sometimes food and activities.
What does HelpStay volunteering entail? It depends on what the host needs.
It could be helping around the house, painting, helping with animals or children, with a tourism business or NGO, language exchange, a farm stay, etc.!
Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links that will cost you nothing extra but offer me a little commission for any purchases made. I was also compensated to create this content by Helpstay, but the opinions and advice are 100% my own.
Why Give A HelpStay Volunteering Membership?
Many people claim that it’s the thought behind the gift that is the most important and with this, I strongly disagree.
Of course, it’s nice that someone was thinking of you, but that doesn’t give an excuse for buying the first thing you see when you walk into a store.
Since I’m living abroad, I don’t have the luxury of collecting lots of items that don’t bring value to my day-to-day life.
Plus, as a society, we have learned the importance of cutting back on unnecessary waste in our lifestyles.
Gift-giving is no different – there are so many eco-friendly travel gifts to choose from nowadays. I hate pointless clutter in my living space.
Having too many gadgets makes me feel a little suffocated so I appreciate when my friends give me gifts that will be helpful to me.
Here are 9 reasons that mindful travelers will love receiving a HelpStay volunteering membership.
1. HelpStay Volunteering Makes Immersive Travel Easy & Exciting
Working your way around the world is a great way to learn more about local cultures, and it’s also a great way to give back authentically.
By joining a work exchange, you get an automatic inside look into what the locals eat and do for fun and plenty of tips for having unique experiences on your time off.
Whether you want to help out on a farm, do a language exchange, or even volunteer in a hostel, HelpStay has these opportunities all in one place.
2. HelpStay Volunteering Can Impact Communities Around The World
Those who exchange help can make an impact. By offering your skills to locals, you’ll get to expand your comfort zone by trying new things.
You get to help people in ways that might not come naturally to you at first but will eventually expand your abilities.
In return, you will have the opportunity to learn more about yourself and others, plus free accommodation.
3. HelpStay Is A Smaller Platform
Okay, I know what you might be thinking… Bigger is better right?
In some cases that is true, but from my experiences of using different work exchange platforms, it’s not.
Though the larger sites do have more opportunities than HelpStay, they also have more users and they significantly outnumber the hosts.
This means there can be steep competition for getting volunteering gigs. As a traveler, it’s common to write a lot of messages to hosts and never get a response.
This is because the hosts are bombarded with exchange requests and they don’t have the time to read and answer all of them. That’s why HelpStay volunteering might be easier to arrange.
If you’re giving a membership like this to your friend, you definitely don’t want to make it harder for them, especially if this type of thing is out of their comfort zone already.
4. It’s Ideal For Cost-Conscious Travelers
Work exchanges are ideal for cost-conscious travelers. Work exchange membership fees are usually less than $60 and help to save money on travel accommodation in the long run.
They help you enjoy the benefits of staying in places longer without paying any travel accommodation fees.
These memberships can even be shared with friends and family, which is more affordable than paying for two single accounts.
Workaway is the largest online work exchange platform. They offer a single account for €49 and the couples/friend account is €59.
HelpStay has competitive pricing at a rate of €42.99 for a single account and €51.99 for a couple/friends account.
5. Improve Foreign Language Skills
Work exchanges allow travelers to be immersed in the local language so they can quickly begin learning how to communicate with the people around them.
Hearing the language spoken all around helps greatly in this process. It aids with accurate pronunciation and proper grammar, which is essential for being understood by native speakers.
If you give your friend or family member a work exchange membership, they can use their time to improve their fluency in foreign languages.
Learning a new language is an invaluable way to learn about the culture of that country and its people.
For many, it’s a dream come true to be able to visit a country that uses a foreign language that they have been putting so much time and effort into learning.
6. Meet People From All Over The World
One of my favorite things about doing work exchanges is that you are bound to meet people from all over the world.
While helping out, you will likely get some great friendships because you’re spending time with others who also want to help out.
It is nice that people from different cultures can participate and bond by doing a project together.
In fact, one of the main reasons why people choose to go on a work exchange is because they want to interact with their hosts and make new connections with other people doing the same project.
Also, if you love getting out and exploring new places, you’re going to meet more locals and travelers who are nearby (and maybe even get invited along for some fun nights out).
7. HelpStay Volunteering Membership Is A Zero-Waste Gift
You don’t need to worry about material waste for the HelpStay volunteering membership.
There are no environmental impacts from the production of this membership, and it doesn’t have to be physically wrapped or delivered.
8. It’s A Unique Gift For Travel Lovers
Those who love to travel and want to bring a little mindfulness into their lives will appreciate this gift.
Work exchange memberships are unique gifts that keep on giving, offering not only a great experience but also the ability to use it again and again.
Giving a HelpStay volunteering membership is kinda like buying someone an airplane ticket.
Instead of flying them somewhere, you’re giving them a tool to find cool new experiences they can try.
It’s a gift that lasts longer than your typical present and can be used by most people.
Don’t worry about whether your recipient has been abroad before or not, this could spark something in them to make that first trip. Check out these amazing gifts for someone going abroad.
9. HelpStay Volunteering Membership Is A Great Virtual Gift
You won’t have to spend money on postage to send them a physical card since it’s completely virtual.
You can give a HelpStay Volunteering membership year-round and even if your loved ones are across the country or even thousands of miles away.
Final Thoughts
Giving a work exchange membership is a gift that keeps on giving.
The recipient gets to choose their own adventure and save money, while you get to feel good about helping them travel mindfully.
I hope that this guide has helped your search for a unique travel gift. A HelpStay volunteering membership is a great way to make immersive travels more accessible and sustainable.
Help your friends and family connect with people from all over the world to learn and grow exponentially.
Love This Article? Pin For Later!
