United Planet

United Planet For 24 Years United Planet offers volunteer opportunities world wide, creating a global community.
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Volunteers can make a global impact in local communities while also gaining real-life experience, expanding worldviews, and bridging cross-cultural barriers by immersing in another culture!

09/01/2026

A scholarship can be more than financial support. It can be a doorway to a completely different way of seeing the world.

The David Santulli Scholarship for Relational Diplomacy was created to honor the founder of United Planet and his lifelong belief that meaningful relationships across cultures can help build a more peaceful and united world.

Dave’s own journey toward creating United Planet began with an experience he had as a teenager in Russia. During that trip, a conversation with a Russian woman made him recognize how fear and misunderstanding can grow between people who have never had the chance to truly know one another.

That realization stayed with him.

Years later, after living and traveling abroad, Dave came to understand just how deeply his own life had been shaped by the friendships and relationships he formed with people from different cultures. Those experiences eventually became part of the foundation for United Planet.

Today, that legacy continues through the David Santulli Scholarship for Relational Diplomacy.

Each year, one exceptional individual will receive scholarship support to participate in a United Planet Long-Term Quest—an immersive experience of living and volunteering abroad for 6–12 months.

We’re looking for someone with exceptional character, leadership potential, global curiosity, and a commitment to service. Someone who believes in connection over conflict and wants to create meaningful impact through relationships.

📅 Applications for the 2027 scholarship are now open

But we also need your help.

A scholarship like this is only possible because people choose to invest in the next generation of global citizens.

Your donation can help one deserving person go beyond borders.

It can help them experience another culture, contribute to a local community, build relationships across differences, and bring those lessons home to create positive change.

This November, United Planet will celebrate 25 years of building a global community, one relationship at a time.

As we celebrate where we’ve come from, we’re also looking toward the people who will carry this mission into the future.

Join us in honoring Dave’s legacy.

Donate to the David Santulli Scholarship and help make a life-changing global experience possible for someone who might not otherwise have the opportunity.

Learn more about the scholarship, upcoming application, and other United Planet scholarships: [United Planet Scholarships & Grants] https://unitedplanet.org/fundraising/scholarships-grants

Equality creates opportunity. Opportunity creates change. Today, on Women’s Equality Day, we celebrate the women who cha...
08/26/2026

Equality creates opportunity. Opportunity creates change.

Today, on Women’s Equality Day, we celebrate the women who challenged barriers, raised their voices, and helped create opportunities for generations to come.

August 26 marks the certification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, a historic milestone in the fight for women’s voting rights in the United States. But the journey toward equality did not end there.

At United Planet, we believe that a more peaceful and connected world is one where everyone has the opportunity to learn, lead, contribute, and be heard.

When women and girls are empowered to participate fully in their communities, they don't just benefit individually—their leadership and ideas strengthen the communities around them.

Today, we celebrate the women who lead, serve, challenge, inspire, and create change.

And we recommit to building a world where equality is not simply an aspiration, but an opportunity available to everyone.

Happy Women’s Equality Day.

08/26/2026

Some time ago, students from Andrean High School embarked on an unforgettable Quest to Costa Rica with United Planet.

Through cultural immersion, community service, conservation, and experiential learning, students had the opportunity to step outside the classroom and experience Costa Rica in a meaningful way.

We asked them to describe their Costa Rica Quest in one word and share their favorite part of the experience.

From exploring the Santa Elena Cloud Forest and contributing to conservation projects, to living with host families, learning about local culture, cooking, dancing, and connecting with communities—each student returned with their own story to tell.

Every journey is different. Every perspective is unique. And sometimes, the best way to understand the impact of a global experience is to hear directly from the students who lived it.

Let’s hear from them. What was their favorite part of the Quest?

Today, on World Humanitarian Day, we honor the humanitarian workers and local responders who continue to serve communiti...
08/19/2026

Today, on World Humanitarian Day, we honor the humanitarian workers and local responders who continue to serve communities facing conflict, disaster, displacement, and crisis.

Their work reminds us that compassion isn't passive. It asks us to show up, listen, serve, and stand with others, especially when doing so is difficult.

At United Planet, we believe meaningful global engagement starts with our shared humanity. Through service, cultural exchange, education, and community partnerships, we can all play a role in building a more connected and compassionate world.

What if one opportunity could change the trajectory of someone's life?At United Planet, we believe that global experienc...
08/17/2026

What if one opportunity could change the trajectory of someone's life?

At United Planet, we believe that global experiences have the power to develop empathetic leaders, strengthen cross-cultural understanding, and inspire lifelong service.

That's why we're raising funds for the David Santulli Scholarship for Relational Diplomacy, which will support one deserving participant on a United Planet Quest in 2027.

This scholarship is about more than funding travel. It's about investing in a future bridge builder, someone who will return home with new perspectives, stronger leadership skills, and a commitment to creating positive change in their community.

Applications will be open from August through December 2026, and every contribution helps make this opportunity possible.

If you believe that experiential learning and global connection can transform lives, we invite you to join us.

Together, we can help the next generation of global citizens take their first step.

🔗 Donate through the link: https://unitedplanet.org/the-david-santulli-scholarship-for-relational-diplomacy

Today's young people are tomorrow's global leaders, but their impact starts today.On International Youth Day, we celebra...
08/12/2026

Today's young people are tomorrow's global leaders, but their impact starts today.

On International Youth Day, we celebrate the energy, creativity, and leadership of young people who are driving positive change in their communities and around the world.

This year's UN theme, "Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond," recognizes that meaningful global progress begins with local action. Young people are already leading solutions that advance sustainable development, strengthen communities, and build a more inclusive future.

At United Planet, we've spent more than 25 years creating opportunities for young people to grow through international service, cultural exchange, internships, and experiential learning.

Because when young people are given opportunities to connect across cultures, collaborate with communities, and learn through experience, they don't just gain skills—they develop empathy, confidence, and a lifelong commitment to global citizenship.

Today, we celebrate every young person choosing to make a difference, wherever they are.

Happy International Youth Day.

Today, we recognize the rich cultures, languages, traditions, and knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples across the glo...
08/09/2026

Today, we recognize the rich cultures, languages, traditions, and knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples across the globe.

This year's UN theme, "Honoring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Well-being," celebrates Indigenous knowledge as a vital foundation for health, cultural continuity, and community well-being.

At United Planet, we believe meaningful global engagement begins with humility—the willingness to listen before leading, to learn before acting, and to build relationships grounded in mutual respect.

Our work has always been rooted in community partnership, recognizing that lasting impact comes from collaborating with communities rather than working for them.

Today, and every day, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples for their enduring contributions to environmental stewardship, cultural preservation, education, and peacebuilding.

Together, we can continue building a world where diverse voices, histories, and knowledge are valued and respected.

Why does volunteering abroad cost money?It’s a question we hear often—and an important one to address transparently.Volu...
08/06/2026

Why does volunteering abroad cost money?

It’s a question we hear often—and an important one to address transparently.

Volunteer program fees are not simply about travel. They support the infrastructure that makes meaningful, ethical, and safe global engagement possible.

This includes:

• Local coordination and expertise
• Safety and participant support systems
• Long-term partnerships with host communities
• Structured cultural and learning experiences

At United Planet, our programs are built on trust, collaboration, and mutual benefit with communities around the world. These relationships take time, care, and resources to sustain.

When participants join a program, they are contributing to a system designed to ensure that both volunteers and host communities benefit in a responsible and impactful way.

We believe transparency builds trust—and trust is the foundation of global citizenship.

📩 Learn more: [email protected]

Internships do more than build a résumé, it helps students become globally minded leaders.At the recent American Associa...
08/05/2026

Internships do more than build a résumé, it helps students become globally minded leaders.

At the recent American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) Conference, United Planet CEO Jill Tracy shared how community-led international internships and service-learning experiences are transforming the way students learn, communicate, and engage with the world.

When students collaborate alongside local communities rather than simply observe them, they develop far more than technical skills. They build empathy, intercultural competence, language proficiency, adaptability, and the confidence to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.

At United Planet, we believe the most meaningful internships are rooted in partnership, cultural immersion, and mutual learning—creating benefits for both participants and the communities they serve.

Whether you're an educator, parent, or student, experiential learning has the power to shape not only future careers but future global citizens.

Comment "Internships" below, and we'll send you more information about our international and virtual internship opportunities.

Happy New Month! As we welcome August, we're reminded that meaningful change doesn't always begin with grand gestures. M...
08/04/2026

Happy New Month!

As we welcome August, we're reminded that meaningful change doesn't always begin with grand gestures. More often, it starts with a simple choice: to listen, to learn, to serve, or to connect.

At United Planet, we believe that every volunteer, educator, student, host family, and community partner plays a role in building bridges of understanding across cultures.

As Nelson Mandela once said, "It is in your hands to make a better world for all who live in it."

This month, let's challenge ourselves to create opportunities for empathy, collaboration, and meaningful connection, whether in our local communities or across the globe.

Here's to a month filled with purpose, growth, and the courage to make a positive impact.

Happy August!

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