We're making Miracles happen all over the world and having fun doing it. Come get to know us, there's many ways to get involved. We'd love to hear from you!
Our Launch VideoA Success StorySome pack for city life. Some pack for mountain adventures. Regardless where our Wandering Samaritans are headed, they'll be packin' miracles!
APPLY NOWWe're building an action oriented global community focused on helping when we can, where we can, because we can. And by sharing our stories, we'll inspire others to do the same. JOIN US
Every year 1 billion people travel outside their own borders. That's a lot of opportunity to do more than take selfies!
Unlikely pairings of people coming together to share an experience of kindness. Simply because we can.
We'll share every single story (Miracle) on the website and use media to inspire An Army of Good.
This is Casparo’s wrap up video from his Permaculture Project completed with th...
24 July, 20171 CommentBack in 2014 I traveled to Namibia with the idea of visiting various San communities ...
08 July, 2017No commentWell off the typical tourist track in Argentina, about 45 minutes outside of Cordoba ...
25 August, 20152 CommentsIn 2009, when I visited the Sigul Youth Polytechnic in Anyiko (West Kenya) for the fi...
26 May, 20152 CommentsAnother Wandering Samaritan, Emilia Epperly from Arizona , ventured out to the hills ...
27 October, 20141 CommentSubmit your application online and then we'll have a Skype interview. Apply Now!
Travel your way. It's your trip. And now you'll have some extra tools in your backpack.
Erase "I wish I could have done something" from your vocabulary. We fund Miracles.
Pictures, video, and writing to document and inspire. Don't worry, we'll do the editing.
We'll tell everyone, and inspire others to join The Army of Good!
By financially enabling approved travelers to support the people and projects they discover and are passionate about, we’ll be taking some of the “work” out of service work.
Traditional giving and volunteerism can often lack transparency and feel calculated or routine. We focus on the ones who have fallen through the cracks of government and big NGO initiatives. Their stories deserve your attention too.
What if going abroad wasn't about what you got, but what you gave?
SAMARITANS IN THE FIELD
MIRACLES PERFORMED
COUNTRIES INVOLVED
COFFEE CUPS DRANK
I guess it all started ten years ago when a local friend in Chiang Mai, Thailand took me to an orphanage and we met 30-40 HIV+ infants, quite literally piled up in a corner with no diapers, let alone other essentials. We brought back as many diapers as we could carry, but I remember thinking how little impact this would have on the overall problem, wondering how this could exist in today’s world, and feeing I wish I could do more than my 24 year old backpacker budget would allow.
Fast forward a decade and after leaving a string of paycheck jobs it was time to pursue my greater passions. The plan was to travel for a year and launch a Kickstarter campaign with the concept of “I’ll pay 100% of my travel expenses and I’ll donate 100% of your donations to people in need along the way, and share every story back through a travel blog.” One of my closest friend said it was a great concept but challenged me to make it bigger than just myself. And thus, after a long brainstorm in the mountains, The Wandering Samaritan was born.
With the organization, I hope address a few key realities. 1) There are people who need help who fall through the cracks of traditional aide. 2) There are many people who want to help, but won’t necessarily give two years of their life to The Peace Corps or can’t afford to pay thousands of dollars for a “Voluntourism” trip (nor do I think they are effective). 3) There are many donors who do give, or would give, if they believed more of their donation was reaching the people in need. 4) There is room to improve the type of stories we consume in social media.
Samaritan spirit is about seeking that ingenuity and innocence of life that we all crave. It’s about co-creating an exchange, where both the “visitor” and the “visited’ get entwined in a moment of sharing of inner spirit and inner humanity. It is not, a one direction experience. At it’s heart, I believe travel can bring unlikely pairings of people together in ways larger humanitarian efforts simply cannot. That’s not said to invalidate, but rather to acknowledge that we can work from the bottom up, while the bigger organizations work top down. And together we can change the world, one good deed at a time. I hope you consider joining the effort. – J
I was amazed by the expediency and partnership of TWS in facilitating the entire process and its funding - a very painless experience that I strongly advocate.
Katarzyna Domagala
Being in another country, talking to people, getting to know them and their daily hassles, and suddenly realizing: hey, their problem could be solved with a little support of the Wandering Samaritans! This makes me happy.
Franziska Engelhardt
A little bit goes a long way, and what may seem like a small amount of money to donors back home can really make a huge impact abroad.
Sarah Will
TWS had given me, as well as those in need, hope that assistance can be given to change lives of those less fortunate who are not getting served by the larger organizations.
Katarzyna Domagala
As I look back at more than 15 years of international travel, the moments that stand out most clearly are when I connected a bit deeper into the community and traded a few days of my own vacation to make a difference in someone else's life.
Jason Mandl