Who we are

Lattitude Global Volunteering is an international youth development charity. Our mission is to educate and develop young people worldwide by providing opportunities to volunteer abroad and to make a positive difference to the lives of others through a distinctive, challenging, structured and supported overseas volunteering experience in a culture and community different from their own.

Through volunteering abroad, we give young people the opportunity to experience the world beyond their community and to truly engage with it. We help to develop young people’s awareness and responsibilities towards themselves and others, and equip them with employability and life skills.

Our vision is of a world where all young people contribute to a more dynamic, caring and tolerant society as responsible global citizens.

• We believe in the adaptability and creativity of young people and their power to drive positive cultural change
• We value the practical support and contribution young people can make
• We believe cross cultural international exchange, integration and collaboration fosters understanding between different nations and cultures
• We value lifelong learning through practical action, experience and reflection

• We balance independence for our volunteers with our duty of care
• We work with partners based on relationships of trust, openness and respect and in the best interest of the volunteer and local communities
• We strive for continuous improvement, actively encouraging creativity, developing programmes and best practice
• We provide caring and committed services and support to our hosts and volunteers
• We acknowledge the valuable work of our volunteer staff and supporters
• All UK volunteers are DBS checked and other nationalities all have home country police checks before going on placement

We have over 45 years’ experience, regional offices in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, and country managers in all our host countries. More than 40,000 young people aged 17-25 have volunteering abroad with Lattitude since our inception in 1972.

Quote from our CEO:

“Many years ago Lattitude Global Volunteering realised that orphanages and the long-term institutionalisation of children in big facilities were problematic from a care and safeguarding standpoint. Whilst we recognise the good intentions of many in this field, general outcomes for children who go through these systems are unambiguously poor and therefore neither Lattitude nor our thousands of committed volunteers are part of the institutionalisation of children.”