"Impact Your World"

Sometimes some people get lucky enough to experience something so life-changing that it makes everything make sense and fall perfectly into place; this is what ISV has done for me. ISV gives you a concrete purpose. They tell you the "why" and "so what" behind the volunteer work that you do; they show you exactly how you are making a difference and who and what it will effect immediately and 5, 10, 20 years down the road.

I volunteered in Little Desert just outside of Nhill, Victoria, Australia. Our group of 16 students planted 11,470 trees in under two weeks on the Salvana property owned by Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA). I physically saw a change that I was a part of. Our project leader, Alex, and a CVA employee at Little Desert, Ben, made our efforts take on a whole new meaning by explaining just what 11,470 trees would do in the years to come. We didn't just plant trees; we created a habitat for animals-a safe place for them to come back to Little Desert, make a home, breed, re-wild the area. However, it wasn't until a little conversation at the Night Markets in Cairns that this all really sunk in.

I was walking through the Night Markets in Cairns doing some souvenir shopping when I stopped at a small shop where two men were making jewelry. I started talking to them and they picked up on my American accent and asked what I was doing in Australia. I explained that I was there with ISV, had completed a volunteer project, and was now traveling up the east coast. This stranger whole-heartedly, sincerely thanked me. He expressed pure gratitude and told me how wonderful it was that I would take the time to do that for his country. I was taken back; I hadn't realized until that moment how big of an impact we had all made. We didn't just plant trees; we truly impacted our world in more ways than one.