Our People

GIVE would just be a logo without our host community partners, local staff and leaders, and guides. Our host communities have been the driving force behind our positive impact and the lifelong inspiration for more than 6,000 past volunteers turned global citizens. When identifying projects, we unite with our host communities around initiatives that inspire its members to act, and then work alongside local leaders to form a long-term plan of action that empowers their communities.

Our volunteers work side-by-side with host community members on volunteer projects, guided by local leaders and educators as well as GIVE staff, to provide additional hands to achieve the community’s goals. Through providing hands-on, eye-opening learning experiences that foster authentic connections between our volunteers and host community members, we aim to activate global citizens who will continue to spread GIVE’s values and ultimately ignite sustainable change worldwide.

Meet the faces behind the movement

GIVE is essentially a vessel carrying our volunteers towards something greater than themselves. As such, this ship only goes as far as the people steering it, and we’re lucky enough to have the greatest crew on the planet.

HQ Staff

Jake Allison

FOUNDER & DIRECTOR

Jake has spent the last decade creating impactful trips that foster global citizenship through international travel. He has initiated volunteer programs in 9 countries across 5 different continents with over 8,000 participants and has traveled to over 85 countries. In 2011 he founded GIVE with the intent of offering university students opportunities for personal growth and development while leaving a positive and enriching impact on the places and communities they visit. To date, GIVE has completed numerous projects overseas, focusing on capacity building through developing physical, human, and social capital.

“I believe international travel and immersive experiences are profoundly educational and should be leveraged to achieve positive outcomes for the traveler and the places they visit. Through compassion and entrepreneurship we can invoke positive systemic change; and I passionately apply this to all work and life endeavors.” – Jake Allison, LinkedIn