We’re proud to celebrate an incredible achievement: Karen George Niego, co-founder of Therapy Volunteers, has been named the 2025 College of Health Sciences Service Award recipient by Marquette University. This prestigious recognition celebrates Karen’s lifelong dedication to expanding access to pediatric therapy services across borders—and the incredible network she has built to empower future therapists along the way. A Career …
Purpose Meets Passport Stamps A single vacation week can disappear in a blur of souvenir shops—or become the chapter of your life that future patients, professors, and employers ask about first. When you step onto a one‑week pediatric therapy volunteer program, every sunrise pairs clinical learning with cultural discovery. Mornings might find you guiding a child through fine‑motor games; afternoons …
More Than Just Hours When I first signed up for a one-week therapy volunteer trip with Therapy Volunteers, I expected to gain clinical hours, check off a resume booster, and maybe explore a new country. What I didn’t expect was to come back with something far more valuable—clarity on the kind of therapist I want to become. Finding Myself Outside …
More Than Meets the Eye To students and parents, a Therapy Volunteers trip may look beautifully simple—sign up, fly out, and help children in need. But behind every seamless week abroad is a deeply coordinated operation built for safety, learning, and sustainable impact. Let’s lift the curtain and explore the hard work that makes these trips not just possible—but powerful. …
Welcome, Cautious Adventurers! Your student has just announced they want to spend a week overseas delivering pediatric‑therapy services—and your head is already buzzing with what‑ifs. How will they stay healthy? Who’s watching them after clinic hours? Why would any parent say yes to a trip so far from home? Good news: Volunteer travel isn’t a leap into the unknown when you have a solid safety roadmap. …
Before you zip up your suitcase or double-check your passport, hear from the students who’ve already walked this path. These are the small truths, quiet surprises, and real advice they wish they’d had before volunteering with Therapy Volunteers. Dear Future Me, I know you’re nervous. You’re flying solo, going somewhere new, and you’re not totally sure if you’re “qualified” to …
Therapy Volunteers has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative to make autism screenings more accessible to children in Belize. The project, led by Grace Sporer, Lead BCBA at Therapy Volunteers’ Belize clinic, aims to offer free screenings across the country, ensuring that families have the opportunity to identify potential risks and indications of autism in their children. Recognizing the significance of …
Therapy Volunteers, a Chicago-based non-profit organization delivering pediatric therapy to underserved communities worldwide, has been recognized by GoOverseas.com as one of the top volunteer abroad providers, earning especially high marks in the “Value” and “Fun” categories. Idar Lamo, Director of International Partnerships at Therapy Volunteers, expressed his gratitude for the recognition. “We are honored to be named one of the …
Therapy Volunteers, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, is expanding its mission to deliver pediatric therapies to underserved communities by launching two new locations this summer. The new programs will be located in Honduras and Ecuador, two countries where access to essential pediatric therapy services remains limited. Idar Lamo, Director of International Partnerships at Therapy Volunteers, is excited about the …
When Therapy Volunteers began its mission of delivering life-changing pediatric therapies to underserved communities worldwide, its initial focus was on placing long-term volunteers and organizing one-week trips for undergraduate students. “However, based on overwhelming demand, we quickly added clinical education opportunities for graduate students in speech pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy,” says Quinn, one of the directors at Therapy …