(your journey here)

Long-Term Volunteer Quest Scholarships

The Long-Term Volunteer Quest Scholarship is devoted to enabling young people to have an International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) experience globally! Because immersing in another country and culture was so instrumental in their lives, returnees of the ICYE program over 5 decades — 1950s through the 1990s— have made partial scholarships possible for the 2023/2024 term. That experience changed their lives and dramatically shaped education and career pursuits, even 60 years after their year abroad. Most are still in contact with host family members decades later; many have traveled again to their host countries.

  • Available towards any United Planet/ICYE Gap Year/12 month Long-Term Volunteer Abroad Quest Programs departing through the 2023/2024 term.
  • Outbound US Volunteers who convey a need for financial assistance and are committed to a 12 month exchange program abroad are invited to apply.
  • Applicants must be first-time Long-Term Quest participants and plan to enroll in their Quest before the end of 2023. Travel can take place within the August 2023 and February 2024 term.
  • Awards between $2500 and $5000 will be made to a select number of applicants based on availability of funds.

Submission deadline: September 1, 2023

Apply Now!

ICYE facilitates, among other programs, year-long community-service volunteer exchange opportunities, sending and receiving young people among 40+ countries. Young people can then learn new languages, discover new cultures and contribute to making the world a more peaceful and just place. United Planet succeeded the ICYE-US branch of 1957 – 1996, in a continued effort to connect volunteers who want to make a difference with communities across the globe. Now, together we’ve seen over 70 years of collaboration.

The Long-Term Volunteer Quest Scholarships will be reviewed by a Returnee Scholarship Committee made up of one person from each of the decades of ICYE experiences, starting with the 1950s. They are happy to make selections for partial scholarship awards between $2500 and $5000 on a need-basis.

Scholarship Committee:

Chair – Ed Gragert – Korea 1966-67, ICYE-US Director 1979-90
Richard Tani – Germany 1958-59
Leon Ball – Germany 1966-67
Ken Galt – Sweden 1973-74
Frannie Waldron – Germany 1980-81, Ghana 1988
Summer Pierce Weinstein – New Zealand 1994-95

Four Long Term Volunteers in Temple, NH
Four Long-Term Volunteers pose as they prepare for departure at training camp in Temple, NH.
Calvin with the Peruvian staff
Long-Term Volunteer, Calvin H., with the Peruvian staff at the Animal Sanctuary Program.

Hear From Long-Term Quest Alumni

“What I enjoyed most: The relations/friendships. It’s a really humbling experience getting to know people with vastly different backgrounds as you and realizing you’re not that different after all.” -Rolf Bisgaard Poulsen, USA Volunteer from Germany

“There were alot of high moments and alot of low moments. It was not what I expected by any means, but one of the many things I learned while in the country was to let go of expectations. I would say that if you want to learn alot about yourself, the world we live in, and change your perspective on such things, I would highly recommend taking on a quest of your own.” – Breanna, Indonesia Volunteer from USA

“I will be reuniting with my Swiss host family for the day on December 11 for the first time in 43 busy years for us all. CANNOT WAIT!!! We have a 14-hour layover in Zurich…” -Nell (Switzerland 1975-76)

“ICYE changed my life. I’ll make a donation today!” -Jonathan Tetzlaff (France 1974-75) wrote, almost 50 years after his ICYE year when deciding to donate for the Long-Term Volunteer Quest Scholarship.

Apply

To apply for a United Planet – Long-Term Volunteer Quest Scholarship, please complete the application below. Please email scholarships@unitedplanet.org or call (617) 874-8041 ext.124 with any questions!

Apply Now!
Have questions? We’re here for you. We’d love to help.
CONTACT US