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What’s more fun for a group of senior citizens than wielding machetes and gathering food for elephants in a third-world country? Not much! Ask anyone who loves to travel the reason why. You’re likely to hear about exploring new places and sharing experiences. But there’s a new kind of travel adventure for travelers aged fifty and over in which seniors—and almost-seniors—do much more than share experiences; they create them for people in need. In Cambodia, volunteers build toilet rooms for villages. In Thailand they clean up after rescued elephants. In Bali they plant baby mangrove trees, and in Costa Rica they save endangered turtles. No matter where the location or what the service, one thing is certain…. Mature travelers are making this world—in what may seem like the smallest of ways—a little bit better for some of the other people in it. And they pay to do it. Here’s why Within an hour of hearing about We Are Bamboo, I had signed up to work in an elephant sanctuary, picked travel dates, and talked two friends into going with me. Nine months later, I was on a plane to Thailand, with only a vague idea of what was ahead. The next 16 days were among the most rewarding and fun days I will ever experience. At one point, as I raised my machete and cut what felt like my millionth bamboo tree, I looked around and wondered what on earth would bring strangers from all over the world to a third-world country with nothing more than the promise of hard work and a purpose for it. By the end of my trip, I knew what had brought us together: It was Destiny. And if you don’t buy that, then here are three other reasons to consider taking a holiday that will change you forever—assuming you meet the age criteria, of course. 1. There is still a lot of living to do! While we may not be able to choose the length of our life, we can often choose the quality of it. Lori, a two-time cancer survivor who built a water pump for a village in Siem Reap, says it is important for her to work and give back while she still has the energy and the good health to make a difference. She is someone who appreciates every second of her life. She fully participates in every moment of it, and encourages others to do the same. 2. We don’t know everything… yet Teaching children in Cambodia was as much learning for me as teaching for them. I saw children so poor they don’t have fresh water to bathe in and have to wear the same sweaters, day after day, in sweltering heat. Despite this, children come to school. Teenagers work to support their families. Adults work however and whenever they can. These are people whose history includes genocide, Killing Fields and decimation. Their tenacity gives me hope. I have learned from them what true resilience is. 3. It feels good As we get older, priorities change. The hustle and noise of ambition fades. We no longer see the world as an ass to kick, but a little old lady to help across the street. It feels good to do good by caring for endangered animals or giving a village water. Florida couple Kelly and Keith built a toilet room for a small village. At the end of their project, they saw the grateful faces of people who would now be using a proper bathroom. Kelly said to me, “I’ve never felt like this after a vacation before. We’ve made a difference to them.” The stories are many. The needs are, too. The service-oriented travel experience gives new options to Baby Boomers and Gen Xers who don’t want to just see the world, but impact the world they see. Whether that means stirring cement, pulling plastic straws out of the ocean, or shoveling dung at a wildlife preserve, those of us who participate leave vacation with much more than a souvenir or a sunburn. We get the satisfaction of knowing that—at least for a short time—we are truly, fully alive.