Volunteering with AWB

How to Volunteer with Acupuncturists Without Borders

The short answer: Start by taking our training, Healing Community Trauma in Times of Crisis. It’s the first step for every AWB volunteer, whether you hope to join a field project or bring trauma-recovery care to your own community.

How AWB projects work

AWB projects begin with an invitation. We don’t send teams into communities on our own initiative. Instead, we respond when impacted communities ask for support, and we work closely with local project leaders and community members to understand exactly what they need.

Sometimes that means recruiting acupuncturist volunteers. More often, it means sending supplies or financial support, because many communities already have local practitioners ready to help and can’t accommodate additional volunteers. We follow their lead. This approach ensures that the care we provide is wanted, needed, and sustainable, and that communities remain in charge of their own recovery.

This is different from organizations like Doctors Without Borders, which deploy teams directly. AWB is community-led by design.

Your path to getting involved

1. Take the training. Healing Community Trauma in Times of Crisis prepares you to provide community-style acupuncture to people affected by natural disasters, environmental devastation, disease, social injustice, and human conflict, with a focus on trauma prevention and recovery. The course is currently available online, and in-person trainings are announced on our website and social media as they’re scheduled.

2. Join the AWB volunteer community. Once you’ve completed the training, you become part of the community we draw from when a project requests volunteers.

3. Start a project where you live, or answer a call for volunteers. There are two ways to put your training into action, described below.

Start a project in your own community

Trauma is everywhere, including close to home. Building connections and offering care in your own community is one of the most powerful and sustainable things you can do. After completing the training, you’re welcome to reach out to us for advice, support and resources as you get started. 

Volunteer on a field project

When a project requests acupuncturists, we recruit from volunteers who have completed Healing Community Trauma and are legally permitted to practice acupuncture in the project area. Licensing requirements vary by location, and in many places acupuncturists cannot legally treat without a local license, so not every volunteer will be eligible for every project. 

Volunteers traveling to field projects cover their own travel costs. As a small organization, we direct our limited resources to the communities we serve.

Ready to begin? Enroll in Healing Community Trauma in Times of Crisis

Want to start a project? Email christine@acuwithoutborders.org