What's the best program to volunteer in Thailand through?

[happyfriction441]

I'd love to teach children English or work with elephants. For a good price!

[Charles]

I guess the best way to volunteer is directly to an agency or preserve park or the like instead of being filtered thru another layer, but do not know for sure.

Also, by "good price" do you mean to pay an agency to be able to volunteer there or do you expect to be paid to "volunteer"????

In any case, any kind of work, very broadly construed, in Thailand by a foreigner must be done with a work permit, volunteer or paid. The agency should protect itself from engaging undocumented workers/volunteers and also must cooperate in getting the work permit, so this is not a drop-in activity.

[Spanky 2]

There is a govt run elephant conservation center in Lampang - they have a program there where volunteers pay and work with the elephants and learn to be mahouts. They even ride the elephants into and participate as mahouts in the daily elephant shows for the tourists - who are mostly Thai.

[Delauria]

To volunteer for free ... or "volunteer" with pay?

[TigerTrance]

i'm not a big fan of these "volunteer" type things that half the time charge you money anyway.
i recently heard about this group though https://www.facebook.com/WWOOFThailand i wasn't able to get the website to load. you might have better luck.
i had a brief look and it seemed ok. they have these wwoof groups all over the world.
check it out

[Rat@Ratchaburi]

Maybe you want to take on a big challenge and teach Elephants how to speak English. However, even to do that you will need a visa. An 0 visa with a work permit, if you want to be legal. The pay sucks that you will get your name in the papers.