A good place to "get your feet wet" in international assistance before moving on to a more developmentally focused NGO.
Pros
Among NGOs that provide in-kind medical donations, AmeriCares is a leader in the field for the quality and volume of donations distributed. The organization has a history of being among the first to deliver assistance both internationally and within the USA when disaster strikes. Unknown to most is that AmeriCares does much more than disaster response. Much of AmeriCares assistance helps support on-going healthcare programs overseas managed by local charitable organizations who, without AmeriCares donations, would have difficulty delivering critical healthcare in many of the world's poorest regions. Additionally, AmeriCares implements three important domestic programs: providing free medical care for the uninsured, organizing teams of volunteers to carry out critical home repairs for the poor and elderly, and providing a summer camp experience annually for HIV/AIDS affected children. Staff at AmeriCares are generally young, enthusiastic and dedicated. AmeriCares gives many their first opportunity to work in a humanitarian organization with international and domestic activities.
Cons
For individuals interested in a career in international health, there is little actual healthcare programming that takes place as the primary task for managers and associates in the Program Department involves assigning the medical donations that AmeriCares has received to the various partner agencies overseas, ensuring that these donations are shipped in a timely manner and that partners notify AmeriCares when shipments arrive. At times, international assistance work at AmeriCares can seem more like the operations of shipping company such as UPS, though with loftier goals.
