Formation InterVol was set up as a voluntary project in late 2003 by a group of students with the support of the
University of Birmingham Guild of Students. InterVol's volunteers began a system of student-led
sustainable development projects, aiming to make a long term difference to communities in developing countries whilst working in close partnership with local
NGOs in each country, as well as running volunteering projects, training sessions, and events on their own campus and in the local community.
Projects and expansion In the summer of 2004 InterVol led three volunteering projects to
Bulgaria,
Cambodia and
Uganda. The volunteers were involved in work including
AIDS awareness training, work in children's centres, teaching English, and building the information technology capacity of local staff. In 2005 the project roster increased to eight projects as the popularity and presence of the project on the
University of Birmingham campus increased significantly. There were two new projects in
Ecuador, based around cloud-forest
conservation and social development, as well as a
community development project in Accra,
Ghana, a teaching project in
Poland and a social development project in
South Africa. In 2006 previous projects were maintained while a new coastal development project in
Thailand with
Andaman Discoveries began in response to the
Boxing Day Tsunami. InterVol supported volunteers to renovate facilities and coach sport at the New Future for Children centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for the first time in July 2006. InterVol received its first national awards in 2006 when two founding volunteers, John Gorski and Danielle Gerson, won Impact awards at the National Year of the Volunteer Awards. In 2007 a new project to construct school buildings and teach in rural Nepal commenced. This year also saw InterVol send volunteers to both a trafficked animal refuge and to teach Spanish to members of the
Huaorani in Ecuador. The following year another project was set up in Kenya, a sports-based development project in Nairobi's
Kibera slum. A group formed at
Oxford Brookes in 2018, supporting education organisations in rural Nepal. An InterVol committee formed at
SOAS University of London in 2023. ==Charity status==