We love Passports with Purpose. It’s our favorite fundraiser–one that brings gobs of travel bloggers together from around the world to fund a big project. Since 2008, this loose affiliation of travelers (including ME) has contributed to building a school in Cambodia, a village in India (Yup–a whole village) and libraries in Zambia.
My friends Beth Whitman, Meg Paynor, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Debbie Dubrow have done a great job orchestrating the efforts–fueled in no small part by cupcakes and caffeine.
This year, our goal is to raise $100,000 for five wells in Haiti, in conjunction with Water.org.
How?
We raise the money by awarding a big, overflowing bundle of prizes. Adventures, gadgets, goodies and such. CLICK THROUGH to the site and select the prizes you want to win. We’re offering up some TourSaver.com books. But there are some really swanky deals, including:
a. A 26-day journey through the fascinating heart of Central Asia with Intrepid Travel, from Wandermom
b. 110,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points, redeemable for free nights at Hyatt hotels around the world, room upgrades and more, from Loyalty Traveler
c. One-night stay in a family-suite for four people (including breakfast, lunch, and dinner) at any US-based Great Wolf Lodge, from Adventures by Daddy
d. Busabout six-stop flexitrip hop-on, hop-off travel pass of Europe plus a 5-day Haggis Adventures tour of Scotland, from A Dangerous Business
e. Atlanta experience for two at the four-diamond Omni Hotel at CNN Center, including breakfast, $200 spa credit, admission at the World of Coca-Cola and Inside CNN VIP Tour, and a private swim or SCUBA dive with whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium, from Field Trips with Sue
f. A three-night stay at Rancho de los Caballeros, in Wickenburg, Arizona, with meals and daily horseback riding, from Writing Horseback
g. A whole year of Boingo Global Wi-Fi, from Angie Away
For a full list of prizes, visit: www.passportswithpurpose.com/donate
Why is this important? Uh…let’s pause and consider for just a moment how vital it is to travel. As a traveler, you learn new things, dream new dreams, meet new friends, eat new food. Your brain stretches. So does your heart. You come to the realization that we are very fortunate to be able to explore the world at will. And you become aware that many of our brothers and sisters in the world are suffering. And you begin to understand that we’re all connected. That “connected” part is a vital element in the PwP plan. When Meg, Debbie, Beth, Pam and Michelle put this project together, one of the goals was to leverage our love of travel and our story-telling ability to make a difference. And it’s amazing what a difference you can make when you pull $50,000 or $100,000 together. Ya!
So cruise the site. Check out the prizes. Bid on a bunch of them. Me? I’m gonna dig out my “Drill, Baby, Drill” t-shirt and go to town. It’s a real conversation-starter. HAHA
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