Have you ever met a Condor Face to Face?
The highlight of the day however was our visit to the Condor Sanctuary. Condors are endangered in Ecuador this sanctuary is a centre for not only condors, but hawks, eagles and owls just to name a few. Most of the birds are rescued from illegal trafficking, poachers and injuries.
Travel Inspiration: Real Men Don’t Cry
I was climbing a tree. By itself this was fine – I like climbing trees. If only I hadn’t mentioned this fact to the boss of the animal refuge where I was volunteering… I never would have ended up in this situation.
Give the Gift of Hope for the Holidays
Your Christmas shopping is done. Unfortunately, there are children in this world that have never received a gift. They don’t know what it’s like to go to school, play with toys or even have the opportunity to drink clean water. You can change all that with the Intrepid Foundation.
Habitat for Humanity in Alaska
When I first got home from my trip to Anchorage, Alaska, I couldn’t write about it. I decided to spend 1.5 months traveling to different cities within the U.S. Two weeks was dedicated to my first Habitat for Humanity trip and my second time away from mainland America.
Christina Noble Foundation: Making A Difference in Mongolia
The Mongol Rally was a great adventure driving a third of the way around the world and we had an amazing time. But something that made it even more fulfilling was the fact that we were helping out a great cause. For Charity The Christina Noble Foundation is a project in Ulaanbaatar that helps homeless [...]
Intrepid Travel Inspires Toronto Travel Community
It was at the last Toronto Travel Massive meet up that Katy of Intrepid Travel announced an amazing initiative for the Intrepid Foundation. They will be giving away a trip to India to the person who raises the most money for Depalaya
Charitable Inspiration and Another Chance to Win
Over the weekend, we asked people what charities they like to support. We were inspired Novica, one of the leading fair trade artisan websites gave us $100 to giveaway to a lucky reader. Now we’re giving away another $100
$100 Giveaway, Buy Something Special
Novica, in Association with National Geographic is one of the leading fair trade artisan websites. It is an incredible concept giving artist from around the world a place to express their talents and access the world market. With products in home decor, jewellery and apparel, paintings and accessories, shoppers can access thousands of products while [...]
Making a Difference in Bangkok-In Search of Sanuk
Dwight of Insearch of Sanuk works tirelessly to help make the lives of urban refugees in Bangkok easier. He runs this charity that brings food, money and hope to families living illegally in Bangkok. He visits their loved ones that are detained in the Immigration Detention Centre and recruits volunteers to come with him to help briefly reunite families living separately in the IDC of Thailand.
Rawai Muay Thai Gives Back
We were drawn to Rawai Muay Thai in Phuket because they give back to the community. The owner is an ex boxer and true success story. What sets Rawai Muay Thai apart from other gyms is that it is owned and operated by a Thai Boxer that employs Thai Boxers and trainers.
The Power of Ten
The Mongol Rally may be a thrill ride through deserts and over mountains but it is also a drive for a very worthy cause? We will be buying a car to donate to the people of Mongolia. Yes, whatever vehicle we manage to acquire, we will be giving to someone in need. We are raising the bar and setting high goals to donate an emergency vehicle like an ambulance or tow truck. These vehicles are in great demand and it would feel incredible to offer something that will truly be of great value to the country.
Responsible Tourism with Intrepid Travel
One of the highlights of our time in China was to visit a project that Intrepid Travel supported in Xi’an as part of their responsible travel motto. Xi’an may be known for the famous Terracotta Warriors, but there is more to this city than clay soldiers and golden chariots. The Intrepid Foundation is doing it’s best to improve the quality of lives of children, animals, women, people living in poverty and people with disabilities. In Xi’an their project is to help people living with disabilities at the Xi’an Hui Ling school.
Building Bicycles for Africa with Cadbury
We always love to find out about great new causes, especially great causes that make me have to eat chocolate! The Bicycle Factory has teamed with Cadbury Canada to raise funds to build 5000 bicycles for school children in Ghana.As we all know, bicycles are great for your health and for the environment, but in places like Africa they are a valuable mode of transportation. A bike gives people access to health care, school and other vital life services that they otherwise wouldn’t have to walk to.
Passports with Purpose: Helping the Children of Cambodia
Have you been to Cambodia? It probably doesn’t matter if you have or not — it’s likely that if you’ve traveled far or to lesser developed places in the world you’ve come face to face with a sweet eyed child selling you postcards, asking for money, or just roaming about looking underfed. Today is a beautiful guest post from Pam Mandel. We have known that the Travel Blogging Community has big hearts and Passports with Purpose let’s all of us see just how big they can grow. A wonderful group of people have gotten together to help raise funds for American Assistance for Cambodia. It builds schools in rural Cambodia.
Cycling is Such a Great Idea – But can Everybody Have a Bike
Cycling is such a great utilitarian activity many of us take it for granted. And there are people that have one or two bicycles for each different kind of activity. Many of us are so fortunate, living in an affluent society like Europe or North America, to find so many bicycle stores and other suppliers of bicycles in every neighbourhood. Yet we fail to realize how lucky we are. Many of us simply don’t know how hard it can be for a person living in most parts of the third world to have access to a simple two wheeler. People who earn about one-tenth of our hourly wages in a whole week will have to pay the same price as we do to buy the same bike in their places. It is simply not fair.
The Trail of Hope: A Motorcycle Journey Helping Children
Today’s post comes from activist Tendai Sean Joe founder of the Trail of Hope Foundation. In the coming months, Tendai is planning a motorcycle tour Starting in South Africa and ending in Europe where he will be raising awareness about the plight of children around the world. Last year, Dave and I cycled from Cairo to Cape Town where we rode for Plan Canada; another charity that focuses on helping children live a better life. We are happy to be able to help spread the word about this enormous undertaking and to let people know about the great work that is being done by an inspiring human being.
The Impact of NGO’s and Voluntourism
I am a strong believer that travel can be done better, as can anything else, if we come up with new and creative solutions to the negative impacts that come as a side product of the actions that we take. I think tourism can and has been a negative force in many areas and I feel the same way about Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) yet I have my feet in both of these worlds.
Ranthambore national Preserve India, A Tigers Haven
Despite my years watching nature shows on tigers and living in a football town where no animal bests the “Tiger,” nothing prepared me for my experiences seeing two tigers in the wild at Ranthambore National Preserve in Sawai Madhopur, India. Visiting a wildlife reserve is one of the easiest ways that a traveler can contribute to a destination having a very high impact. By supporting wildlife sanctuaries, local people can learn that they can make money out of protecting their wildlife rather than destroying it, your money goes directly to helping the wildlife and you can easily inform the world about the plight of the endangered animals and what you can do.
Volunteering Global, a Valuable Resource
Type “volunteer vacation” into a search engine and jot down how many hits you get. Now look at the first page of results and note how much those trips cost. Wait – they cost something? You’re willing to give your time and effort to a community project, but you’re expected to pay? And at $1,000 for a week, they’d better give you backrubs and ice cream, because your airfare isn’t even included.
This is what I encountered four years ago as I looked for a summer project. It was confusing and frustrating; these groups assumed volunteers had disposable income.
Villas Tranquilas: A Vacation Property Gives Back
While the global economic downturn may be affecting private aid in terms of total dollars, some travel/tourism businesses continue to offer partnerships with their clients and the indigenous peoples to the benefit of all. Villas Tranquilas, a Costa Rica Vacation Rental Property is one such company that offers adventure travelers several opportunities to practice these new brands of tourism.
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- What’s With All the Hatin’ in Travel Blogging? on October 29, 2011 by debndave - 127 Comments
- So You Want to Be a Pro Blogger in The Travel Business on November 14, 2011 by debndave - 126 Comments
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