I got an email today from Hands Up Holidays.  They found my site and requested to be linked with me.  So I went to their site to check them out and I REALLY like what they are doing!

Hands Up Holidays is a travel company based in London that combines eco-sightseeing with a meaningful taste of volunteering. Their website says their volunteer adventures ”are for you if:

• you are interested in having a break, want to explore a destination, and also give something back to a local community.
• you value meaningful interaction with other cultures – achieved through the medium of volunteering.
• you value small group or tailor-made sustainable tourism practices that directly benefit local communities.
• you do not have specific skills, but have a lot of enthusiasm and a positive attitude (OR if you do have specific skills, we will match your skills where possible.”

Sounds great to me.  I especially liked that they say, “It is our hope that after experiencing a Hands Up Holiday voluntourism trip, you will feel inspired to  volunteer for a longer period somewhere (even in your home town), or become a lifelong advocate or donor for the Community Development project you got involved with.”

Hands Up Holidays also offers corporate trips that blend both community service with relaxation or adventure. “This works well for companies that are seeking to both reward employees and also improve their Corporate Social Responsibility profile; ideal for:
- Incentive trips
- Team building trips

These trips are formulated after close consultation with your Senior Management and HR regarding the goals for your organisation.

Some of the benefits of such a trip for your company include:
- Higher staff motivation and employee loyalty.
- Social image enhancement of your company.
- Measurable results with a tailor-made project (we can include a team building component as well).
- Contribution to a better world.”

Hands Up Holidays is a founding member of the Ethical Tour Operators Group, part of Tourism Concern that is committed to sustainable tourism that benefits local communities and the environment.

I am looking for a great adventure for my 50th birthday later this year…I will definitely check them out as an option!  You should too!  Click here for their eBrochure.

In my post yesterday, I wrote about travelers philanthropy.  As a follow-up, I’d like to share some other ideas with you.  In my work over the past year with the Louisiana Serve Commission which is housed in the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, I have learned about that state’s efforts in “voluntourism” (a term that was new to me).  Volunteer Louisiana, a portal to link volunteers to service projects to help rebuild Louisiana post-Katrina/Rita, is one such endeavor.  “To respond to the tremendous need and the tremendous opportunity facing Louisiana, VolunteerLouisiana.gov was established. Bringing together many of the state’s largest volunteer and citizen service organizations in the state, VolunteerLouisiana.gov will serve as a clearinghouse for volunteer and service opportunities throughout Louisiana. The effort was made possible by the offices of  former Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, the Louisiana Board of Regents and the Points of Light Foundation, in conjunction with other national and statewide organizations that have partnered to support and encourage citizens, businesses and non-profit organizations in Louisiana and across the country to join the rebuild movement. ”

The Gulf Coast region still has a long way to go in terms of its recovery efforts.  Unfortunately, the situation has “fallen off the map” for many Americans as it is no longer so frequently in the news.  However, there are many people who DO understand that the region still needs extensive help and who want to be of service.  Instead of just getting in your car and showing up, the site helps insure that a your good intentions and skills are matched with an organization that has the capacity to use the help effectively. 

Again, if your company is looking for a way to give back or make a difference, consider voluntourism either for teams or individuals from your company.  Folks get a trip to a great place AND they get a chance to give back and be part of the solution.  Your company could run a competition, take applications for mini sabbaticals from people who have been at the company a certain length of time and use selection criteria to select who gets to go, or offer a trip as a performance bonus.  Could be fun and a great way to boost employee morale and commitment to your company!

I read Christine Arena’s book titled, “The High Purpose Company” about a year ago and enjoyed it.   So when I saw mention of it in my Google Alerts today, I clicked through to read the review of the book posted 1/31/2008 on a blog called Understanding Travelers Philanthropy.  The blog gives a nice review of the high points of the book so I strongly encourage you to check it out, especially if you don’t have time to read the whole book.  “THE HIGH PURPOSE COMPANY illustrates to readers that a corporation does not have to choose between being socially responsible and making a profit. Rather, being a high purpose company leads to success.” 

Also on the site, you will find links to other information about travelers philanthropy - a subsector of the travel industry that has been around a while but is growing rapidly.  Eight years ago, a friend and I signed up to do an Earthwatch Expedition in Thailand for two weeks.  We paid our way there plus a fee to help fund the project, and volunteered our time.  While in Thailand, we worked with an international team of archaeologists and the Thai Government to excavate and process dig finds – pottery, jewelry and other items of material culture.  It was great – very educational for us – and we provided need dollars and manual labor to help their effort to document the history of the NE region.  And it was partially tax deductable….win/win/win!  

In addition to nonprofits like Earthwatch Worldwide, there are numerous businesses that specialize in helping people arrange volunteer or philanthropic travel.  For example, GAP Adventures (a company I have used for a couple of my international trips) also offers volunteer trips.   In addition, GAP offers other ways that their travel clients like myself can support the local communities where they travel through direct donations to the Planeterra Foundation, a non-profit organization developed by G.A.P Adventures as a way to give back to the people and places they visit on their tours.  “Through fundraising efforts and donations, we support community projects, local non-profit organizations and international charities that work in the places that we operate. The projects we support focus on the areas of health, education, community development, environmental conservation and employment skills training. By identifying projects that specialize in different areas, donors are provided with a variety of worthwhile projects to choose from and support.”  They also offer a “Dollar a Day” add-on to all their trips – an option I used during my recent trip to India.

What can you do? Where do you want to go on your next trip?  While I went on Earthwatch as an individual, this could be something for your company to consider as well.  Could you offer employees a philanthropy/volunteerism trip as a reward for their performance on the job or as part of a teambuilding effort?