It said, “To celebrate the rarity of this calendar date we’re putting our group tours on sale this weekend only! Hooray for the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10 year….errr, 2010th year.

Plus, you can share your savings by helping others obtain 20-20 vision! Through our Planeterra Foundation, we’re raising funds for building a permanent eye camp in Cambodia to treat simple eye conditions and increase prevention and detection of cataracts and other eye diseases. We’ve supported temporary eyesight camps in Tibet for years and value any support you can add to the cause as we help change people’s lives!

To grab your savings and book a trip, head to:  www.gapadventures.com/trips/promotions/10-10-10-sale/

What is on sale this weekend and when does it end?
Virtually all of our group tours are on sale for 10% off. This includes departures from now until December 31, 2010! But you have to act fast as this sale ends on October 11, 2010.

Why support 20-20 Vision?
It always feels good to give back, doesn’t it? Head over to our Planeterra website to see how you can donate your trip savings and support our eye sight restoration camp project: http://www.planeterra.org/pages/projects/2.php.”

According to their website, “In order to minimize its impact on local cultures, Gap Adventures has also endeavoured to become one of the most sustainable tour operators in the world. To achieve that goal, Gap founder, Bruce Poon Tip founded the companion non-profit Planeterra Foundation in 2003 to aid global community development. To date, Planeterra’s innovative focus on voluntourism and fundraising has funded roughly 30 development projects, delivering everything from health programs to infrastructure improvements.”

When I was in Peru, I got to visit the women’s weaving co-op in the Sacred Valley. I learned that since 2005, Gap has been working with the Ccaccaccollo community to develop a women’s weaving cooperative. Most Gap Adventures groups like mine visit this community as part of their tour to meet the women and learn about all the stages of the weaving process; from hand-spinning the wool, dying the wool using natural dyes, and participating in a weaving demonstration.  It was fascinating to see it all live!  We also were given the opportunity to purchase high quality textiles directly from the women who made them.  One of the pieces I bought now sites in my living room where I see it everyday and I remember my conversations with the woman who wove it.  You can see her holding it in this photo I took.

By working with the women of this community, Planeterra and Gap are encouraging them to be proud of their cultural heritage by showcasing their intricate weaving skills. This also enables the women to help provide for their families and benefit from tourism in a way that avoids negative social and cultural impacts.

Gap Adventures pays the salary of all Planeterra employees and all administration costs so that 100% of each donation goes directly to our projects. 

There are 5 main ways that their projects are funded:
Individual Donations – are made online by donors and are matched dollar-for-dollar by Gap Adventures (up to $10,000 USD per project)

Dollar-A-Day Program – provides travellers with the opportunity to donate one dollar per day for the duration of their Gap Adventures tour to Planeterra before travelling either by clicking the check box online, or by advising their travel agent at the time of booking a trip

Volunteer Tours – include a donation amount that goes directly to our projects

Fundraising Events – are organized around the world by us and third party event organizers

Corporate Partnerships – is an avenue that we are just beginning to explore by developing partnerships with like-minded companies that are committed to social corporate responsibility.

For more information on Planeterra, click here.

I feel my insatiable travel itch surfacing again…hmmm…where will I go next with Gap?

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.

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!

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?