Donor Travel

by Kelly Amabile on

This week’s Philanthropy on the Road spotlight
shines on DonorTravel.com, an online booking site that is giving back
while helping folks plan affordable vacations. The company has pledged to donate 50% of booking commission revenue to a
variety of non-profit organizations.

California lawyer Louis Willacy started the site last year as a way to promote travel and support charities in a
thoughtful way. As of August 31, DonorTravel was just short of clearing $10,000 in travel bookings, and Willacy tells
me that he has made $250 in total donations thus far to the American Red Cross, Africare, United Negro College Fund and
Habitat for Humanity. Here’s more info on how DonorTravel works.

But travel lovin’ Louis wants to do much more, and hopes to be able to donate an even larger percentage to a larger
number of charities in the future. He hand-picked the non-profits that DonorTravel supports so far, and plans to expand
the list of charitable organizations in the coming months. And he recently partnered with
Sustainable Travel International to engage additional
supporters.

Willacy’s other travel project, Globalpost, was rebranded to
TravelWisdom and launched several months ago. TW has forums
for travelers and will add newsletters in the future. Check out both his projects and consider supporting a traveler
who is working hard to support those who need it most.

Alaska: B4UDIE

by Erik Olsen on

Alaska wants you to visit…and to do so B4UDIE. That’s good advice. How can you call yourself an American if you’ve
never been to one of our most glorious, and certainly the largest, states.  And so the folks at the Alaska Travel
Industry Association
launched a
month-long campaign this last Monday in Seattle, Los Angeles and Minneapolis with billboards that say: “Alaska
B4UDIE” on a glaring big vanity license plate. It’s effective, I think, and despite the fact that winter is approaching
(NOT the time I’d opt to go to Alaska), it gets people thinking about the state as a vacation destination for next
year.

Now, I do have to add an interesting thought there. When I first saw the picture of the sign, I thought it was a
warning of sorts. Maybe that’s because I’ve been reading so much about people dieing in Alaska…from
Timothy Treadwell in Grizzly Man, to the kid in Into the
Wild, Alaska is a place where lower 48 folk like to go to get into touch with nature, and sometimes end up dead doing
it. And so I  saw the sign and thought the Alaska tourism folks where suggesting you prepare better before you
come so they don’t have to go find your sad carcass somewhere on the tundra. Anyway, must be the fact I’ve been reading
all these stories. Kooky me.

(via Jaunted)

Saving Angkor Wat

by Erik Olsen on

A solid (albeit somewhat dry) piece in the
International Herald Tribune about recent efforts to catalog and photograph the myriad ruins and historical artifacts
at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. An American philanthropist named Shelby White is helping the National Museum update its
inventory and bring the system for understanding the artifacts and ruins into the 21st century (it has kind of been
marinating there in the 18th century or so…everything on paper or not kept track of, etc.)

Anyway, as someone who has visited and deeply admired Angkor Wat, I like to see efforts like this, serious energy put
forward to document a place that has been looted for years and parts of which have fallen into disrepair because of
Cambodia’s economy.

Arctic Refuge (ANWR) Books

by Erik Olsen on

To some the mention of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge conjours up images of battalions of caribou, slowly
making their way across the vast tundra of Alaska. To others, it is part of a complex solution to our country’s energy
woes. Personally, I tend to favor the first notion of ANWR, and believe that it should be kept off-limits to oiil
development. I’ve seen enhough clear-cuts and mine tailing dumps in my lifetime to know that it’s hard to trust
industry to be kind to the environment. No decision has been reached on ANWR’s future, but these days, who knows what’s
going to happen.

In light of this whole debate, there have been several films released lately – documentaries, obviously – about the
refuge. But also there have been some fine articles and books. Among the latter,
here is a link to a
couple of nice reviews for two recent books that more or less (well, more) favor the conservation approach.

The first is calledArctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land, and is written
by Subhankar Banerjee. It’s a volume of photos and essays and it portrays the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as
America’s Serengeti, a claim often made by environmentalists. The second book is called Where Mountains are
Nameless, by Jonathan Waterman, and it too makes the case that ANWR should be protected (the title is
almost too melodramatic, however).

The reviews are mostly favorable, and while they favor one side of the debate, well, maybe that’s your side and you’re
looking for some reading on the subject.

Living in Costa Rica

by Kelly Amabile on

Erik mentioned the Moon Living Abroad Handbooks
recently, and specifically gave a nod to the Costa Rica
one. I’ve written about Costa Rica several
times in the past month and I’m not exactly sure why, but
I’m beginning to think I should start considering a trip, since I seem to be drawn to this beautiful country.

Today I have to give a nod to another great resource — the personal blog of
Jacqueline Passey, who recently moved to Costa Rica with her
new beau after graduating college. I believe
this is the first stop on an eventual world tour for Jacqueline, but for now, she is settling in and learning all she
can about Costa Rica. She has visited before, so she is already quite knowledgeable about politics, culture and getting
around.

She is currently taking Spanish
classes, attending seminars,
reporting on the floods and
collecting just a few books to learn more — I think she now owns a small library about the
country! Guidebooks are essential when planning a move abroad, but this blog is also a great place to poke around and
learn about what is going on right now in CR!