a broad volunteers

Good news! I'm over-the-moon excited to report that I'm officially blogging for Wanderlust & Lipstick, your destination for women's travel. I've taken over the reigns of the "A Broad Volunteers" column and will be posting several times weekly. Sign up to follow all the action here as I dish about my travels for The Global Citizen Project as well as volunteer travel and voluntourism opportunities. Cheers and thanks for joining me.

making planning progress

It’s been a busy weekend in the (206). It may seem like I’ve been kinda quiet the past few days, but I’ve been deep in the throes of planning logistics for The Global Citizen Project, plus heaploads of spring cleaning (four garbage bags of clothing, shoes and accessories have been unloaded so far). Thankfully, it’s all starting to come together and I have lots of fun stuff to report.

I planned TGCP on a shoestring budget and have been reaching out to sponsors for some of the basic essentials and supply needs. The response has been far better than expected and many companies have been generous with their support. I am posting a permanent link to all companies that sponsor TGCP, but since I’m a gal all about instant gratification, I gotta say thanks to Magellan's, Naturally More™, Pramex® Mosquito Nets, EcoSMART and BOGS Footwear for their support.

I’ve also been a busy bee mapping my grandmaster volunteering plan and scouting smart airfare options. So far, here are the projects that have been confirmed:

Building a Future in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Karikuy in Lima, Peru
Playa Las Tortugas in Nayarit, Mexico
Eco Volunteer UP Foundation in Quito, Ecuador
Domitila Wildlife Reserve in Domitila, Nicaragua
GeoVisions, Conservation Partner Program in Los Chiles, Costa Rica
Youth Care in Seattle, USA

In other miscellaneous planning news, I applied for my International Driver’s Permit and signed up for a free Homeless Teen course in Seattle. I also purchased six months of Travel Insurance through World Nomads (via Access America). All backer rewards have been sent (pending recipients have sent me their mailing address; I've followed up twice and shy from kicking into mommy mode - it's just not my style), except for postcards or tsotchkes from the 12 project destinations.

I also got the cutest wedding invitation from my friends Kelly and Paul who are getting hitched in New Orleans next month. Thank goodness for Hotwire for cheap last minute hotel rooms and frequent flier miles to get me there. I’m not normally a wedding attendee kinda gal, but admit, I’m over the moon to celebrate with these two. Congrats! I heart New Orleans.

Stay tuned as the planning process comes together in the upcoming weeks. I'm spending more time than expected to make smart planning decisions and thank you for bearing with me. Stretching a $20,000 budget to cover 12 volunteer projects in 12 countries takes some creative effort and I want to be 100% certain that I'm devoting my time and efforts to be best suited projects for my talents. So far, so good. I am beyond jazzed about TGCP. Thank you.