passports with purpose. donate now and help build a village in india.

I am knee deep in the spirit of giving back, so when Passports with Purpose’s annual Travel Bloggers’ fundraiser rolled around, I was pretty stoked to participate.

Passports with Purpose was founded in 2008 by the Puget Sound kitten squad of Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Beth Whitman and Michelle Duffy as a way to build community among travel bloggers and to give back to the places we, as travelers, visit. Last year, 90 bloggers participated and raised almost $30,000 to build a school in rural Cambodia (complete with a school nurse and a kitchen garden that provides each child a daily meal).

This year, the social media savvy gals-on-the-go have raised the bar and are hoping to raise $50,000 to build a village, brick by brick, in rural India through our partnership with Friends of Lafti.

Here’s how PWP works: You, dear, kind, generous donor, make a tax deductible donation directly to the charitable organization (LAFTI International in 2010). For each $10 you donate, you are entered to win a prize of your choice.

The Global Citizen Project has donated a Bachmann Trains' Golden Spike Train Set (MSRP value $180). This 163-piece train set commemorates the historic event when the world's first transcontinental railroad was completed with the driving of the final Golden Spike. This set features Bachmann's exclusive E-Z Track snap-fit track and roadbed system plus a diesel locomotive with an operating headlight, open quad hopper, plug-door box car, single dome tank car, stock car, off-center caboose, 63" x 38" oval of snap-fit EZ track including 12 pieces of curved track, 6 pieces of straight track, 1 plug-in terminal rerailer, 1 manual turnout-left, undertrack magnet with brakeman figure, 1 Hayes bumper, suburban station, signal bridge, 48 figures, 36 telephone poles, 48 railroad and street signs, power pack and speed control and an illustrated instruction manual.

Donations for PWP prizes close December 13th (Note: PWP will still take donations, but you won’t be entered into a drawing after December 13th). On December 17th, PWP will notify prize winners and host bloggers.

It truly is an honor to be part of this fundraising event and to feel like, in some small way as a travel blogger, I’m able to help make a big picture impact so much greater than myself. So thank you, PWP.

12 days of comfort, joy + cheer at hotel 1000 in seattle

Hello, Seattle! Thank you for bestowing us with blue skies, an abundance of Vitamin D and crystal clear views of snow-capped mountains from my deck. When the weather here is good, it's very, very good.

I will be soaking up all sorts of goodness at The Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland, WA this afternoon and evening, but if you're around Seattle, think about swinging by Hotel 1000. 12 Days of Comfort, Joy & Cheer kicks off tonight with a grand celebration that includes a Five Golden Rings Fashion Show featuring the boutiques on the 12 Days Passport, holiday cocktails and bites, and auction. Tickets for the event are $40 and can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets. Read more about it here.

do-gooders

People doing good makes my heart go pitter-patter. (Shhh...listen closely. Do you hear it?) Anyway, there are all sorts of warm and fuzzy things crossing my inbox this ho-ho-holiday season, but here are the top three du jour that I feel are especially worthy. Take a sec and check ‘em out.

Passports with Purpose
Take four whip-smart travel bloggers, put ‘em behind a deserving cause in need of funding, and voilà! – you’ve got yourself helluva giant worldwide web raffle.
What is it: This year, the Passports with Purpose’s fundraising effort is supporting American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC), an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving opportunites for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia.
How it works: Dozens of travel bloggers are hosting giveaways in support of this fundraising effort. For each $10 donation that you make to AAfC, you will be entered in the giveaway(s) of your choice. The drawing closes December 21, 2009 and winners are announced January 5, 2010.

Wandermelon
The travel-savvy folks at Wandermelon are hosting a timely holiday gifty giveaway while showing some love for the Four Seasons Resorts’ partnership with Sleeping Children Around the World.
How it works: For every Four Seasons gift card sold between now and December 10, 2009, Four Seasons Resort will donate the cost of one bed kit to the charity. (This year, Sleeping Children Around the World delivered their one millionth bed kit.)
What you can win: Current and new Wandermelon subscribers can enter to win a $100 Four Seasons gift card between now and December 5, 2009. (As in this upcoming Saturday.) Log in here to subscribe.

Let’s Do Lunch! Photo Contest
This promotion is easy. And fun. Especially for the foodies, who like me, I’m sure document every little tasty morsel put in front of them.
How to enter: Document your meal with a quick pic and a few sentences dishing on the experience. Shoot over a pic of your lunch to Let's Do Lunch! from your iPhone or mobile device in one of four categories and 20% of the entry fees ($12 for one pic; $20 for up to four) will go to a local food bank determined by the grand prizewinner. Contest ends January 20, 2010.
What you can win: a Nikon D5000 Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm VR lens, an HP Pavillion dm3 series notebook, a ThinkTank Airport International camera bag and a bevy of other photogaphy-related paraphernalia.