media mention: adventures with alyson

Wow. Wow. Wow. What a lovely introduction to my new voluntourism blog from Alyson at Wyndham Worldwide. I am so grateful that I got to meet this "Can Do" woman at the WE Do Good Awards in NYC this past November and am thrilled to pieces that she asked me to contribute to Wyndham Worldwide's Women on Their Way Jane Air Crew. Thank you, Alyson for providing such a supportive resource for women who travel, but also for giving props to women who give back. Read her blog post here.

media mention: we tv do good, feel good

Big thanks to Britt, WE tv's WE Volunteer blogger extraordinaire for this fantastic post on "Do Good, Feel Good."  Really appreciate the online love, Britt!

media mention: kirstenalana.com "woman doing good"

Let the waterworks begin.  Again.  The stars aligned on Tuesday night for travel writer and photographer, Kirsten Alana to join me and a handful of friends I haven't seen in ages at the WE Do Good Awards in New York City.  I've been a fan of hers on Twitter, but she is even lovelier live and in the flesh.  I am so thankful she was able to come kick up her heels with me and look forward to continuing a real life friendship. 

I was a nervous, emotional wreck for most of the actual WE Do Good Awards ceremony, but Kirsten captured all of the highlights oh so eloquently here.  Thank you 100 times - this is too sweet for words. XO

women who rock. in other words, the we do good awards in new york city.

Deep breath. I’m not really sure how to recap the past 48-hours in New York City for the WE Do Good Awards. Morgan (my BF) and I arrived at JFK Monday afternoon and were whisked via sedan car service (read: sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic for two hours) to the swank Central Park digs of Trump International Hotel & Towers. Starved and not wanting to stray too far, we opted for cheeseburgers and martinis at Nougatine, the most casual of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s three onsite restaurants. Greg Andres joined in the evening’s festivities and was every bit as wonderful as I knew he would be.  Random side note for the food geeks: Several years ago, I crossed paths with Jean-Georges at an after hours party in Aspen and he made me a grilled cheese sandwich, which I’m sure, staved off a potentially disastrous hangover. The thought of calling in a similar late night culinary booty call did cross my mind during our stay.

Later that evening, we headed to the Rodeo Bar to see one of Morgan’s childhood friend’s, the fabulous Hugh Pool play. In typical New York City, anything is possible fashion, we were out until 4:30 a.m. and I more than made up for the absence of Yuengling in my west coast world. My basic grooming paid the price, since I opted or an extra hour sleep the following day instead of a manicure. Oh well, I'm a girl of certain priorities and fashion and beauty does not top them.

Tuesday afternoon, I finally met my lit agent live and in the flesh who doled out a much needed smack of reality on where this project was (or wasn't) going. I left his office with Julie Klausner’s new book, I Don’t Care About Your Band, which has pretty much rocked my world and I’ve only read the first section. Scott's advice, coupled with Julie's sass and some pretty big "Come to Jesus" realizations during this trip have left me wanting to take this book in a bold new direction and I think I can pull it off.

Completely inspired, Morgan and I raced back to the hotel for a primping frenzy (well, I primped – he’s a  low maintenance soap and razor only kinda guy). I’ve been living in third world countries the better part of the past five months and all beautification has gone to the wayside. I’m lucky if I throw on a bra on most days, much less worry about if my clothes match or if my cuticles are looking a little ragged. Stressed to the max and mouthing my speech in the mirror, I managed to pull it together within minutes of our driver’s arrival.

Nothing could have prepared me for the scene at Espace. Upon arrival, I was shuffled through so many people, checking in here and there and making countless introductions, until I was finally assigned a handler for the evening. Morgan and I were taken to a VIP area, where trays of tasty looking hors d’oeuvres and Champagne were passed around. I was way too nervous to partake (so very unlike me). And then the mayhem began. Myself and the two other WE Do Good Award winners, Hilari Scarl and Theresa Lucas, were escorted to the red carpet for what seemed like 10,000 photos. A sea of photographers snapped away, instructing us to look here and there, move closer, tilt this way, etc. I also got to work the red carpet in the company of the Travelocity Roaming Gnome and a super-sized check for my grant.

Then came the interviews. Reporters lined up at the end of the red carpet and we moved through the roster giving rapid fire interviews. I’ve given my fair share of interviews, but never in this wham bam thank you ma'am succession. It was pretty amazing.

The awards ceremony was fairly quick – about an hour. Sherri Shepherd hosted the festivities, rocking some of the most drop dead sexy heels I’ve ever seen and had me in stitches from start to finish with her irreverent personality. We share the same birthday (April 22, Earth Day) and I had some doubts about her, having read that she once expressed doubts as to whether the world was indeed round. I’m not even going to go there. Andie MacDowell also presented an award, as did Marlee Matlin via satellite. Other celebs on hand included Ally Sheedy, fashion designer Barbara Moses and professional poker player, Beth Shak. I’m sure there were others, but my head was swimming with giddy excitement the entire event.  Big thanks to my friends who came out to share in the celebration: Jody Diamond, Jessica Rodriguez and her lovely friend, Allison, Marisa and Adrian Carstens, Kirsten Alana Larsson, and Gregory Andres.

My award, the Travelocity Travel for Good Award was given to me by Kelly Rutherford of current Gossip Girl fame. As a thirty-something gal, I have fond memories of her role as Megan Lewis on Melrose Place back in the early 90s. She was very sweet and stunningly Grace Kelly-esque gorgeous and set the stage for me to deliver my speech --- all choked up.

Since I know you’ve all been dying to know which project I picked, Morgan and I will be volunteering for Globe Aware in Costa Rica in February. Travelocity has kindly allowed me stretch my $5,000 voluntourism grant dollars to include another person, and the way I see it, is that Globe Aware gets an extra sets of hands to help. My boyfriend has been so patient with me being an absentee volunteer girlfriend the past many months. I’m excited he gets an opportunity to share in something that is so important to me.
All in all, the event was a smashing success. It was kinda annoying that after telling official event planning powers-that-be no less than 10 times how to pronounce my name that it was botched throughout the entire ceremony. I even heard Sherri deliver it correctly during her rehearsal, but somehow, someone managed to screw up the phonetic spelling on the teleprompter. (For the bajillioneth time, it’s pronounced like Michelle Pfeiffer, not like Feffer. Sigh.) What’s not to love about getting flown to New York City for a very all-about-me whirlwind trip, spending quality time with some friends and being recognized for my volunteer work in the company of so many other like-minded and amazing women. It was a humbling experience and exactly the feel good fuel I needed as I embark on the second half of TGCP.

Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making Tuesday night such a success and for making me feel like a super star. Oh, and a shameless plug: be sure to pick up the current issue of Ladies’ Home Journal to read about me and the other WE Can Do Award winners. And if you want to see more photos from the event, click here or here.

media mention: ladies' home journal

Big thanks to writer Amanda Wolfe for making me look so good in ink. Check out Ladies' Home Journal's feature on the WE Do Good Award winners here. It is such an honor to be recognized like this in their very first awards! Thank you.

good stuff + a gala

Last week, WE tv sent a film crew to Seattle to film yours truly for the WE Do Good Awards Gala in New York City next week (insert loud squeal of excitement here). Of course, Seattle weather could not possibly cooperate, so the majority of the shoot took place inside my home sweet home. (At least I got to rock my flower-print Bogs for the outdoor segments!) It was truly an amazing day, and Loch and Kris made me feel perfectly at ease, sharing personal, and often tear-inducing stories of my volunteer work over the past five months. I cannot wait to see what visual story they tell from our all-day, show/share and tell experience, but have complete confidence that they “got” what volunteerism means to me.

I have loved every minute of my TGCP volunteer experiences (and I’m only half-way through), but it hasn’t all been easy, and a lot of it has been very emotional in nature. I am beyond honored to be recognized for this volunteer project and my volunteer efforts over the past decade by Travelocity, Ladies Home Journal and We tv. I try to imagine how I will feel when I receive this award next week in New York City and it overwhelms and humbles me. This award belongs to everyone who has played a part in making this dream happen and makes an effort to give back. If I’ve learned one thing over the past five months, it’s that it takes very little to provide comfort to another person – we all have the power to be a hero to someone else.

I plan on live tweeting from the WE Do Good Awards Gala, next Tuesday, November 16th, starting at 5:30 EST (@charynpfeuffer). Also, mark your calendars to pick up the January issue of Ladies Home Journal, which features The Global Citizen Project. So much good stuff in the works – thank you.

my volunteer style is definitely not a vacation

Lately, a lot of companies have been trying to sell me on outrageously priced volunteer vacations or voluntourism opportunities. Let me be loud and clear: The Global Citizen Project (in its current limited budgetary glory) is in no way a luxe vacation. It does not even remotely resemble how I travel on my own time and dime. So when I get pitched packages that run into the high hundreds of dollars per week and raise a dubious eyebrow, I’m in no way consoled when they come back with, “But we throw in a two day trip to Machu Picchu, a weekly Spanish lesson or four star accommodations.” That’s all sounds mighty swell, but it’s so not what my project is about.

Everyone is entitled to travel and volunteer however their heart (and budget) desires. I tend to be more of a DIY girl, who doesn’t require a whole lot of handholding, nor, do I subscribe to spending lots of dough to do good. Especially when I’ve taken on the task of participating in 12 volunteer projects over the course of a year; it’s just not financially feasible. Besides, I want to work. As hard as I can. If I had copious amounts of cash to burn, would I like to see how the other half gives back? Absolutely. I’ve seen some pretty slick voluntourism catalogs filled with feel good eye-candy and it all looks so very civilized compared to my current volunteering style. Warm water? Hot meals? Six hour work schedules? Oh my! These experiences seem a bit luxury laden for what The Global Citizen Project aims to accomplish, but if I were embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and wanted to tie-in a volunteer component, these trips seem to strike the perfect balance between service, exploration and amenities.

If I win Travelocity’s Travel for Good Program’s $5,000 Voluntourism Grant through WEtv’s WE Do Good Awards Contest, I’d be over-the-moon ecstatic to participate in any one of Travelocity’s official voluntourism partners’ programs: Cross-Cultural Solutions, Earthwatch Institute, Globe Aware, or American Hiking Society. Any one of these programs would be like a Porsche 918 Spyder to my current Pontiac Bonneville shoestring budget projects, plus I could share the voluntourism experience with someone else. (More give back power, yay!)  Even if these programs don't exactly fit my volunteer travel style, it would provide an interesting first-person perspective in the big picture voluntourism puzzle. (I mean, I am trying to convey as many varied volunteer options as possible to my friends, readers and followers, afterall.)  As added bonuses, it would be a huge honor to be featured in a future issue of Ladies' Home Journal magazine and also featured on WEVolunteer.TV. It’s like the holy trinity of voluntourism wish list winnings.

Please vote daily here. Ballots close at 11:59pm on August 31, 2010. It’s quick and easy to vote and you don’t have to fork over your email address or any personal information. Many, many thanks in advance for your continued love and support. And get out there and volunteer - it really doesn't take much to make a difference. Even just a few hours in your own community goes a long way in provinding comfort and making you a hero to someone else. I pinky swear promise.

media mention: the everywhereist

I'm back from Ica and a bit shell-shocked by the 168 emails that filled my inbox over the past 36 hours. Yikes. So it was a mighty nice surprise find that Seattle travel writer Geraldine of The Everywhereist gave my WE Do Good TV nomination a shout-out in "The Week In Travel." Check it out here and if you're not following her blog, you really ought to be. Geraldine is smart-as-a-whip and dishes snark like few can.

While I have you here, I'd like to remind you that you can VOTE FOR ME DAILY for the WE Do Good Award and help me win a $5,000 Voluntourism Grant from Travelocity’s Travel for Good Program. I'm one of only five finalists for this presitigious award and voting is open through August 31. Thank you in advance for your vote!

Finalist for WE tv’s WE Do Good Awards Contest, in partnership with Ladies Home Journal

Lima, Peru may be my volunteering home right now for project #2 of The Global Citizen Project, but my shouts of excitement when I learned that I’m one of five finalists in the Travel For Good Award Category of WE tv’s WE Do Good Awards Contest, in partnership with Ladies Home Journal were probably heard around the globe.

From August 1 through August 31, 2010 my nomination will be posted on WE tv’s website and the public can vote on the most deserving Finalist in each of the three Categories.

Here’s what's at stake:

The winner in each category will be notified on or about September 7, 2010. If I am voted the winner, a guest and I will travel to New York City for three days and two nights for the WE Do Good Awards Gala in November 2010. I will also receive a $5,000 Voluntourism Grant from Travelocity’s Travel for Good® Program and will be featured in a future issue of Ladies' Home Journal magazine and on WEVolunteer.TV. To learn more about the prize and review the complete contest rules please visit here. (You can see why I want to win so badly, right?!)


So please, mark your calendars and vote for me between August 1-31st. If you feel so inclined, please pass along the link via your Facebook networks, Twitter, blogs, and whatever other all points bulletin methods you prefer. One million thanks in advance.

If you'd like to hear what my former volunteer coordinator (and dear friend), Tammy Dyson, has to say about my volunteer skills, please click here. Follow the play-by-play of The Global Citizen Project, my 12 volunteer project, 12 country over 12 month volunteer project since its inception here.

Ladies Home Journal circa. 1900 cover photo courtesy of paukrus