blog post: employers do good and help employees give back

Employers who give employees paid time off to volunteer get big props in my book. According to VolunteerMatch.org, a website that connects people with volunteer causes, about 27% of Americans donate time to a nonprofit, and 35% of U.S. companies have a formal volunteer program. 

Read the rest of my latest Wyndham Worldwide Women on Their Way voluntourism column here.

volunteer post-play report: do good bus at nature consortium

I woke up yesterday in a total funk. It was Sunday, my one day off, and I barely managed six consecutive hours of sleep any night the previous week. I’d just started with a new client, had a hard time settling my mind and was tired and cranky.  As to be expected in Seattle in October, the skies were gray, and all I wanted to do was pull the sheets over my head and go back to sleep. Instead, I collected and cleaned myself and hopped on the #28 bus headed downtown to volunteer with the Do Good Bus on tour with Foster the People.

I made the mistake of not checking the address and quickly realized when I arrived at the downtown Showbox, I was not in the right place. I did some quick math in my head (a task pre-noon on a Sunday without coffee) and determined there was no way I could hoof the 1.5 miles and make it in time.

Exasperated, I hailed a cab and soon joined a line of other do gooders patiently waiting behind the Foster the People tour bus outside Showbox SoDo. I still wasn’t feeling it. I wanted a cup of coffee. I wanted to be in bed, and if not bed, in a bar watching the Steelers – Titans game.  I had an endless “to do” list to tackle before the week and desperately needed a day off – all to myself.

The minute the Do Good Bus pulled up, my mood changed and my energy was charged. Rebecca and Stephen, founders of this LA-based philanthropic effort on wheels are infectious in their desire to give back and are all about having fun while doing it. Rocking out to Foster the People (natch), we played a variety of ice-breaker games with our bus mates en route to our volunteer destination – a site that was kept secret until we were minutes away.

We pulled up to Pigeon Point Park, part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt in South Seattle, where staff from Nature Consortium waited for us. Our task for the next three hours: Help with reforestation efforts of coniferous species by planting trees. Potted saplings were spread across a sloped bank, and after a quick safety briefing on how to properly use a shovel, dig a hole and plant for growth success, dirt was flying.

I’m not afraid to get dirty. I love the meditative nature of gardening and getting dirt under my nails, on my clothes, in my hair…I found my calm place and reveled in the quiet repetition as I dug holes, loosened roots and gave saplings a place to spread out, grow and succeed. Time passed quickly, and when it was time to pack up our equipment to go make terrariums with the young ones of the group, we had managed to plant 164 new plants. These native plants would deter erosion and evasive blackberry growth on the hillside.

I got back on the bus with a shiny new attitude.  This was why I volunteer and give back. Not only does volunteering feel good, my experience with the Do Good Bus was a reminder that it doesn't take much to make a difference in your local community. Also, giving back doesn’t always have to be about hardship. As a group, we were able to accomplish so much work in three short hours; work that would've taken days for Nature Consortium’s small staff. That is what community is all about.

the do good bus comes to seattle - seattle times photo gallery

Check out the fab photo gallery Seattle Times' photographer John Lok compiled of our do good efforts yesterday with the Do Good Bus here. Pay special attention to someone you may know on photo No. 8.  .

Volunteers gathered at Showbox in the SODO District to hop on the "Do Good Bus" as part of the tour for the band Foster the People.  The bus, billed as a "transportable community service venture," picked up fans and took them to Pigeon Point Park in West Seattle, where they spent the day in a nature service project with Nature Consortium.

Stay tuned for my post-play blog post! 

blog post: give, take and get to know a destination with voluntourism

When you think of voluntourism, do you think of traveling to far flung places and making a costly commitment? I do. Which is why I keep returning to a very simple "ah hah" moment I recently had while volunteering at home in Seattle.

Read my latest column for Wyndham Worldwide's Women on Their Way Jane Air Crew here and find out how you can give back when you're on the go.

article: new york times - budget excursions for volunteers

Check out this fantastic article in the New York Times today: Budget Excursions for Volunteers.

blog post: sometomes voluntourism is found in unsuspecting places

Read my latest post for Women on Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide about my recent trip on Aqua Expeditions M/V Aria: "Sometimes Voluntourism Is Found in Unsuspecting Places."

media mention: dog's life magazine

All paws up to Olivia LaBarre at Dog's Life Magazine for featuring my volunteer work with dogs at AWARE Animal Rescue in Guatemala in the Summer 2011 issue.

The article features several voluntourism trips around the world that involve helping our four-legged friends. It's a thrill and an honor to share ink company with Nola Lee Kelsey of The Voluntary Traveler and animal advocate extraordinaire. Be sure to visit dogslifemagazine.com/voluntourism or TheVoluntaryTraveler.com for more animal voluntourism ideas.

photo + upcoming philanthropy expedition

Adventure philanthropy photo of the week via Roadmonkey: Mekong Delta kids on their new (and first-ever) playground; Vietnam 2010.

Want to join an upcoming Roadmonkey expedition?

Cycle the Central Highlands and Build a Playground for the Impoverished Khmer Community
Dates: Oct. 16-29
Price: $3,800
The adventure philanthropy expedition comprises 9 days cycling through the rolling southern Central Highlands + 4 days building a playground for an impoverished Khmer community

let's talk: how to volunteer - at home and abroad

Americans like to give back. In 2010 alone, more than 63 million Americans volunteered their time. Here in Seattle, people volunteer on average 44.1 hours per year, according to VolunteerInAmerica.gov.

Last June, I swapped a successful career as a food, travel and lifestyle journalist for a backpack to volunteer with 12 community projects in 12 countries over 12 months – a project I conceived and call The Global Citizen Project. With one month to go, I’ve logged close to 800 hours of service in areas ranging from childhood educational development in Honduras and sea turtle conservation in Mexico to working on a permaculture farm in Portugal and building smokeless stoves in Panama. Most of my volunteer projects have been humanitarian focused, but I did throw in several efforts that benefit the planet, like nature and animal conservation, since my passion to help extends beyond people.

My one or two hour presentation (based on your organization or company’s needs), How To Volunteer - At Home and Abroad, will share my diverse domestic and international volunteer experiences, as well as an organized “how to” plan of attack for people who want to take their humanitarian efforts on the global road. This dynamic presentation will be packed with plenty of ‘insider’ tips, humor and anecdotes, as I’ve braved Dengue Fever, mudslides, and giant insects all in the name of volunteerism. It will also incorporate photos and handout materials, which participants can take home. I am very comfortable speaking in front of a group and have teaching experience ranging from speaking to high school students via Learning for Life, guest-teaching journalism classes at University of California San Francisco, co-instructing Writers.com’s Travel Writing Master Class, and most recently, providing more than 100 hours of English instruction and conversation through Pueblo Ingles’ linguistic immersion program in Cazorla, Spain. How To Volunteer - At Home and Abroad will inform, educate, and inspire attendees to engage in something greater than themselves.

I am available for speaking engagements as of mid-May 2011; fees vary. Please contact me at cpfeuffer (at) yahoo (dot) com with any queries or for a presentation outline.

ABOUT CHARYN PFEUFFER:
With more than twelve years’ editorial experience, Charyn Pfeuffer is a well-respected veteran in the publishing industry. From food, wine and travel editor to copywriter, marketing consultant to author and ghostwriter, her successful career has involved her in all aspects of crafting the perfect editorial. She’s authored, co-authored and ghostwritten more than a dozen books and contributed to more than eighty publications, including TravelChannel.com, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons, Sunset, San Francisco Chronicle, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, DailyCandy.com, SPA, Seattle Weekly and Seattle Times.

In June 2010, Charyn launched The Global Citizen Project, a 12 community project, 12 country, 12 month volunteer tour de force. This year-long humanitarian project has been covered by more than 50 media outlets and chronicled since its inception on her blog (http://globalcitizenproject.blogspot.com). The Global Citizen Project was funded via Kickstarter.com, an online crowd funding platform and true testament to the almighty powers of social media: More than 200 people pledged more than $20,000 in 90 days; 45% of them strangers.

Charyn’s volunteer work has earned her the prestigious honor of a $5,000 Voluntourism Grant from Travelocity’s Travel for Good® Program in WE TV’s First Annual WE Do Good Awards Contest, in partnership with Ladies’ Home Journal. She is also Wyndham Worldwide’s Women on Their Way Voluntourism expert and writes a monthly column for its website. When Charyn isn’t traveling, she volunteers locally with United Way of King County, Food Lifeline and Marra Giving Garden. You can follow her volunteering adventures at @charynpfeuffer.

if you live in los angeles...

Check out Do Good Bus. Hop on the bus, get wined and dined and they do the rest. Each trip is different and you never know where or how you'll help out until you arrive at the final do good destination. It's a great way to get involved within the Los Angeles community, make new friends and walk away with a warm and fuzzy feeling. I would love, love, love to see something like this in Seattle (hint, hint if Do Good Bus ever wants to head north).

new blog post on women on their way - flexibility is essential to having a successful voluntourism experience

Sometimes things on the volunteer road have a strange way of working out.  This past month I was slated to volunteer in Haiti. My second attempt to work in the impoverished Caribbean country was timed to coincide with the one year anniversary of Haiti's tragic earthquake.  In coordination with Ecoworks International (http://www.ecoworksinternational.org/), I planned to help teens create a community newsletter/journal at a small youth center in the town of Ganthier.

Things didn't exactly work out as planned, but much, much better. Read all about my volunteer experience at ANIMAL AWARE in Guatemala and the puppy that stole my heart here.

first week of volunteering at food lifeline: a smashing success

It’s been a rockin’ first week volunteering at Food Lifeline. I love the people I’m working with and the rotating cast of kind-hearted volunteers and court mandated community service characters that roll through the Shoreline warehouse.  I started the week inspecting and repacking grocery rescue produce.  In real people speak, that’s nearly expired donations from several local grocery retailers, including Fred Meyer, Whole Foods and Amazon.com.  Foodstuffs have ranged from chanterelle mushrooms and vegetable and dip combo platters to very ripe avocados and heirloom tomatoes.  Potatoes, apples, bagged lettuces and pre-cut fruit reign supreme, with the latter in past expiration abundance.  It’s humbling to play a part in feeding so many needy Western Washington families and inspiring to see the volume of food that is processed at Food Lifeline with such meticulous care.

Parker Staffing Services and Tiffany of Carbzilla joined the food-packing festivities on Tuesday; Tiffany even returned again on Thursday.  Later in the week, I was “promoted” to processing dairy and have even been entrusted to train a handful of new volunteers.  Physically, it’s been an exhausting week, moving and packing boxes ranging from 25-40 lbs., hauling, weighing and disposing of heavy compost bins, and working on my feet for several consecutive hours in a fast paced warehouse setting, but I absolutely love it. 

In other news, my beloved 1992 Nissan Maxima went to car heaven last weekend after one final road trip to Vancouver, B.C., so I was forced to learn how to navigate King County Metro.  Riding the bus is no big deal for most urbanites, but I am not well-versed in Seattle’s public transportation system and the prospect of taking the bus (including a - gasp! - transfer) instilled panic that I’ve never experienced in all my third world ground transportation travels. Go figure.  So as a freelancer who’s worked from home for the past 12 years, never had structure or a schedule to abide by and has limited public transportation experience, I am proud of myself for getting myself to Food Lifeline every day this week via bus and on time. Maybe I wore repeat outfits this week and showed up with wet hair, but volunteering really isn’t about looking pretty. It’s about productivity and all of the volunteers at Food Lifeline kick ass.  I am so happy that for December, I get to play some small part in Food Lifeline’s annual goal of delivering 24 million meals to hungry families in Western Washington. 

voting is live

Woo hoo! 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.  From August 1 through August 31, 2010 my nomination will be posted on WE Tv's website and the public can vote.

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. (You can see why I want to win so badly, right?!)

PLEASE VOTE HERE and 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.

Photo courtesy of Theresa Thompson.

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

media mention: responsible travel tales on worldnomads.com

On my last night in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for the first project of The Global Citizen Project with Building a Future, I found myself at a going away party for a Spanish fellow who’d been working for a local NGO. For sure, I thought I’d be in semi like-minded, save the world company, but surprisingly, partygoers were largely critical of my plans to volunteer with 12 causes in 12 countries over the course of 12 months. What? The Global Citizen Project faced mild criticism during its fundraising, but nothing beyond whines of why wasn’t I dedicating an entire year to a singular cause. Answer: Between my cheerleader-like tendencies and far-reaching journo and social media platforms, I’m in the unique position to raise awareness of 12 different causes, communities and organizations, more than your average NGO worker.

Read the rest of Views of a global citizen: Honduras here.

project | building a future and hogares crea in honduras

I'm back in action after three weeks in Honduras for the first project of The Global Citizen Project. My apologies for delayed posts – technical logistics in Tegucigalpa were unpredictable and it’s taken me a full week to step away from the volunteer project and process the experience. On many levels, it was a very difficult trip for me. My time was divided between working with first and second graders in Colonia Ramón Amaya Amador, an underserved barrio on the outskirts of the capitol city, through Building a Future, and with abandoned and street children, many victims of violence, addiction and abuse via various Hogares Crea homes.

I had seen painful glimpses of the face of poverty, homelessness and hunger in Latin America on previous trips, but never experienced its myriad of effects so intimately. Despite this often seen reality, I also traveled throughout Honduras in late 2007 and had been floored by the beauty of the country. On this trip though, beauty was limited to a few quick countryside road trips and the gracious hospitality of the Honduran people; if it existed in Tegucigalpa, it was lost on me. The city (and country) face a plethora of problems ranging from its 40% unemployment rate, $1.30-1.50 average hourly wage and pervasive lack of education (the average Honduran completes 6.5 years of school) to widely divided social classes and a population where more than 50% of its people are ages 18-years-old and younger. Factor in Honduras’ recent Presidential coup and its current political polarization, and well, you don’t exactly have a recipe for (easy) success.

I’m eager to share specific experiences and stories with everyone and plan to do so over the coming weeks before I take off for project two of The Global Citizen Project with Karikuy in Lima, Peru in mid-July. In the meantime, here are my photos on Flickr of the people and places in Honduras that have given me pause and huge gratitude for the opportunity, education and friends and family in my life.

more photos | the global citizen project goes to honduras

Hola! I'm back from my first project for The Global Citizen Project, working with Building a Future and Hogares Crea in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and trying to process so many things - my volunteer experience, several deadlines, catching up on sleep and sifting through hundreds of photos and videos. Since I'm guessing that not everyone has the time to sit through 500+ images, here is round two of my favorite photos (with captions this time, too). Please click here to my Flickr page if you'd like to take a quick visual trip to Honduras. Grab your Kleenex - some of these photos are heartbreaking.

the value of a volunteer

Randy LeGrant, Executive Director of GeoVisions, a US-based organization that offers volunteer abroad programs, work and travel, teach abroad, and wildlife conservation projects, does an excellent job explaining the role of a volunteer, the responsibilities of the project coordinator and how I will impact the 12 communities I serve. Thank you, Randy, for taking the time to comment on this topic. I really appreciate your insights and hope it lends some clarity to those who may be unclear of the vital role of the volunteer.


From Randy LeGrant:

As the Executive Director of GeoVisions (we send thousands of volunteers abroad each year), we work hard everyday to staff 70 projects globally. The notion that a volunteer can do no good unless they commit to a really long project is an argument we are dedicated to eradicating.

It isn’t the VOLUNTEER who is sustainable. It is the project. If I have 3 hours to volunteer at the local food pantry, I might never go back. But the food pantry had me for 3 hours to help unload a truck. The local food pantry will be here years from now. It is the project that is sustainable. Next week I might volunteer at a soup kitchen for 2 hours. I’ll be gone. The project will be there. The notion that we have to dedicate weeks or months to one project for our volunteering to be worthy is wrong. And it sends a negative message to people who are PLANNING to volunteer and now might think they are not doing enough.

I’ve personally looked over the 12 projects Ms. Pfeuffer plans to make a part of her life. She is:

• Giving up a year of her life to help others

• Calling attention to voluntourism through her writing and Kickstarter

• Making her trip “interactive” by listening to her readers about which projects will receive her

• Dedicating a lot of time to researching available projects and asking lots of questions

I head up a voluntourism organization, and if I had to choose to send one of our volunteers to one project for a year or 12 projects over the year I’d suggest to them the latter. In fact, you cannot volunteer with GeoVisions longer than six months.

Again, it isn’t the volunteer who is sustainable. The volunteer helps for a day, a weekend, a week or a month. Even gap year kids move around – usually 3 to 4 projects in a year.

Lastly, Ms. Pfeuffer is a writer. Her talents will be used to call attention to 12 projects in 12 months. I would love for her to be on one of our projects because not only will she write about it from first-hand experience, she would be able to tell us where we could strengthen the project and that is always information any project needs.

$20,000 for 12 months? I dunno. I look at one of my competitors here in the U.S. just down the road from me and it costs $4000 for a month. If Ms. Pfeuffer can do a year on $20,000, that is a story all on its own.

I don’t want anyone to think volunteering is based on how long you can contribute your time. Or that it is the volunteer who has the responsibility of sustainability. We place college study-abroad students on weekend projects. We have people call us from tours asking us if they can volunteer for a day – most recently a magician we sent to a school for a day (after his references were checked out). We send people for a week. And for six months. It is the responsibility for the project and for the project sponsor to make certain the work is sustainable. It is for the volunteer to lend a hand.

Volunteers always go abroad thinking they will change the world. Even those who are on site 6 months may return home disappointed that they leave behind a project still in need. That’s normal. That is part of the process, and from my perspective, Charyn will learn that on her own, if she is funded. She has some lofty goals, and some won’t pan out. Some will change and go in other directions. And she will have helped a lot of people, she will have written for a year and inspired a lot of people, and she will come home a different person.

You go girl.

Randy LeGrant
GeoVisions

tell me where to volunteer in honduras

Alright, I won't keep you waiting any longer on the mystery volunteer project/destination for The Global Citizen Project. I know you couldn't sleep a wink last night in anticipation of where in the Latin American world I'd be volunteering.

Well, the wait is over - it's Honduras! And YOU get a say in which Honduran community project I serve.

Please go to the Visit Honduras Facebook Fan page to comment on what community volunteer project I should volunteer with by midnight on Monday, December 7th. Then, we'll decide the top five choices and YOU will vote to determine the winning community project. The result will be announced on Tuesday, December 15th.

Thanks in advance for your input and suggestions! Honduras 2010, here I come!

big news tomorrow. here's a clue.

Drum roll, please and break out your pom poms if you got 'em. Tomorrow morning, I'll announce the details of a very cool collaborative effort I'm in cahoots with with one of my favorite Latin America countries (my first Latin Americam travel destination love, actually). The promotion will determine where I volunteer within this wonderful country and what project I'll particpate in.

I'm a fearless travel writer willing to take on pretty much any terrain, so if there's a specific cause that you feel needs some volunteer love, please let me know. I want The Global Citizen Project to be an interactive, community driven experience, and yes, I'm all ears for volunteer project and destination suggestions. I'm all about give and take, comments and feedback.

Hasta mañana, here's a visual clue about the country I'm talking about.