may project preview: help japan’s earthquake and tsunami survivors with 8 days of giving for japan

Inspired by Todd Wassel over at Todd’s Wanderings and his Blog for Japan campaign, I’ve decided to dedicate my final project of The Global Citizen Project (TGCP) to helping the survivors of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The earthquake and tsunami have caused extensive and severe damage in Northeastern Japan, over 9,500 people have been confirmed dead and another 16,000 are missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation. The images of the destruction and suffering have shocked the world. However, with the World Bank reporting over 300 billion USD in damages and families torn apart there is a need for everyone to help both financially and emotionally.

Several weeks ago, Todd posted about his experience during the Japan earthquake and made a plea to readers to spread the word about helping Japan recover. His wife is from Tokyo and they are both professional aid and recovery workers with the United Nations. They have seen the recovery phase of the 2004 Tsunami up close and know there is a tremendous need to not only raise donations but to make sure those funds are used responsibly and are in the hands of organizations with not only technical expertise but also local knowledge.

Here’s where TGCP comes in. Since it isn’t feasible for me to go to Japan to lend a helping hand, I can offer my next best skill – social media fundraising magic.

From May 9th through May 16th, TGCP will host 8 Days of Giving to Japan. This 8-day digital event will tie-into Todd’s Blog for Japan efforts. A lot of people around the world want to help and have been donating to various international organizations (mainly the American Red Cross). Todd thinks this is great and with the money being transferred to the Japanese Red Cross this money will be used well. However, he also believes there is a need to donate funds directly to local Japanese organizations and NGOs that don’t have access to this type of fund raising. As such, he and his wife have put together a list of Japanese organizations that they know, trust and recommend to channel donations to.

8 Days of Giving to Japan will highlight a different Japanese aid relief organization each day and encourage people to donate directly to these recommended charities. All social media outreach will include #blog4japan, #8daysjapan and the highlighted organization’s hashtag.

Here are the recommended Japanese organizations:

Please consider donating to one or more of these organizations. All are local Japanese organizations, but links connect to English pages. Even a small amount like $10 is useful.

Peace Winds Japan is one of the largest Japanese organizations providing humanitarian relief such as food, clothing, fuel and medical supplies to the affected areas. You can donate here.

JEN is a well known NGO dedicated to restoring a self-supporting livelihood both economically and mentally to those who have been stricken with hardship due to conflicts and disasters. They are currently supporting emergency relief items such as food, woman’s hygenic items, clothes and other essentials to the survivors of the Japan Tsunami. You can donate here.

Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is donating food and essential items to the survivors of the tsunami. They also keep a well maintained English blog of their activities in Japan for the tsunami which you can follow here. You can donate here.

The Japan Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICF) is taking donations for their response to the tsunami that will focus on the reproductive health needs of women and mothers in affected areas. You can donate here.

Save the Children has been working in Japan for over 25 years. Their American partner is now collecting donations for them in English (which eliminates any credit card exchange charges. They have set up multiple child-friendly spaces in evacuation centers in Sendai City where displaced families are staying. They are also starting their long-term recovery plans to restore education and child care in communities ravaged by the disasters. You can get information on activities and donate here.

The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA Japan) team is delivering essential medical services through mobile clinics and delivering relief goods to the nursing homes and schools (evacuation shelters) in Aoba and Miyagino Wards. You can donate here.

OXFAM Japan is working with two partners in Japan on providing support to those on the margins of society who might otherwise have difficulty accessing emergency relief. One group is assisting mothers and babies and the other is providing information to non-Japanese speakers living in Japan. You can donate here.

Habitat For Humanity Japan is still assessing the situation but will be involved in the reconstruction of housing once the emergency period ends. This is one of the most vital aspects of recovery and the homeless will need a lot of help to put their lives back together. You can donate here.

8 Days of Giving to Japan Line-Up

Monday, May 9 – Peace Winds Japan
Tuesday, May 10 – JEN
Wednesday, May 11 – Adra Japan
Thursday, May 12 – JOICF
Friday, May 13 – Oxfam Japan
Saturday, May 14 - AMDA
Sunday, May 15  Save The Children
Monday, May 16 – Habitat for Humanity

Extra Credit:  If you are unable to donate, please share this page with your friends, family and coworkers through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other outlet you can think of. The more people who see this page the greater the donations will be.

If you are blogger or have your own website, please see the Blog4Japan page to learn how you can utilize this appeal on your own site and help us reach even more people.

media mention: go! overseas - how to volun-tour your way around the world

Big thanks to Sarah Palmer of Global Volunteer for her continued rockstar support of The Global Citizen Project and for being such an invaluable resource on international volunteering. She included TGCP in her article 'How to Volun-Tour Your Way Around The World' on Go! Overseas. Read Sarah's 'how to' guide on coordinating your own volunteer travels here.

media mention: here under the rainbow

Ta da! The Global Citizen Project is doing exactly what I set out to do -- inspiring others to give back. This sweet gal from Arizona mentioned The Global Citizen Project on her blog, "Here Under the Rainbow" here.  Here's wishing her all the luck in the world as she follows her do good endeavors.

april project preview: pueblo ingles in the jaen region of spain

I make no secret of my love for Spain. It’s a country I’ve visited repeatedly, most recently for my 35th birthday and a long sought after reservation at El Bulli. I hadn’t planned on including Spain in The Global Citizen Project itinerary, but several friends recommended the Pueblo Ingles program, including Jenny Block, author of Open: Love, Life & Sex in an Open Marriage, and Dylan Lowe, Editor-In-Chief at The Travelling Editor. Timing-wise, it seemed oh so symbolic to return to a country I hold near and dear to my heart around my birthday. April 22nd (Earth Day, baby!) marks my 38th birthday, the same age my mother was when she passed away from a way too short bout with lung cancer. Among her final words were, “I never went to Europe,” and well, I’ve spent the better part of the past two decades traveling and living a life with purpose and intention and, equally importantly, living a life without regret. I’m pretty sure if my mother were still alive, she’d want me to be in Europe to celebrate mark this landmark birthday.

So, my project at Pueblo Ingles (“English Village”) in the heart of Cazorla National Park in the Jaen region of Spain is timing-wise and culturally, of great personal significance. At Pueblo Ingles, I’ve committed to never utter a word of English. My only obligation is to talk, talk, talk like I would in a natural setting to help Spanish participants learn my native language. I’m going to Spain with patience, an open mind and an abundance of creativity. I’ve heard nothing but glowing feedback about this intense immersion program and hope I can be a positive influence and teacher in the English learning process. I cannot wait to report back. Sit tight and stay tuned. Although my laptop was stolen on my last project in Panama, my BlackBerry has been replaced after the corrupt SIM card incident in Guatemala, so I *should* be able to update throughout the project (such first world problems, I know). Please follow me on Twitter at @charynpfeuffer for the play-by-play.

To learn more about Pueblo Ingles, follow @puebloingles on Twitter or learn more at www.morethanenglish.com

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 - voluntourism isn't all about the volunteer

Ten months into The Global Citizen Project, I'm still having "ah hah" moments at every turn.  My recent voluntourism project with Globe Aware in Costa Rica was no exception. Read more about it here in this month's blog post for Wyndham Worldwide's Women on Their Way Jane Air Crew.

united way of king county day of hope & help – community resource exchange

On April 22 – my 38th birthday! – United Way of King County’s Community Resource Exchange will connect homeless individuals and families with the services they need all in one place, on one day. Participants will have access to free health services, haircuts, voicemail accounts, legal assistance and many other vital services.
Join me for an inspiring day of volunteering where you’ll have the opportunity to work directly with people experiencing homelessness in our community. (I signed up to work on the Social Media Team!)

There are a variety of volunteer roles available including hospitality, participant support, service provider supporter, interpreter services and much, much more. You can choose from two volunteer shifts: 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. or 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Click here now to sign up to volunteer! For more information, visit www.uwkc.org/cre or cre@uwkc.org

great quote

"When we see others suffer like this, the worst thing to do is to listen to public officials who tell us, 'Don't worry, it couldn't happen here.'  Of course it could. To be human is to be vulnerable, and there is no way to take this away. A shared sense of vulnerability is what could change us all for the better."
-- Jim Wallis, on the crisis in Japan

dumbass

Dumbass is the only word that sums up how I felt after I had my laptop stolen during my recent volunteer travels in Costa Rica and Panama. In my many years and hundreds of thousands of miles of travel, I have never had anything stolen. Call me lucky or call me cautious, but all things considered, I’ve managed to survive all sorts of high risk travel unscathed. (Knock on all surrounding hard surfaces, please.)

I checked into The Purple House (La Casa Morada) in David, Panama after enduring the 10 hour bus trip from San Jose, Costa Rica and tedious border crossing via Tracopa. Hot, sweaty and hungry, I high-tailed it to the nearby grocery store for snacks and a few .45 cent Balboa beers. All well was well in my world once again, as I sat outside on the patio at The Purple House, sipping an ice cold beer and Skyping my boyfriend to let him know of my safe (although not exactly swift) arrival in Panama.

When I returned to my shared dorm room (6 people, 3 bunks) around 11:30 p.m., lights were out and everyone appeared to be asleep. Not wanting to disturb other weary travelers, I opted to not lock up my laptop in the locker where my other belongings had been safely stored. Instead, I wrapped my laptop in my Hold Steady sweatshirt and placed it on the floor below my bottom bunk – mere inches below my head.

Although I was dead tired, I was woken several times throughout the night by my Guatemalan roommate, with whom I exchanged pleasantries with earlier in the evening. Although she didn’t speak a word of English, I managed to convey that I’d volunteered in her country in January, had a wonderful experience (despite doom and gloom reports on the crime situation in Guatemala City), so much so that I adopted and brought home a puppy from the animal rescue I was working at. She seemed like a sweet, twenty-something gal, until she shot up straight in bed in the middle of the night, pointing out the window, saying “Look! Look!” Over and over again. Wait a sec. Didn’t this woman tell me that she didn’t speak any English? Mildly confused, I fell back asleep.

Around 7 a.m., I awoke to this woman standing over my head, faux swatting a “cucaracha” from my head. Had I not just come from the rainforest, where your average size insect makes a cockroach look like an ant, I may have mustered more of a reaction. Instead, I rolled over and fell back to sleep. At this point, three of my dormmates had already checked out. The Guatemalan gal proceeded to make several trips to the bathroom before disappearing for good.

Semi-rested, I woke up for good around 8:30 a.m., reached my hand under my bed, only to find my sweatshirt – my laptop was missing. Immediately, the pieces of what happened came together and I rushed into the hostel lobby to speak with the owner, Andrea. She alerted me that the Guatemalan woman, who now had a name, Lisbeth Mejia, had scooted out of the hostel shortly before, three days before her intended checkout.

I felt like a moron as I realized that I screwed up by not taking one simple precaution – using a lock – a lock I was already using to protect my other valuable belongings. Andrea was gracious and understanding as could be as she suggested several possible courses of action – everything from checking the bus station for Lisbeth to calling local hostels to see if she had checked in. I opted not to file a report with the Panamanian police, as I needed to make my way to Boquete to meet some friends from Canada who were meeting me to volunteer. Volunteering seemed like a far more fun option, plus I didn’t have full confidence in my Spanish skills to convey exactly how the situation went down.

Yes, it’s a sucky feeling to have something stolen from you. But, I was partially to blame for the laptop loss by not taking proper safety precautions. Reality is that I was wielding an expensive piece of technology in a developing country. My laptop was easily worth one month’s salary in Guatemala. I may as well have been walking through David with dollar bills stapled to my body. It’s disappointing that anyone, anywhere would steal from another human being, but that’s life. Different people have different challenges, needs and means of survival. My laptop may have meant some kind of opportunity for Lisbeth, or simply another meal. I don’t know. As much as I wanted to wish the karma gods to puke carpal tunnel or the blue screen of death on the woman, I know that she has to live with her actions, pending her existence of a moral compass. My laptop, and pretty much everything else I own, is just stuff. Stuff that can be replaced. As my friend Ryan McGovern pointed out, there are much bigger problems in the world to worry about – especially right now.

So dear, Lisbeth Mejia – I hope my laptop is everything you hoped it would be. As for me, I will always use a lock to protect my “stuff.” And if you still decide to steal from me, obviously you need my “stuff” more than I do. I'll deal with it.

P.S. I booked a room at The Purple House on my outbound trip from Panama back to Costa Rica. Despite my incident (which was no fault of the hostel), I cannot recommend The Purple House enough. Andrea truly is the hostess with the mostess. Muchas gracias.

media mentions: 944 magazine and the volunteer revolution

Hola! I’m back from nearly a month of volunteering in Costa Rica and Panama. Sadly, I had to cut my go good endeavors short in the latter destination, due to my boyfriend contracting something unexpected in Costa Rica – dengue fever. It’s been a hellish week for him and hard for me to be so far away while he was going through the thick of this nasty virus. Thankfully, I have rockstar friends in Seattle who took excellent care of him until I was able to get home (via planes, cars, taxis, a bus and 60 hours, oh my!).

As soon as I get back in the groove of things, I promise to report back on the volunteer work I did with Globe Aware in Costa Rica via the Travelocity Travel for Good grant I won, as well as in Panama with Global Humanitarian Adventures and Dead Wheat.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some lovely media mentions that made the cyber airwaves this past week:

Big thanks are in order for Isoul Harris and K. Diane Harrington of 944 magazine in Atlanta. I adore the “Around the World” profile/interview they did on me and The Global Citizen Project.
Click here (scroll to page 91).

TGCP also got props twice in Global Humanitarian Adventures’ blog, The Volunteer Revolution. Thank you Robb, Caroline and Lisa at GHA, as well as the beyond wonderful Bliss family at Finca Selah/Dead Wheat for putting  your humanitarian efforts -- and Panama -- at the tip top of  my “must return to volunteer” list.  Also, thanks Jen and Julie, my dear Canadian friends, for coming to volunteer and to Heidi and Graham for rounding out the fun.
Read about TGCP here and here.

While I have you here lovely readers, I also thought I’d share some eye candy from these volunteer trips. Check out some of my photos from Globe Aware here and photos from Panama here. Be warned - there were puppies at Finca Selah. Five 'em to be exact.

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.

media mention: united way of king county blog

Friday afternoon thanks are in order for Erica at United Way of King County for writing and sharing this amazing blog post about yours truly and The Global Citizen Project. Read A Global Citizen: Charyn’s Volunteer Spirit Knows No Bounds here.  I met Erica last spring while volunteering at Marra Farms during National Volunteer Week (coming up in April!) and have turned to United Way of King County many times since for volunteer inspiration. Erica truly "gets" what I'm doing and I am thanksful to her for capturing it so eloquently. This blog post made my week! Thank you.

superbowl sunday. black and gold, baby. go steelers.

If you know me in real life or follow me on Twitter, you're probably well aware of my opinion of Seattle as a sport town -- two thumbs down for its teams and 90% of its so-called sports fans. Seattle lacks the live-or-die sports mentality I grew up with on the east coast, and as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, the "We were robbed in Super Bowl XL" whines are exhausting.

So when I put out an APB asking if any Seattle bars were running any specials or promotions for Sunday, I was met with radio silence. No surprises there.

I figured we'd end up at one of our usual football viewing haunts -- the Ballroom or Pacific Inn Pub in Fremont -- until Leslie at Fresh-Picked Seattle posted pretty fantastic list of things to do in Seattle on Superbowl Sunday. Check it out here. Now my NFL-lovin' mind is spinning with so many great options. Thank you, Leslie and GO STEELERS!

media mention: tbex weekly roundup

Thank you TBEX for including me in this week's Weekly Roundup!  This volunteer gal-on-the-go is very much looking forward to June's travel blogger and writer festivities in Vancouver, B.C.  My room is booked at Sunset Inn & Suites and I'm shacking up with roomie extraordinaire.  Can't wait to see everyone hot off the heels of the The Global Citizen Project.

february project preview: globe aware in costa rica

In February, I am headed to Costa Rica to volunteer with Globe Aware - The Road Less Traveled Rainforest Village Experience. This volunteer travel program offers a unique opportunity to help a small community next to the Carara Rainforest Reserve improve their well being and create a sustainable future in ecologically important areas. This project was chosen with the Travelocity Travel for Good grant I won via WE tv and Ladies’ Home Journal and I am beyond grateful to be able to bring my boyfriend along for the do good adventures.  He's been extremely patient and supportive of my volunteering efforts over the past eight months and I am excited to be able to share a small part of The Global Citizen Project with him -- especially in one of my favorite Central American countries.

The Carara Rainforest Reserve borders a tiny village where volunteers are immersed. Although the villagers love their natural paradise, they have struggled to make ends meet as much of their farmland was taken over by the national park. They hope to create sustainable community-based tourism, and Globe Aware volunteers will work on community development projects to help them reach this goal.

Projects will vary depending on the number of volunteers, which projects were finished with the prior group, what priorities have changed, weather conditions, which supplies are available, and often the interest and fitness level of the volunteers.

Some completed Carara Rainforest Reserve volunteer work projects:

• Built pedestrian bridges
• Buried and installed new PVC water pipe to bring new clean water source into community
• Painted school
• Built cabinas
• Planted hundreds of trees
• Built book shelves for school
• Built fence around school
• Set up First Aid center
• Made oil lamps to line public road
• Made and installed road signs to community
• Painted communal hall
• Built recycling stations
• Built waste receptacles
• Painted and installed identifying signs in rain forest

To learn more about Globe Aware and its volunteer vacations around the world, click here.

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.

yours truly is jane air crew's voluntourism blogger

Wyndham Worldwide's Women on Their Way is a fab online resource for business and leisure travelers to find everything they need to plan and book their next trip. The website, www.WomenOnTheirWay.com, includes expert advice on destinations, hotels, timeshare resorts and vacation rentals, plus special deals and packages.

I recently signed on to be Women on Their Way's brand new Jane Air Crew Voluntourism Blogger. Read my first blog post here and bookmark the Jane Air Crew blog page to read regular posts from a rockstar line-up of wanderlusting women on-the-go. You can also friend Women on Their Way on Facebook here or follow on Twitter here. I so look forward to sharing my voluntourism experiences (the good, bad and the ugly - I've seen it all!) with readers, so be sure to check back each month!

still a few spaces in writers.com travel writing master class with amanda castleman, david farley, thomas swick, edward readicker-henderson and yours truly

Take your travel writing to the next level in the new year! There are still a few spots left in Writers.com's January Travel Writing Master Class with Amanda Castleman and guest critiquers David Farley, Charyn Pfeuffer, Thomas Swick and Edward Readicker-Henderson.

Take your prose to the next level, honing your voice and perspective. Anchored by Amanda Castleman, this extended online workshop assembles a roster of teaching talent that's rarely seen outside of conferences.  Students receive weekly one-on-one feedback, not just Q&A, and assignments ranging from tweets to YouTube, but concentrating on evolving each author's narrative voice. Even the most experienced writers have blind spots and unconscious ticks and we can help retune 'em!

This online workshop starts Monday, January 10 and runs for 12 weeks. The cost is $445 and late enrollment accepted until day 10.  TGCP readers receive a 5% discount with the code MC111CP.

Guest critiquers include:
New York University Instructor David Farley, author of the award-winning An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town (1 week)

Charyn Pfeuffer, a culinary and travel freelancer who is undertaking The Global Citizen Project - 12 voluntourism projects in 12 countries - thanks to social-media fundraising (1 week)

Lowell-Thomas-winner Edward Readicker-Henderson, whose poetic musings on quiet have appeared in AARP Magazine, Forbes Traveler and National Geographic Traveler, among other outlets (2 weeks)

Author and columnist Thomas Swick, whose observations on the trade have been honored by Travelers Tales, Best Travel Writing and Best American Travel Writing (2 weeks)

Explore imagery and epiphanies apt to an area. Sharpen your eye for timely angles and compelling quests. Push your plot arcs further and master the interweaving of action, analysis and reflection.

We’ll delve into the sound of words on the page, as well as how to capture the best quotes from locals and experts. The class will even touch upon investigative tactics: when to tuck that press pass in your hat band... and when to meditate and read poetry for inspiration. Finally, you'll refine your cutting, redrafting and repurposing skills, exploring the same material through different subgenres and editors.

Amanda Castleman spent eight years in Europe and the Middle East, before returning to freelance full-time from her homeport of Seattle. Her articles have appeared in The International Herald Tribune, MSNBC.com, Wired, Salon, Italy Daily, The Athens News and Sport Diver, along with the UK's BBC, Guardian and Sunday Express. Her Honduras scuba article won a 2007 Lowell Thomas award (travel writing's ersatz Pulitzer).

Amanda has contributed to 30-odd books, including Greece, A Love Story and Rome in Detail, plus titles for National Geographic, Frommer's, Michelin, DK Eyewitness, Time Out and Rough Guides. She has launch-edited glossy consumer magazines, as well as a Silicon Valley start-up. Previous gigs include graphic- and web-designing, and staffing and editing on metro dailies. In addition to Writers.com, Amanda teaches through the Richard Hugo House and TravelWritingClass.com, which offers week-long workshops in Rome. Her website is http://www.amandacastleman.com/ and she ego-casts further on the blog Road Remedies.

Not sure if the master class is for you? Take our quiz to find out.

To see the Travel Writing Master Class week-by-week syllabus, click here.

news: bus bomb kills five in guatemala city

An explosion on a bus in Guatemala City has killed at least five people and left more than a dozen others with serious burns.  Read more about it here.

seeking balance in the world of social media

Taking a Twitter/Facebook/social media “time out” between Christmas Eve and the New Year was the best thing I’ve done for myself in ages. I’m not one to wax poetic on sappy end-of-year round ups or make New Year’s resolutions, but stepping away from Tweetdeck helped put my cyber priorities into perspective.

There are so many things I love about social media – all of the new friends I’ve made – many of whom I’ve been fortunate enough to meet in real life (or “IRL” in Twitterspeak), being part of an interactive, international forum of writers, travelers, foodies and creative types (few things in my globetrotting world are as fun as Travelers’ Night In, a.k.a. #TNI), and the fact that I was able to use this tool to fund (and now share) The Global Citizen Project.

Twitter, Facebook, blogging and whatever other social media outlets you partake in are all about the give and take of ideas and information. I think people who post, but don’t participate are really missing out, and my brief hiatus made me think long and hard about how I can strike better balance in my personal life while still maintaining an active and fulfilling online presence.

Reality is I put far more value on real world interactions, and even my closest friends and loved  ones don’t know my every move in 140 characters or less like my followers on Twitter do. Sure, it’s been entirely my choice to put my personal life on cyber parade, but the past week has left me seriously rethinking what and how I’m going to use these tools to share in the future. 

Am I experiencing social media fatigue? Maybe. Or perhaps like anything in life, moderation is the key for successful living, especially now more than ever in our weird and wonderful, online world.

Here’s wishing you the best – and balance – in 2011!

Photo by Murray Barnes