8 Days of Giving to Japan: Day 2 - JEN (#NGO_JEN_e)

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.

Learn more about JEN here or donate here.

For all social media outreach TODAY, please include the hashtags:

• #blog4japan
• #8daysjapan
• #NGO_JEN_e

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.

8 Days of Giving to Japan: Day 1 - Peace Winds Japan (#PWAmerica)

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.

Learn more about Peace Winds Japan here or donate here.

For all social media outreach TODAY, please include the hashtags:

• #blog4japan
• #8daysjapan
• #PWAmerica

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.

elizabeth gilbert says goodbye to 'eat, pray, love'

The bestselling memoirist makes an official farewell to the book that made her a star.  Read the full story on The Atlantic here.

recipe: sticky lemon rolls with lemon cream cheese glaze



Photo by The Kitchn

Need some sweet inspiration for your mama this weekend? Look no further than this tart twist on your usual cinnamon suspects.  The smarty pants at The Kitchn came up with this variation: Sticky Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze.  Get your stand mixers ready! This recipe is a keeper.

i love seattle

Communities that promote walking tend to be green in other ways, too. A new ranking from The Atlantic says who's getting us on our feet. Read Pedestrian Perfection: The 11 Most Walk-Friendly U.S. Cities here.

media mention: budget travel adventures - how travel can change the world

Jeremy Branham of Budget Travel Adventures was kind enough to mention me in his thoughtful reflections of the recent death of Osama Bin Laden. Read Jeremy's humbling and heartfelt article here. Thank you!

headed to the amazon with aqua expeditions to experience m/v aria

You can take the girl off the travel roster, but I guess you really can’t take the traveler out of the girl. I swore off all post-project travel (at least straying from mainland U.S.) for the summer, but when an invite to experience Aqua Expeditions' brand new, super luxe ship, M/V Aria landed in my inbox, I immediately checked the Yellow Fever shot dates on my yellow World Health Organization immunization card. If I had to name my top three favorite places on the planet, the Amazon in Peru would make the final cut. Hands down. I was fortunate to experience this region of the world a few years ago on a similar river itinerary and had eyed Aqua Expedition’s ship. M/V Aqua at the time (M/V Aria's sibling ship).

Here’s the official rundown from Aqua Expeditions:

Aqua Expeditions CEO Francesco Galli-Zugaro announced plans this month to launch the second Aqua Expeditions vessel on the Peruvian Amazon, the M/V Aria, in April 2011. The M/V Aria features 16 specially designed cabins with floor-to-ceiling picture windows, a fully air-conditioned top deck with observation lounge as well as the Aqua Expeditions’ signature Amazon Grill with award-winning Executive Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino.


In addition to these amenities, the M/V Aria will also boast an exercise room and an outdoor Jacuzzi with sun deck, a unique addition to accommodate the discerning and fitness conscious traveler.


“We are thrilled to announce the launch of the world’s second five-star luxury vessel to sail the Amazon,” says Galli-Zugaro. “The M/V Aria will provide the ever-growing number of travelers who wish to explore one of the world’s last great wilderness areas with a one-of-a-kind travel experience.”


The boat’s itineraries will vary from those of its sister ship, the M/V Aqua, but will also explore remote areas of the Amazon River. The 24-crew member M/V Aria is staffed with four world-class nature guides and will also include an Amazon wildlife reference library and air-conditioned multimedia room.

While this expedition is not volunteer oriented or part of The Global Citizen Project (which wraps up May 16th), there will be opportunities to visit impoverished villages along the Amazon. I plan on packing an extra suitcase of school supplies, toothbrushes/toothpaste, baby/children’s clothing and any other items that seem useful. I take off for this trip May 22, but if you act now, you can get your do good stuff into my suitcase. (And I'll throw in an extra set of thanks for your efforts!) Please email me at cpfeuffer (at) yahoo (dot) for my mailing addy. Thanks in advance for your help. I really look forward to sharing my M/V Aria experience with you and this spectacular region of the world.

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

please help contextual solutions raise $6k to build smokeless stoves in central america

This past March, I had the serendipitous good fortune of crossing paths with Steve Bliss and staying with his lovely family in Boquete, Panama.  At their farm, Finca Selah, I helped out with the production of smokeless stoves for indigenous people of Panama.  Well, Steve is taking his brilliant solution on the road and needs to raise $6,000 to take the molds and set up training sessions throughout Central America.  Steve Bliss of Contextual Solutions, shared this article he wrote on how he plans to help and what he needs to make it happen. Thanks in advance for taking a few minutes to learn about what he's doing to help the respiratory health of Central America's indigenous and impoverished populations.

The time has finally come to build more stove molds. It has been amazing to see the interest not only from organizations, but people in villages requesting them from organizations. Fortunately, we just received a grant from Bid 4 Boquete to help get the next round of molds started and we are very grateful.

We originally ordered fifty molds from a company in the States and had them shipped down to Panama. As of the end of next week, they should all be in the field producing stoves. Those original molds were made of vacuum formed plastic but the new ones will be made of fiberglass. A couple of reasons for the change is that we found the plastic wasn’t consistent in thickness tolerances, which has led to some premature failure in the outside mold. Fiberglass is readily available here in Panama and is a reparable product, unlike plastic. Building the new molds out of fiberglass will ultimately extend the life of the molds.

The master mold was shipped down here a while back and when my boys and I opened it up to make some modifications, it had actually split up a bit from shrinkage so some work had to be done to restore it to a functional state. We also planned on modifying the master mold for the next batch of stoves molds.

CHANGES
After testing the finished stoves, we found some simple modifications that radically improved the performance.

Change 1: The height of the stove. While testing the performance of the stove we found that an 18.5 inch tall stove (the original) would bring five liters of water to boil in forty five minutes. If we reduced the size to 15.5 inches, the time to boil was reduced to thirty minutes. One of the reasons for this is the clay acts as a heat sink. Clay is to heat as a sponge is to water; it just sucks up heat energy that should be going into the pot. We also found that anything less than 15.5 inches was difficult to achieve a smokeless burn which negates our desired goal.

Change 2: The mold will have a six inch hole pre-made in the top. This will save us the step of cutting this hole to allow for the placement of the wood- center cone piece.

Change 3: We are extending the risers, which the pot sits on, toward the center hole. This will allow for smaller pans to be used.

Change 4: We will be increasing the rigidity of the large opening flange and the top of the mold to allow for longer life expectancy. A benefit of using fiberglass is if/when there is damage to the mold it can easily be repaired. Our hope is to comfortably get 500 stoves out of each mold. This will in turn change the lives of approximately 3000 people. With every fifty molds that enter the field approximately 150,000 people will be affected.

We should be able to keep the costs down to approximately $50.00 per stove mold. Each mold is donated to a village where the community is then trained thus empowering them to literally make their own solution. Our monetary donation for that one mold is $50.00. So if $50.00 changes the lives of 3000 people, then we can say that it only costs less than 2 cents per person. That is an amazing cost benefit.

 The materials needed to build the stove is clay, sand, water, reed grass and 1/3rd bag of cement. Everything can be sourced free and locally except for the cement that will cost a community member approximately $3.00 per stove. This is the cheapest stove approach on the market and it is one that reinstates dignity through participation to those who need the life-saving solution. And that, my friend, is an approach we feel good about.

THE PLAN

Spreading the Technological Knowledge:

We are planning a trip through Central America late July to introduce this approach to organizations currently working in these countries. We have found that when those who cook on three-rock fires are introduced to our stove, they request it from the local trained organization. Our goal is to bring the solution to organizations so they can bring an effective and lasting solution to the communities in need. If you know of any organizations working in Central America who could benefit from this technology, please contact us and let us know.

Our strategy

We are planning to set up one or two training sessions in each country where we invite organizations to train and take a mold back to the villages where they can train the people in the communities in which they work. Train the trainers. This will minimize our time and costs to get the stove initiative started in each country.

How we will be going

I’ll be driving the molds in my truck and staying in cheap hotels. The trip cost is yet to be exactly determined but a quick budget estimate is around $6,000.00 (including the molds).

If you would like to be a part of taking our stove solution to organizations around the world, starting with Central America, please donate. You can donate by clicking the link below and no amount is too small. Without your donations, this trip will not launch. We thank you in advance for your support.

media mention: planetfruitbat - anglo, spaniard, anglo, spaniard – latest antics…

Fellow Pueblo Inglès participant, Adam Barratt, was kind enough to mention me and TGCP in a recent post on his blog, PlanetFruitBat. His blog is "about traveling the world with champagne dreams on a tap water budget" and I can't wait to spend some time poring over his posts. Thank you, Adam for the digital love.

new post: women on their way: why on earth would you ever pay to volunteer?

"Why on earth would you ever pay to volunteer?" is a question frequently asked in the do good-o-sphere. It's a perfectly valid query considering some voluntourism opportunities cost upward of $1000 (and more) per week.

I share some thoughts on the topic of paid versus unpaid voluntourism in my latest column for Wyndham World's Women on Their Way Jane Air Crew blog here.

WWOOF your way around the world

What is WWOOFing? Well, for short, it is your ticket to an incredible farming experience in one of over 50 countries in the world. Think of any country and they are likely to have WWOOF hosts there, ready to take you in with open arms.

The acronym stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, but some still refer to it as Willing Workers On Organic Farms. People of varying experience levels and all ages (although, usually a minimum age of 16) have been taking advantage of this excellent program since it started in the UK in 1971.

Read the rest of this fantastic article on humanitarian travel on CNN.com here.

chris hughes on what’s next for nonprofit social site jumo

Talk about competition for attention: There are 1.5 million registered nonprofit groups in the U.S. Beyond the well-known names like the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society, the struggle to stand out is enormous. That’s where Jumo comes in, said Chris Hughes, Jumo’s founder and executive director and a cofounder of Facebook.

Read the rest of the Forbes article here.

tips for 'voluntourists'

Tips for 'voluntourists'

komo news 4 at united way's community resource exchange

10 great sites about volunteer travel

10 Great Sites About Volunteer Travel

earth day birthday volunteer at united way of king county’s community resource exchange

When your birthday falls on Earth Day, you can’t help but feel a sense of responsibility to give back to the greater good. So, last Friday I volunteered on the Social Media Team for United Way of King County’s Community Resource Exchange (CRE). The event was held at Qwest Event Center East Hall and was a one-stop shop of sorts connecting thousands of people experiencing homelessness with dozens of resources and services. Attendees could enjoy everything from a hot meal served by Farestart and free health services to legal counseling and employment training.

My role as a Social Media Team member was to document CRE and help put a face on the issue of homelessness. Another volunteer, Brady, and I wandered around the event, armed with a camera, Flip Video, notebook and BlackBerry. In many cases, attendees approached us, eager to tell their story. Others shied away from the camera, while others tried to use the request to wheel and deal some kind of payment. (No money exchanged hands.) It was beyond awesome to see attendee’s confidence increase with services as simple as a haircut, shave and nail care. Others received much needed services such as oral health care and extractions, eye exams and prescription glasses, and HIV and diabetes testing. The Seattle Humane Society was hand to keep an eye on the four-legged friends, while child care services were provided so parents could take advantage of the event without worry. Even the IRS was helping people file back taxes and handing out thousands of dollars in unclaimed refunds.

By the very nature of the event, many of the attendees were folks who had fallen on very hard times. But others were not the faces of homelessness that you’d expect. One extremely educated, well-spoken man, Jay, told me about how he lost his county job in 2006 after 18 years of employment. Since then, he’s had difficulty finding work with a liveable wage, so he bartends two nights a week and couch surfs. He was passionate about the issues surrounding homelessness, pegging its root causes to lack of adequate health care for all Americans, lack of jobs with liveable wages and our country’s reliance on “Black Crack” (or a need for clean energy). Jay told me he was accepted into University of Washington’s School of Law and hopes to someday be a political change maker. I have no doubt it will happen.

I saw potential in so many of the CRE attendees and feel strongly that events like United Way of King County’s Community Resource Exchange empower people to make positive changes in their lives. It was humbling and a privilege of be part of such an event and I know that the 300+ volunteers made a big difference in the lives of the 1800+ attendees. And that is the warm and fuzzy stuff that Earth Day birthday wishes are made of. Thank you, United Way of King County for coordinating such a successful event.

If you want to read some of the Social Media magic we made (we trended in Seattle!), you can find the #CRE2011 tweets here.

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.

pueblo inglés: the post-play report

Full confession: I had my doubts about Pueblo Inglés. Sure, the linguistic immersion program had come highly recommended by several writer friends, but I had trouble wrapping my language-learning challenged brain around an 8-day program that was, well, actually effective.

I’ve rendezvoused with Rosetta Stone more times than I care to share and spend on average, one-third of each year in Spanish-speaking countries. Yet still, my fluency ebbs and flows and is largely affected by cerveza consumption. Or ‘liquid courage,’ as I like to call it.

So when nearly three dozen Anglos and Spanish convened on a sidewalk near the Nuevos Ministerios metro stop in Madrid early one Friday morning, ready to embark on an 8-day linguistic immersion program, I really did not know what to expect. (I try to go into all volunteer programs with no expectations; I’m almost always pleasantly surprised.)

We drove six hours south to the idyllic digs of Coto del Valle, smack dab in the heart of Cazrola National Park. You could not ask for a prettier spot to take on the challenge of learning English. Surrounded by hulking mountains, lush greenery, waterfalls and wildlife, Coto del Valle is a remote slice of scenic Spanish heaven. And a carsick-inducing 45-minute drive from the nearest town, so there’s no escape for the weary.

I won’t lie. Volunteering at Pueblo Inglés is a big commitment. The program is highly regimented, and there are scheduled activities, every hour, on the hour from 9a.m. until 10:30p.m. (and often later). All participants speak English for well over 100 hours during the course of the 8-day program, so pace yourself and pack some throat lozenges. The first, and most important rule, of Pueblo Inglés is to never utter a word of Spanish. And not to get all mom on you, but it’s really important to get adequate sleep. There are plenty of windows of time to party, but the key to my Pueblo Inglés success was keeping a nightly, 8-hour date with Mr. Sandman.

The Pueblo Inglés program is a brilliantly orchestrated mix of make-your-head-ache-hard-work and shameless silliness. From one-on-ones and thought-provoking group activities and debates to theatrical presentations and conference calls, there is never a dull moment. But in between all the hard work lies the most beautiful, heartfelt moments with new friends over Spanish food, wine, new language and fantastic scenery.

For Anglos participants, Pueblo Inglés is a totally unique way to experience Spain and its culture. Where else can an Anglo traveler meet such a diverse cross-section of Spaniards from all over the country, each one eagerly willing to share their story? For some cost-conscious travelers, Pueblo Inglés served as an opportunity to take a feel good ‘time out’ from hostelling to live a four star lifestyle. For others, it was an excuse to come to Spain in the first place, then stay for leisure exploration.  Whatever the reason was for each Anglo participant, everyone gave the intense program their full attention and all.

It was the Spanish participants, though, that really humbled me and blew me away. I know this wasn’t an easy scenario for any one of them and they handled the stress and challenges and inevitable headaches with such incredible grace. They were relentless in their desire to learn, and for that, the Spanish have my utmost respect. I am grateful for my brave new friends and look forward to returning to this program in the future to help other Spanish wrestle and conquer the confusing English language. Now that I’ve seen it done, I’m a believer.

At the start of the program, Allan, the Pueblo Inglés Master of Ceremonies told the Anglo participants, “You will never see the fruit of your efforts here.” He was proven wrong on the return ride to Madrid when two of the Spanish, both of whom started at drastically different language levels, spoke fluently – in English – for six hours non-stop. Tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled with wanting to hug them for their valiant efforts or letting them carry on with what seemed like such an effortless conversation. I opted for the latter, but Isabel and Juan Carlos, please know how proud I am of you both. Pass the tissues, please.

I didn't leave Spain feeling my finest -- with the worst sore throat, semblance of a voice and jetlag. Would I trade this experience for anything? Heck, no. As emails from the Spanish come pouring in – in English – I’d like to think I played some small part in their newfound correspondence confidence. Now, it’s my turn to up the language ante and master my Spanish so I can properly reciprocate. After my week at Pueblo Inglés, I have all the inspiration I need. Muchas gracias.

earth day volunteer opportunities in washington state

Bicycle Paper.com :: News :: Earth Day Volunteer Opportunities Abound