Help Haiti, Win A Trip To Ireland

Connemara, Ireland

So a couple posts ago I wrote about a fundraiser to help Haiti build wells and bring clean, safe water to some communities in need there through the aid of Water.org. The fundraiser is held by a network of travel bloggers coming together under the awesome name Passports With Purpose.  

Basically, Passports With Purpose (PwP) is an annual fundraiser held by dozens of travel bloggers that aims to give back to the places that travelers visit. PwP has been around since 2008, each year raising money for a good cause and topping its goal from year to year. This year PwP's goal is to raise $100,000 for Water.org, an organization working to make clean and safe water available to all countries and populations around the world. In the wake of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010--and the damage done all over again to the country during Hurricane Sandy only a few weeks ago--Water.org will be using the money raised from Passports With Purpose for building much-needed wells in two communities in Haiti.

Now there are lots of good reasons why you should consider donating to Passports With Purpose and helping out Haiti and Water.org. First, here are a few facts about water resources in the world:

• Nearly 1 billion people lack access to safe water.
• Two and a half billion lack access to improved sanitation.
• More people in the world have a mobile phone than a toilet.
• Every 20 seconds a child dies from a water-related illness--mostly children in developing countries. 
• Because of lack of safe water and adequate sanitation, an estimated 200 million work hours are spent each day in the world collecting water...almost entirely by women. That's enough woman-power to build 28 Empire State Buildings per day.

Those are the sobering reasons to donate. But if you're a traveler, there are even more reasons. For just $10 donation to Passports With Purpose, along with helping out Haiti, you'll be automatically entered to win a travel-related prize donated by all kinds of travel companies...including the one that hosts this blog, Wayfaring Women Tours.

Wayfaring Women Tours is donating a trip to Ireland on our women's tour*** in the fall of 2013 to the Passports With Purpose project. Think of that folks--donate $10 between now and December 11th, spend next autumn in the Emerald Isle drinking Guinness, looking out at the country's 40 shades of green, munching on warm scones and wild salmon, listening to great tunes in charming old pubs...I could go on and on.

Kylemore Abbey in County Galway

Window in Quiet Man pub in Cong, Connemara, Ireland

 Here is what you win from Wayfaring Women Tours: 

Free Trip for One (1) Woman*** on the Best of the West & South Ireland Tour for Women: August 29-September 6, 2013

(9 days/8 nights)

Tour Includes

• Nine days of touring covering Counties Galway, Clare, Kerry, and Cork
• Accommodation for 8 nights in comfortable hotels and guesthouses, located in Galway City, Lisdoonvarna, Inis Oirr (the Aran Islands), Dingle, and Shanagarry (outside Cork City)
• Walking tour of Galway City to see its historic pubs and churches, the Spanish Arch and Lynch’s Castle, and the home of Nora Barnacle (the woman who would become Mrs. James Joyce and inspire Bloomsday)
• Visit to Brigit’s Garden in Moycullen with tour of gardens, tea break, and special workshop on the Brigit tradition in Celtic folklore and culture
• Tour of Connemara, including the charming village of Clifden and picture-perfect Kylemore Abbey
• Free night in Galway City for you to enjoy the pubs, sit in on a traditional Irish music session, stroll along the bay, venture out to nearby Salthill, whatever you fancy
• Tour of the Burren with a relaxed walk led by Tony Kirby, Burren guide and author
• Visit to the Cliffs of Moher, with plenty of time to take in the amazing views
• Two nights of music, dancing, and all-around merrymaking at the world-famous annual Matchmaking Festival in Lisdoonvarna
• Optional excursion day to Lahinch, a seaside town noted for it beaches, with opportunity to sign up for a fun surfing lesson
• Trip to Inis Oirr, the smallest and loveliest of the Aran Islands, with ferry transport from Doolin
• Overnight stay on Inis Oirr, with walking tour of the island led by Eoghan Poil of Aran Islands Walks and easy, engaging Irish language lesson led by Bríd Ní Chualáin of FEICIM
• Tour of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry and its many archaeological sites
• Afternoon cookery course at the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, focusing on scone, jam, and bread making
• Visit to Blarney Castle and opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone for the gift of eloquence as well as shop ‘til you drop at Blarney Woolen Mills
• Plus: All breakfasts (8) included (full Irish), welcome dinner on first night in Galway City and farewell dinner on last night at Ballymaloe House, transportation in a roomy, comfortable coach with reclining seats, professional driver and guide, and transfers from Shannon Airport to Galway City on first day of tour and to Shannon from County Cork on last day (for guests arriving in/leaving from Shannon). Meals included: All breakfasts (8), four (4) dinners, one (1) tea break, plus tea and generous tastings during afternoon cookery course. Some drinks and all alcoholic beverages are not included and factored into price of tour.
  
  

  

  Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry

  
  
  Not included in price of tour: Transportation (airfare) to Ireland; airport transfers not specifically stated in itinerary (only airport transfers to/from Shannon Airport on the dates of Aug. 29 and Sept. 6 are included in price); local transportation expenses during free time on tour (i.e., taxi fares); travel insurance; meals where not stated in itinerary; personal items/shopping expenses; fees such as room service, laundry service, telephone calls, Internet use in hotels or elsewhere, etc.; entrance fees or expenses for any activities engaged during free time on tour, including optional excursions; any expenses incurred for tour members spending additional time in Ireland before or beyond tour’s start and end; tips for tour leader, driver, and local guides; passport/visa fees (for tour members arriving from outside Ireland). No refunds will be given for any unused portion of a tour by a tour member.
  This tour is for passengers age 16 and over. 
  Prize is only good for this tour, scheduled August 29-September 6, 2013.  
  ****This is a women-only tour. Should a man win this prize, he is free to gift the prize to a woman. It would certainly be a great gift!
  

     

So that's what you can win from us at Wayfaring Women Tours and Writing and Wayfaring if you donate. Now here's how to donate. Just go to this link, or click on the Passports With Purpose widget at the upper-right hand side of this blog. Donate $10 or more--and you're in! There are tons of great prizes on offer--and who knows, we might see you winning our prize and joining us on our women's tour of one of the most beautiful countries on earth.

A big thanks to all at Passports With Purpose allowing us to participate. And a big Thank you to PwP's 2012 Sponsors:

• Platinum: Expedia
• Gold: TripIt
• Silver: tbex
• Bronze: HomeAway. TravellersPoint, HostelBookers, Go with Oh

Now get donating!! 

Put Your Passport To Good Use

Hello readers, friends, and wayfarers. Notice anything new or different about the blog? Here's a hint...look to your right. See that widget--that long, tall, sally of a thing under the words Passports With Purpose? That's what's new here! So what's this widget doing on my blog?

First things first. Passports With Purpose is an annual fundraiser held by dozens of travel bloggers that aims to give back to the places that travelers visit. Since 2008, Passports With Purpose (PwP) has been recruiting bloggers and travel sponsors to raise money for a different charity each year. In its first year, PwP raised $7400 for Heifer International, a worldwide non-profit devoted to ending hunger and poverty and promoting self-reliance and sustainability. To give you an idea of how successful PwP's mission has become, in 2011, only its 4th year of fundraising, PwP raised $90,000 to build two libraries in Zambia in partnership with Room To Read.

This year Passports With Purpose has upped its goal to $100,000 for Water.org, an organization working to make clean and safe water available to all countries and populations around the world. The money raised for Water.org will go specifically for building much-needed wells in two communities in Haiti.

Chances are if you're reading this, you come from a country or part of the world where you don't have to worry much about water--like where it comes from, if there's enough to go around in your community, if it's safe to drink. If so, consider yourself very fortunate. Here are some facts about water in the world according to Water.org, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF:

Nearly 1 billion people lack access to safe water. Two and a half billion lack access to improved sanitation. Picture this--more people have a mobile phone than a toilet. And every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness, mostly children in developing countries.

In Haiti only one in five people have access to a toilet, and half the country lacks access to clean and safe water. Haiti's water crisis goes back to before the catastrophic earthquake that hit the country in January 2010. The earthquake only worsened the situation. Meanwhile Hurricane Sandy has re-devastated the country.

Now, Passports With Purpose is teaming up with Water.org to lend Haiti a helping hand. Passports With Purpose is already set up to accept donations that will go to Water.org. On November 28th it gets even better--PwP will begin offering the chance to win some great travel-related prizes to anyone donating as little as $10. Ten dollars, people. For ten dollars, not only can you help out people in Haiti, you might win yourself some cool travel gear or a vacation getaway in 2013. There's no reason not to participate.

So why am I telling you this? Well, I can't give it all away right now. All I can say is look out for another post from me on November 28th. I'll give you all the details on what you can win and what prize in particular this ol' blog will be sponsoring. That's right--Writing and Wayfaring will be hosting a prize. In just a couple weeks, I'll tell you all about it. So stay tuned...and in the meantime, click on the PwP widget if you want to find out more about the fundraiser!