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Attaining Excellence and Happiness amid Unreason: Philanthropic Travel

travelersphilanthropy — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:39:57 +0000

"Moral excellence is a mean ..between two vices, the one involving excess, the other deficiency." -Aristotle

The Golden Ratio is a universal law in which is contained the ground-principle of all formative striving for beauty and completeness in the realms of both nature and art, and which permeates, as a paramount spiritual ideal, all structures, forms and proportions, whether cosmic or individual, organic or inorganic, acoustic or optical; which finds its fullest realization, however, in the human form. -Adolf Zeising, Neue Lehre van den Proportionen des meschlischen Koerpers, Leipzig, 1854, preface.

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Cheetah Hunt, Okavango Delta -David Chamberlain
Approaching the Omega Point: Philanthropic Travel
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The Huffington Post: Philanthropic Travelers
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Philanthropic Travelers:
The One's Who Do: Philanthropic Travelers
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler
David Chamberlain: Philanthropic Traveler

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"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying

Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury

The Exquisite Safaris philanthropic travel experience integrates indigenous local culture into every personalized luxury trip we recommend. These personal introductions create authentic cross cultural friendships that generate trust, respect, and generous donations funding philanthropic travel projects worldwide.

Philanthropy

travelersphilanthropy — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:56:51 +0000

Photo: Chellie Kew

Philanthropy: "Love to Mankind. Practical benevolence to people in general. The disposition or active effort to promote well being and happiness of one's fellow man." -Oxford English Dictionary

Understanding the Joy's and Benefits of Philanthropic Travel

How do you define philanthropy? Let us know in the comment field below.

Learn More:
Approaching the Omega Point: Philanthropic Travel
Teach your Children Well: Philanthropic Travel
Globalization of Empathy: Philanthropic Travel
Beyond Success: Philanthropic Travel
Going Away To Go Within: Philanthropic Travel
The Huffington Post: Philanthropic Travelers
Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Social Entrepreneurship
Thank you Marc Benioff: The End of Philanthropy

Philanthropic Travelers:
Chellie Kew: Visionary Philanthropic Traveler
The One's Who Do: Philanthropic Travelers
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler
David Chamberlain: Philanthropic Traveler

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"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying

Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury

Bonnie Lunt: Visionary Philanthropic Traveler

travelersphilanthropy — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:51:02 +0000

Bonnie Lunt and Azama student by David Chamberlain

Bonnie Lunt couldn't figure out why the little girls were tugging at her clothes and trying to take them off, right in the middle of Azama's town square. But she decided to go with the moment.

"We were having a celebration, and we were all dancing, "Lunt remembers of that day last summer. "Before I knew it, they had dressed me in a new outfit, beautifully made traditional pieces, topped of by this gorgeous blouse." One of the women told her that during festivals like this, they preferred that she wear their clothes.

Each had embroidered part of the blouse.

Seven years before this particular celebration, Lunt had paid her first visit to the remote village, part of greater Otavalo, up to 10,000 feet in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. The founder and president of Bonnie Lunt Management, a New York search firm for the upper echelons of the advertising and creative industries, was on her way to the Galapagos Islands to fulfill her commitment to a charitable project, a group home she and her friends were helping to build. When one of those friends suggested that Lunt visit the ancient Otavalo Market in Ecuador to pick up some wall hangings for the home, Lunt took the 1300 mile detour that turned her already full life in a dramatic new direction.

Lunt is known for placing marketing and advertising clients in high -profile positions, brokering big deals and activating her substantial network to do good. After Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida in 1993, Lunt co-founded a organization dubbed People Helping People Disaster Relief, so many friends and contacts could donate dollars and offer help during the crisis. Active across the country from Northridge, California, site of the 1994 earthquake, to post 9-11-2001 New York City, the group got people to "come together, do what we had to do and then leave," Lunt recalls.

"Until Ecuador."

Captivated by the region's people and natural beauty, Lunt returned again and again to Otavalo, built a home and got to know a teacher named Margot Cifuentes. Cifuentes was teaching a full day in a nearby city, then returning to the village to teach dozens of children on the lawn in front of her house. None of these children could attend regular schools because they had to work during the day, or just couldn't afford the school fees.

Lunt watched the students "all gather around one piece of paper, which was their lesson for the day. If it rained, they would fling themselves over that paper to keep it dry."

Lunt's first idea was to put up a circus sized tent. When she asked a client if he knew anyone with a company that made canvas, he offered $20,000 and asked if that would be enough to help buy the tent. Lunt recalls telling him, "That is actually enough for a building. So we'll build a school." Then Cifuentes explained that, while the children had at least some education, they didn't have any medical care.

Part of the reason? "A lot of attention and resources get diverted to Africa," Lunt explained, "because the kids there are starving to death. There is just so much poverty here but it looks different. "She says 90 percent of the children in Azama are anemic. "They eat, but they're malnourished. Many sleep on the ground and have lice, scabies and worms."

So Lunt decided she was going to adopt the village. "I didn't know what that meant, "she says, "but we had to change the education and the health situation."

During the last two years, Lunt and her friends have built a primary school and community center, a health center and a dental clinic -all literally from the ground up. A modest woman who describes her impressive career as simply, "connecting the dots between people," Lunt used advice from her mentor, advertising magnate Jay Chiat. "He told me, 'Just go forward. If you make a mistake, It's OK to come back and fix it, but unless you go forward, you don't get anywhere."

According to Helayne Spivak, chief creative officer of CCA Advertising, "Bonnie looks around, sees what she sees and says, I'll bet I could help,' And she does it on the strength of her personality." When Spivak saw photos of Azama's children crowding the walls of Lunt's Manhattan office, she decided to provide not just financial support but also time and effort. Within weeks, the renowned copywriter and creative director was en route to Ecuador as "one of Bonnie's 'Band Aid mules." "We brought 50 pound suitcases loaded with everything you have in your medicine cabinets and take for granted," Spivak says. Dozens of top women in advertising and other professionals, including a group of female accountants from Yale, began making regular flights." There was no persuasion necessary," she says. "We'd do anything for Bonnie."

As one of the forces behind the nationally recognized Miami Ad School, the first institute of its kind with locations around the globe, Lunt has a passion for education. During a recent visit to Ecuador, Lunt recalls,"the cutest girl, Pacorina, came to the door." Paco, who is about 8, showed Lunt her new bilingual book. "She sits down at the table and reads the whole thing out loud. Then she starts reading the English version! Last year she couldn't read at all." Lunt remembers thinking, Wow, Its working. "I'd just had a birthday, and that was the best present. It made my heart smile."

Today Lunt is in search of dermatologists and ophthalmologists (Because of Azama's high elevation, eye and skin problems are especially serious). The clinic needs dentists willing to become philanthropic travelers, and the lack of clean water for non tourists is "beyond desperate." At the same time, the generosity Lunt and her compadres find in Azama is a constant gift.

Each time Lunt leaves New York for her small Ecuadorian style stucco house with a tile roof and furniture handmade by local artisans, she has more company.

"Once people see it and get involved as philanthropic travelers, they want to spend more time here," she says.

"Everyone who visits has returned, or plans to, and most bring other people."

When the village has clean water and the school and health center can sustain themselves, Lunt hopes to replicate the same success in another Ecuadorian village using the same powerful technique that has had such an impact on Azama. "You just reach out, and something happens," she says.

"Maybe not right away, but then the phone rings and it happens."

Margot Cifuentes, children of Azama and Bonnie Lunt -by David Chamberlain

Learn More:
Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury
The Huffington Post: Philanthropic Travelers
Reinventing yourself and the World: We are the New Radicals
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In Pursuit of Emptiness: Philanthropic Travel
Global Cooling?
Correlation of Fortunes: Philanthropic Travel
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Travel Connoisseur Magazine on Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide
My First Philanthropic Travel Experience
The Fable of Stone Soup
Understanding Philanthropic Travel
"Alms for Azama To Transform one South American village, it takes a Woman." by Kate Yandoh

Philanthropic Travelers:
The The One's Who Do: Visionary Philanthropic Travelers
Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Marc Gold 100 Friends Project
Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Chellie Kew
Jane Kaye- Bailey: Philanthropic Traveler
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler

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"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying

Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury

A Symphony of Life: Philanthropic Travel

travelersphilanthropy — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:09:38 +0000

Photo: Chellie Kew

In the great symphony of life, we all have important parts to play. While some people are best suited to be conductors or soloists, their contributions would be diminished considerably without the individual musicians that lend their artistry to the fullness of an orchestra. The magical accents of the percussion section might sound random and out of place without the music they accompany. But any one member of an orchestra, doing less than their best at their particular part, can destroy the harmony of the whole piece, such is their importance. So although we may not receive the same amount or quality of attention as another, all of our contributions are valuable and integral to the success of the whole.

When we do our tasks well, we infuse them with our unique energy, making each act a gift.

Each of our personalities and talents are suited to different roles of support. Even leaders and star performers support others in their own way. We can look around us at any moment to see that while we nurture some people with our work, others are supporting us with their gifts. Doing any job from this place within us allows us to do our part with humility and gratitude, while also learning lessons that move us steadily toward our goals.

When we can be fully present in every job that we do, we bring the fullness of our bodies, minds and spirits to the moment. Our contribution is enhanced by the infusion of our talents and abilities, and when we give them willingly, they attract the right people and circumstances into our experience. Anything we do begrudgingly limits the flow of our energy and closes us off from the good that is available to us in every situation.

By giving the best in us to make the world around us better, we open ourselves to receive the best from the universe in return.

Philanthropic Travelers:
Bal Krishnan Jha: Nepal Philanthropic Travel
Chellie Kew: Visionary Philanthropic Traveler
The One's Who Do: Philanthropic Travelers
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler
David Chamberlain: Philanthropic Traveler

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"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying

Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury

The Evolution of Philanthropy: Philanthropic Travel

travelersphilanthropy — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:03:53 +0000

A Brief History: Creating Deeper Philanthropic Relationships

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." -Anais Nin

Intimate Personal Reality: Philanthropic Travel

Virtual Reality: Click Here to Collaborate

Virtual Reality: Click Here to Donate

Virtual Reality: Checkbook Charity

Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth

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Are we talking about Philanthropy yet? No we are not..
Approaching the Omega Point: Philanthropic Travel
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Beyond Success: Philanthropic Travel
Going Away To Go Within: Philanthropic Travel
The Huffington Post: Philanthropic Travelers
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Thank you Marc Benioff: The End of Philanthropy

Philanthropic Travelers:
The One's Who Do: Philanthropic Travelers
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler
David Chamberlain: Philanthropic Traveler

comments (0) e-mail

"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying

Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury

The Huffington Post: Philanthropic Travelers

travelersphilanthropy — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:09:44 +0000

In the Beginning
In 1972 my grandfather, grandmother and I visited the poorest country in the western hemisphere: Haiti. Much to my grandmother's dismay, my grandfather decided that our adventure for the day would be exploring the countryside with a Port Au Prince taxi cab driver as our guide. After an hour driving down a dusty rutted gravel road we stopped in at a rural marketplace to experience life in rural Haiti. It was along the side of that dirt road that we had our first personal philanthropic travel experience.

Soon after the dust from our cabbie's Toyota had settled, unclothed children, adults and their livestock emerged from the surrounding area, undoubtedly to closely examine my aqua and orange tailor made Miami Dolphins leisure suit with white leather loafers. We were surrounded by smiling faces wondering who we were and why we had stopped by to say bonjour. Ten minutes later, after just about everyone in the crowd had a chance to smile at us, touch us and make direct eye contact with us, a soccer ball flew through the air. I trapped it and quickly passed it back to my new teammate who received it effortlessly after it had flown right over the heads of several adults.

"When we are very young children we know how to feel. It's innate. But as we lead a lifetime, we pick up so many thoughts, impressions, feelings, and ideas, that our sensitivity goes away." -F.L. Ph.d

Connecting

I bonded with the local kids and my grandparents stood side-by-side with adults from the village while the cabbie lit a cigar. My grandmother, initially fearful of the unknown, was now smiling, calmly and communicating in sign language with local women, and enjoying her experience. We all seemed to connect for those brief moments. The spontaneous transcendent events of that morning's cross-cultural experience are still vivid today, as they were so many years before. Those few moments changed our lives.

Deja Vu

During my first trip to Africa while driving between Maun, Botswana and Windhoek, Namibia I was moved to pull over at a village in a remote area of the Kalahari Desert, much to my friend Linette's consternation. She declined my offer to join me for a walk into the center of the grass hut village and decided instead to stay in the car -with the doors locked. Ten minutes later I returned to the car with a crowd from the village: children running, mothers talking, fathers trailing the entourage, and once again soccer balls flying through the air. Linette gracefully emerged from the car with a smile and began to open the clothes intended as gifts. Captivated by everyone's curiosity, kindness and easy laughter, Linette and I spoke of life in their village and life in our village in Switzerland and the USA. We felt our guests' humanity and warmth, we were welcomed and felt safe as guests of the community. And, an hour later after sharing gifts of Nike t-shirts and old Levis we had agreed to deliver, two men needed a ride to their cousins' funeral in a village 25 kilometers away. Sent off with with an open invitation to return completed with smiling faces, vigorous handshakes and waves we set off down the Trans-Kalahari Highway towards Namibia.

A New Journey

While driving I realized that the seed for Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel, planted 27 years before in rural Haiti, had just bloomed in Africa. That afternoon as I drove through the Kalahari Desert with Linette and our two new acquaintances on their way to acknowledge an ending, I began again on a new journey: introducing travelers to locals with the intention of uplifting those local people and their communities through health, education and sustainable development. If you're a traveler I encourage you to become a philanthropic traveler. Exquisite Safaris has developed partnerships with humanitarian outreach projects in Africa, Asia and South America: Orphanages, AIDS and medical clinics, schools, women's entrepreneurial initiatives, and clean water NGO's that will open their doors to you and connect you personally with the people they serve. -The Huffington Post

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"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury The Exquisite Safaris philanthropic travel experience integrates indigenous local culture into every personalized luxury trip we recommend. These personal introductions create authentic cross cultural friendships that generate trust, respect, and generous donations funding philanthropic travel projects worldwide.

Need Magazine: Holistic Philanthropy

travelersphilanthropy — Sat, 31 May 2008 16:49:03 +0000

"Whether you are a philanthropic traveler, board of directors member, run an NGO, or just attend UN Security Council meetings for a puppet regime or superpower; Need Magazine should be required reading for global citizens with philanthropic intent. Think of it as Foreign Affairs Magazine with a heart." -David Chamberlain

Need Magazine and the Need Magazine Online Social Network are targeted at philanthropic travelers and organizations that cover every scale of involvement in the United States, Canada and Europe.

NEED Magazine: Advertise : Subscribe : Participate Online

Need Magazine's goals are closely aligned with Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide and include:

1. To inspire individuals, philanthropists and business leaders through exceptional stories of hope and success throughout the entire spectrum of humanitarian assistance.

2. Increase awareness, volunteerism, involvement and donations to humanitarian aid efforts.

3. Encourage continued involvement from those who already are involved in these efforts.

4. To show those in need in a respectful and dignified manner.

"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying

Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury

Best Practices: Travelers Philanthropy

travelersphilanthropy — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:52:05 +0000

Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel partner Jane Kaye Bailey's Butterfly Tree Project was the 2008 featured charity at the 2008 European Travel Distribution Summit held in London May 2008.

The 2008 Eye for Travel European Travel Distribution Summit is the world's biggest conference for travel marketing, pricing and technology executives.

In a keynote session on the benefits of Philanthropic Travel:

"The travel industry has a huge capacity to raise funds for NGO's and charities especially through the internet. Tour operators need to make their tourists aware of the poverty surrounding their luxury resorts, in the developing countries they are visiting. Hoteliers must provide clean water, health and education for local communities as well as becoming 'eco friendly'. It is essential that this industry awakens to it's responsibilities, using their marketing skills to promote awareness and help to reduce world poverty." -Jane Kaye Bailey Founder Butterfly Tree Project

The Butterfly Tree assists rural communities decimated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zambia, providing improved education, feeding programs, safe water, health care and an orphan sponsorship program. 100% of your donation goes to the project. Donate to the Butterfly Tree Project Visit the Butterfly Tree Project with Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel. Exquisite Safaris supports the Butterfly Tree Project by building a morning or afternoon visit to the project into our Botswana, Zambia and South African itineraries. Exquisite Safaris donates $250 per traveler to the project.

Learn More:
Philanthropic Travel: Enlightened Luxury.
My First Philanthropic Travel Experience
Understanding Philanthropic Travel
Teach your Children Well: Philanthropic Travel
Collaboration creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel
The Happiness of Mission: Philanthropic Travel

Philanthropic Travelers:
Jane Kaye Bailey's Butterfly Tree Project Zambia

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Taking the High Road: Philanthropic Travel connects tourists with World's Poor

travelersphilanthropy — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:32:43 +0000

"Taking the High Road, Philanthropic Travel connects tourists with world's poor," by Craig Offman National Post (Canada)

..munificent as those gestures might sound, some proponents of philanthropic tourism take exception to voluntourism's approach, which they believe can be counterproductive.

"Most grassroots (humanitarian) organizations can't manage when hundreds of people come for a morning or afternoon to build a nursery school or a latrine,"said David Chamberlain, owner of San Francisco-based operation Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel, whose company donates US$250 per traveller to the grassroots organizations with whom he has worked.

Mr. Chamberlain says that many of the towns his company supports have massive unemployment issues, and the can-do, Peace Corps model of voluntourism only takes jobs away from locals who need the money, no matter how paltry.

"The philanthropy (Philanthropic Travel) message of giving puts the community's needs first, he said, emphasizing that companies in his space who do not give something back to the local humanitarian organizations have questionable intentions.

We're trying to inspire not only travellers and hosts, but also the industry, he said. We've (travel industry) been reaping rewards of world heritage (indigenous people) sites without participating in helping the communities around them.

Please support the travel industry's rush to embrace the marketing value of Philanthropic Travel by gently reminding them to increase their commitments to community in at least direct proportion to their marketing campaign budgets. Defining and demanding the full potential of philanthropic travel lies quietly in the hands of you -the enlightened consumer.

When we started our business, we asked ourselves, how can we create an experience meaningful for travellers that would be different?," recalled Mr. Chamberlain.

One of the company's big accomplishments is contributing for a school in Zambia, which cost US$10,000 and was completed last year.

Arthur Brooks, a sociologist who studies the confluence of conservatism, wealth and charity, agrees with operators who say that a little generosity is better than lot of indifference. "It's easy to ridicule people who dabble," he said. "But it's cynical to say that it's reprehensible to care about poor people while enjoying the finer things in life."

Ultimately, he believes, the concept (Philanthropic Travel) challenges the soul. "It goes back to the Biblical teachings," said Mr. Brooks, author of Gross National Happiness. "It won't help the poor if we don't help the poor, but it also doesn't help the poor if we make ourselves poor."

Are you a Philanthropic Traveler?

Learn More:
Philanthropic Travel the Ultimate Luxury
My First Philanthropic Travel Experience
Understanding Philanthropic Travel
Teach your Children Well: Philanthropic Travel
Collaboration creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel
National Post .

Philanthropic Travelers:
Marc Gold's 100Friends lead Philanthropic Travelers in Asia, Africa & South America
Beau Bressler: Philanthropic Visionary
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"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying

Collaboration creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel

Unspoiled by Wealth: Travel Philanthropists

travelersphilanthropy — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:30:00 +0000

"There are instances of millionaires' sons unspoiled by wealth, who, being rich, still perform great services in the community. Such are the very salt of the earth, as valuable as, unfortunately, they are rare; still it is not the exception, but the rule, that men must regard, and, looking at the usual result of enormous sums conferred upon legatees, the thoughtful man must shortly say, "I would as soon leave to my son a curse as the almighty dollar," and admit to himself that it is not the welfare of the children, but family pride, which inspires these enormous legacies." -Andrew Carnegie

Learn More:
Teach your Children Well: Philanthropic Travel
My First Philanthropic Travel Experience
Understanding Philanthropic Travel
Teach your Children Well: Philanthropic Travel
Parents Dedicated to Instilling Philanthropic Values in their Children
Travel Philanthropy: Creating Peace
Asking & Receiving: Philanthropic Travel

Philanthropic Travelers:
Marc Gold's 100Friends lead Philanthropic Travelers in Asia, Africa & South America
Beau Bressler: Philanthropic Visionary

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Participatory Philanthropy: Black Rock Solar

travelersphilanthropy — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:11:32 +0000

Black Rock Solar's story is that of "The Wisdom of Stone Soup", realizing the full potential of 'collaboration creates prosperity.'

Black Rock Solar is a non-profit project of the Burning Man community, focused on addressing climate change and speeding the adoption curve of renewable energy. By installing renewable energy at low or no cost, Black Rock Solar puts much needed funds in the hands of communities typically not served by the renewable energy industry -who then get to decide how to best meet their own needs. Along the way, Black Rock Solar creates educational opportunities for philanthropic travelers and beneficiaries, and sponsor training to broaden the solar power industry.

Building solar power creates energy independence and helps to reverse the adverse effects of global climate change. More importantly, the money saved by using solar power stays in the school and community directly benefiting the people who need it most. For example, Black Rock Solar's Gerlach project, finished in December 2008 provides 90kW of solar energy for the Gerlach Elementary School which will put another $20,000 per year directly into that schools budget -every year for the next 20 or 30 years!

Black Rock Solar are hard at work on their latest installation -a 60KW array for the Natchez School in Wadsworth, NV. Take a look at the location from space right here. The 60 kilowatt solar power system is expected to generate 108,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, resulting in savings of approximately $360,000 over the next 25 years. Natchez Elementary School and the Washoe County School District will share the savings, with half directly supporting the school's budget and the other half sponsoring a special fund to support conservation efforts throughout the district.

"This new system will help us give our students a very real lesson in the benefits of solar energy," said Natchez Elementary School Principal Rick Taylor. "All in all, the solar array will benefit the environment, give our classrooms a reliable source of electricity, and help us direct precious dollars toward education rather than energy bills."

"If we are going to seriously address climate change, we need to make renewable energy available to all, a mission that Black Rock Solar aims to achieve by dramatically lowering the cost of solar for communities that otherwise would not have access to these clean technologies," said Price. "With this solar energy system at Natchez Elementary -the second project of its kind for Black Rock Solar and our partners -we are no longer just asking the question, 'what if solar was free?' We're busy answering it."

In recognition of Black Rock Solar's work to bring low and no cost solar power to rural schools and hospitals across Nevada, Black Rock Solar Executive Director Tom Price was honored recently as one of People Magazine's "Environmental Heroes" for 2008.

Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel actively supports Black Rock Solar's efforts to create a 60KW solar array at Natchez Elementary School on the Pyramid Lake Native American Paiute Tribe Reservation in Wadsworth, Nevada.

Learn More:
The Wisdom of Stone Soup
Collaboration creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel
Partner with Exquisite Safaris
My First Philanthropic Travel Experience
Understanding Philanthropic Travel
Philanthropic Traveler funded High School opens near Victoria Falls, Zambia
In Pursuit of Emptiness: Philanthropic Travel
Global Cooling?
Exquisite Safaris clients say...
Travel Connoisseur Magazine on Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide

Philanthropic Travelers:
The The One's Who Do: Visionary Philanthropic Travelers
Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Chellie Kew
Milton & Fred Ochieng: Philanthropic Travelers
Jane Kaye- Bailey: Philanthropic Traveler
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler
Angelina Jolie: Philanthropic Traveler
Oprah Winfrey: Philanthropic Traveler

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Philanthrocapitalism

travelersphilanthropy — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:52:49 +0000

"We get stakeholders on the ground visiting communities where they have business and philanthropic interests. Combining business opportunities with NGO project/community visits with cultural immersion and empathetic insight is essential for effective oversight and sustainable donor support worldwide." -David Chamberlain

The CSR/CR Corporate Philanthropy Challenge:
Many multi national corporations are beginning to create or struggling to execute comprehensive corporate responsibility programs at overseas operations that partner with NGO's in communities to create medical services, children's education, and micro-enterprise training and funding while reducing their negative environmental impact and addressing climate change.

Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Corporate Donor & Advisor Services works closely with corporate stakeholders, philanthropic advisors (employees, customers, board members, investors) using a consultative methodology to inspire, educate and empower CR/CSR initiatives to navigate cross cultural issues, corporate/non-profit relations and sustainable effectiveness while upholding a respect for indigenous culture and environments.

Corporate Donor Philanthropic Travel is an essential element in the process of creating new corporate CR/CSR initiatives -not only in vetting potential NGO's for future funding, but also to create authentic relationships based on cultural respect and shared vision. Our corporate advisor & travel services emphasize the importance of personal connections that flourish when sustainability, respect and profit are the ultimate goals.

Exquisite Safaris Corporate Donor Travel Services provides organizations with professional stakeholder visits to NGO projects that are aligned with their company's humanitarian, economic and environmental CSR goals initiatives. Exquisite Safaris Corporate Donor Travel leverages the Creative Capitalism Model to create, manage and support customized CSR Initiatives.

Bill Gates on Creative Capitalism CR/CSR at the World Economic Forum
"In many crucial areas, the world is getting better...but it's not getting better fast enough, and it's not getting better for everyone," Bill Gates said in Davos on Thursday as he called for a more concerted global drive toward what he calls "Creative Capitalism."

He said that companies, especially the biggest ones, can improve the lot of the world's least privileged by better aligning their self-interest with the good of society.

"There are two great forces -self interest and caring for others," he said. But he noted that "profits are not always possible when business tries to serve the very poor." However, he noted the power of "recognition which enhances a company's reputation," calling it a way to more strongly appeal to customers and attract better employees. Thus indirectly, he insisted, companies can concretely benefit by doing good.

Gates spoke of what he believes is the growing global movement for corporate social responsibility. But businesses, government and nonprofits need to work together better to "stretch the reach of market forces," so more companies can make a profit doing work that will "improve the world." (That phrase is included in the tagline that defines the purpose of the World Economic Forum.) -DAVOS, SWITZERLAND (CNN)

Philanthropic Travelers:
The The One's Who Do: Visionary Philanthropic Travelers
Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Marc Gold 100 Friends Project
Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Chellie Kew
Milton & Fred Ochieng: Philanthropic Travelers
Jane Kaye- Bailey: Philanthropic Traveler
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler
Angelina Jolie: Philanthropic Traveler
Oprah Winfrey: Philanthropic Traveler
Palm Beach Life Magazine: Philanthropic Travelers

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The Happiness of Mission: Philanthropic Travel

travelersphilanthropy — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:07:56 +0000

"It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet." -Franz Kafka

"He is not talking about the pursuit of happiness. He's not even talking, as one might easily and incorrectly conclude, about lying in wait for happiness. He's talking about making oneself genuinely available to it. He is talking about opening one's senses to the little delights - the sunsets, the lilac-scented breezes, the hilarious bartender jokes, the quick flash of anonymous smiles, the inside straights, the large purring cats, the click of stiletto heels, the popping of bubble-wrap, the liquid song of the meadowlark, the shrug of a New York cop - the granular texture of unsolicited joy. There have been many hard times in my life - including the present - when I took refuge in reduced focus, comforting myself with the glorious filigree of immediate existence. Even a man facing a firing squad can appreciate the dawn that also arrays itself before him.

Finally, and always, there is love. By this, I don't mean that economic bargain that often passes for love these days. I don't mean that I will love you if you get good grades, or that I will love you if you'll sleep with me, or that I will love you for anything. I mean what I mean when I say, "I love you." Period. Without expectation, condition, term limit, codicil, or obligation. To say that - and to mean it in that way - makes me happy.
What makes me happiest of all is when someone says "I love you" to me - meaning it as unconditionally as I intend to mean it - and I simply accept it. Learning to accept unconditional love has been the most demanding part of my education. It requires me to love myself as much as I am loved, which is not easy, since I like to pretend that my loathsome short-comings are invisible to all but me. Still, when I love without goal and accept love without doubt, I am happy. In this, I am not pursuing happiness. I am becoming it." - John Perry Barlow Photo: scottlondon.com

Learn More:
In Pursuit of Emptiness: Philanthropic Travel
Global Cooling?
Correlation of Fortunes: Philanthropic Travel
Social Neuroscience: Philanthropic Travel
Collaboration creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel
Exquisite Safaris Corporate Donor Philanthropic Advisory Services
Creative Capitalism: Partner with Exquisite Safaris
The High-Purpose Company: Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide
Exquisite Safaris clients say...
Travel Connoisseur Magazine on Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide
US Air Magazine on Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel: Travel with a Heart
My First Philanthropic Travel Experience
The Fable of Stone Soup
Understanding Philanthropic Travel
Are We Talking about Philanthropy Yet? No, We Are Not
Travel Philanthropy: Creating Peace
Fast Company Magazine on Philanthropic Travel
PersonalLifemedia.com on Philanthropic Travel
Philanthropic Traveler funded High School opens near Victoria Falls, Zambia

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Paradigm Alert: Pay it Green

travelersphilanthropy — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:21:06 +0000

PayItGreen is a simple, safe, and smart way to have a positive impact on the environment! The average household receives approximately 19 bills and statements and makes approximately 7 payments in paper form monthly. The average consumer saves 2.5 minutes per bill when paying electronically instead of with a check3. The cost of postage and check stock can add up to more than $100 per year; these costs can be saved by making payments electronically, instead of by paper check. Also, credit scores are significantly increased when a consumer receives payments by Direct Deposit and uses Direct Payment to pay recurring monthly bills and/or save and invest automatically.

Improve security.
Consumers receiving electronic bills and statements and making payments electronically can maintain tighter control over accounts in real time. Almost 85 percent of identity theft cases are due to "offline" transactions such as lost checkbooks and stolen bills, statements, and check payments.

By switching to electronic bills, statements, and payments, every year the average household can:
* Save 6.6 pounds of paper
* Save 0.079 trees
* Avoid use of 4.5 gallons of gasoline to mail bills, statements, and payments
* Avoid release of 63 gallons of wastewater into the environment
* Avoid producing 171 pounds of greenhouse gas

Saving this amount of greenhouse gas is the equivalent of:
* The emissions avoided by not driving 169 miles
* The emissions avoided by not consuming 8.8 gallons of gasoline
* Planting 2 tree seedlings and allowing them to grow for 10 years
* Preserving 24 square feet of forest from deforestation

With many households participating, these small contributions can add up to a big benefit for the environment.
If 20 percent of households (22,876,800 households) were to switch to electronic bills, statements, and payments, every year the collective impact would:1

* Save 150,939,615 pounds of paper
* Save 1,811,275 trees
* Avoid creating 1,439,601,370 gallons of wastewater
* Avoid creating enough wastewater to fill 2,180 Olympic-size swimming pools
* Avoid filling 8,597,328 household garbage bags with waste
* Avoid filling 6,141 garbage trucks with waste
* Avoid using 102,945,600 gallons of gasoline to mail bills, statements and payments
* Avoid producing 3,920,802,916 pounds (1,960,402 tons) of greenhouse gases

Saving this amount of greenhouse gas is the equivalent of:
* The emissions avoided by not driving 3,861,769,517 miles
* Taking 325,722 cars off the road
* The emissions avoided by not consuming 200 million gallons of gasoline
* Planting 45.6 million tree seedlings and allowing them to grow for 10 years
* Preserving 12,405 acres of forest from deforestation

Learn More:
Collaboration creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel
Exquisite Safaris Corporate Donor Philanthropic Advisory Services
Creative Capitalism: Partner with Exquisite Safaris
The High-Purpose Company: Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide
Exquisite Safaris clients say...
Travel Connoisseur Magazine on Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide
US Air Magazine on Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel: Travel with a Heart
My First Philanthropic Travel Experience
The Fable of Stone Soup
Understanding Philanthropic Travel
Are We Talking about Philanthropy Yet? No, We Are Not
Travel Philanthropy: Creating Peace
Fast Company Magazine on Philanthropic Travel
PersonalLifemedia.com on Philanthropic Travel
Philanthropic Traveler funded High School opens near Victoria Falls, Zambia

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