Tag Archives: Passports with Purpose 2011

My Passports with Purpose Prize Picks

“Can we get a divorce?”, Murph’s question was almost plaintive.
“I mean I still love you, but if we were divorced, I could enter for one of these Passports with Purpose prizes, right?”
I’m honestly not sure whether my husband is joking or not. I mean, these are really great prizes!
Today is my wistful, wishful Passports with Purpose post. As a co-founder of this annual online fundraiser, I can’t enter for any of the fantastic prizes procured or donated by over 100 travel bloggers. Neither can my husband, or my kids.

But you can and so, to help you choose from this long list of holidays, hotel stays and other excellent travel goodies, I’m going to share my favorite prize picks (all of these are open to anyone, anywhere in the world). Maybe just thinking about these will distract my husband and make him forget about that silly divorce idea.

Remember, each $10 donation you make on the Donate page gives you an entry into a free prize drawing of your choice.

HomeAway 1000 Voucher
A 1000 voucher good for one HomeAway vacation rental stay. Choose from HomeAway’s worldwide vacation properties. Pick a place, pick a house or apartment and stretch out and enjoy your vacation. Cook for yourself or eat out. Enjoy having your own space. This is my favorite type of holiday accommodation.

One Week at the Fabulous Rancho La Puerta Spa
One week stay for one at the #1 Destination Spa in the World (voted such by Readers of Travel & Leisure Magazine 2010 and 2011). I’m a mom of two teenage boys (three, if you count the exchange student from Germany we added to our household for this school year), I work full-time and I try to blog on the side. I need a week at a spa.

9-Day Costa Rica Tour
Soak in the thermal hot springs of Arenal Volcano, search for the elusive quetzal bird in the cloud forest, watch the sun set over the Pacific. Costa Rica is on my destination bucket list. ‘Nuff said.

Isla Espiritu Santo Mexico Adventure
2 day and 1 night on Isla Espritu Santo, Mexico. Trip for 2 includes camping gear, excursion 2 swim with sea lions, hiking, kayaking, meals & transport. A pacific island idyll. Quiet, accessible only by boat. The only accommodation is camping. Can I go now?

Jasper/Banff 8-day wilderness tour
Rocky Mountains, hiking in national parks, standing on the Columbia Icefield: experience the Canadian Wilderness!
I’ve never been to Banff. I’ve heard it’s beautiful. It’s practically in my backyard. I should go, soon.

Those are my picks? What are yours?

Before you go, a heartfelt Thank You to Passports with Purpose 2011 Sponsors:

  • Round the World with Us is a family of travelers committed to raising awareness of global issues, help people to gain a greater understanding of other cultures, and encourage people (especially youth) to see that they have the power to make a real difference in the lives of others.
  • Travellerspoint is one of the web’s largest and most active travel communities with members representing every country in the world. To date, their more than 30,000 blogs have shared 175,000 stories and over 1.4 million photos.
  • HomeAway is the world’s leading online marketplace of vacation rentals, with sites representing more than 625,000 paid vacation rental home listings throughout more than 145 countries.

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passports-with-purpose-2011

Announcing Passports with Purpose 2011

passports-with-purpose-2011

It may be because I was only a virtual participant in the 2010 Passports with Purpose effort. It may be because visiting the school in Cambodia that we built through the 2009 Passports effort was one of my favorite and most emotional motions of 2010. Either way, I’m excited. In fact, I’m thrilled that PwP 2011 starts today.

We have a party tonight in Seattle (5pm at Hotel 1000 if you’re in the area). We have over 100 great bloggers participating this year with some fantastic prizes. Two nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort anyone? A $500 gift certificate for BedandBreakfast.com? Those don’t tickle your fancy, eh? Well, how about this then…

Xbox360_4GB_Console_with_Kinect

This year the prize I’m hosting is an Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle – with extras. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that WanderDad (aka Murph) works on Xbox. That damn product has been part of my life for ten years – and I don’t even like video games!! I’ll concede that the Kinect is a great get-off-the-couch Xbox accessory even for non-gamers. The bundle will include two games and a year-long membership to Xbox Live.

This year Passports with Purpose has partnered with Room to Read. Supporting an early childhood literacy project goes right to the heart of what we love – reading and writing. With your help, our goal is to raise $80,000 to build two libraries in southern and eastern Zambia through Room to Read’s Reading Room program.

If you’re a gamer who’s been waiting to check out the Kinect or a non-gamer who wants to see what all the fuss is about head on over to the Passports with Purpose Donate page. Pick a prize, donate $10 (or more). We’ll give you an entry into a free drawing for any of the prize drawings you choose for each $10 donation. You can donate as many times as you like until December 16th. Head on over, check it out – and thanks for supporting a great cause!

But before you go, a heartfelt Thank You to Passports with Purpose 2011 Sponsors:

  • Round the World with Us is a family of travelers committed to raising awareness of global issues, help people to gain a greater understanding of other cultures, and encourage people (especially youth) to see that they have the power to make a real difference in the lives of others.
  • Travellerspoint is one of the web’s largest and most active travel communities with members representing every country in the world. To date, their more than 30,000 blogs have shared 175,000 stories and over 1.4 million photos.
  • HomeAway is the world’s leading online marketplace of vacation rentals, with sites representing more than 625,000 paid vacation rental home listings throughout more than 145 countries.

Like what you’ve read and interested in reading more? Subscribe to the WanderMom rss feed, follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

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