Passports With Purpose 2011 – Donate to a Great Cause, Win a NZ Prize!

Forget “swiftly approaching” — the holidays are definitely already upon us. And that means that, along with writing your letters to Santa and getting excited about what you might find in your stocking in less than a month, it’s also a great time of year to consider how you might be able to give something back.

Not all of us have piles of money to dedicate to charity, of course. But the travel blogging community has come up with a great way to make any sort of donation — big or small — really count in its annual Passports With Purpose fundriaser.

What is Passports With Purpose?

Passports With Purpose (PWP) is an annual fundraiser within the travel blogging community (though you certainly don’t have to be a travel blogger to make a donation!). PWP was founded in 2008 by four Seattle-based travel bloggers as a way to build community and attempt to give back to the places that we, as travelers, visit.

In 2009, PWP raised nearly $30,000 to build a school in rural Cambodia, complete with school nurse and a garden that provides the children there with one healthy meal per day. Last year, the goal was set at $50,000 to build a village in rural India, in partnership with LAFTI International. Well guess what? We smashed that goal, raising over $64,000.

So this year, the goal is even bigger.

This year, the Passports With Purpose goal is to raise $80,000 to build two libraries in Zambia, in partnership with Room to Read.

That $80,000 will not only build the two libraries, but also stock them with books and materials, provide teacher training, and support the libraries for 3 years. Do you realize how huge of an impact this can have??

How it Works

For the past few months, travel bloggers, advertisers and sponsors have been pledging to help out with the 2011 PWP campaign. More than 100 travel bloggers have been preparing to blog about PWP, and have worked hard to procure prizes that will be given away to lucky donors.

That’s right — if you make a donation to PWP, not only can you feel good about yourself and write it off on your taxes, but you will also be in the running to win some sweet prizes.

Starting today (November 30), you may begin making donations to Passports With Purpose.

For each $10 that you donate, you will be entered to win a prize of your choice. If you donate more than $10, your chances of winning prizes will only increase.

My PWP Prize Sponsor

Last year, I was not lucky enough to have a Passports With Purpose prize sponsor. This year, however, I am pleased to be adding to the pool of awesome prizes to be won!

A Dangerous Business has partnered up with AJ Hackett Bungy in New Zealand — the inventors of bungy jumping themselves! — to offer up a sweet Nevis prize package. Perhaps you’ve already read my post on “The Scariest Thing I Have Ever Done,” but, in case you haven’t, it refers to the Nevis bungy, which is New Zealand’s highest bungy at a whopping 134 meters (over 440 feet)!

Nevis Bungy - Thanks to AJ Hackett Bungy

The prize I am giving away is a voucher for both the Nevis Bungy and the Nevis Swing, which is marketed as the world’s biggest swing. This voucher is worth more than $375 NZD, and includes transfer out to Nevis Canyon, and a free t-shirt. This would be perfect for the adrenaline junkie who will soon be visiting New Zealand!

Nevis Swing (tandem) - Photo thanks to AJ Hackett Bungy

To enter, you only need to make a $10 donation to Passports With Purpose, choosing the The Nevis Experience as the prize you’d like to enter to win (though you can certainly donate more than $10 and therefore have more chances to win!). If you are chosen as the winner of this prize, you will be sent the voucher via e-mail. You will have 6 months to use it (meaning it will expire before the end of June 2012), and it cannot be exchanged for any other voucher and has no cash value.

I cannot recommend highly enough donating to PWP and entering to win this great prize from AJHackett Bungy! If you’re going to bungy jump in New Zealand, there is no better place to do it than the Nevis Canyon.

*Also, note that you don’t have to donate to win this specific prize if you don’t want to. There are TONS of amazing prizes to choose from, from hotel stays, to tour packages, to Kindles, to travel gear!

Important Dates

• November 30 — Donations now accepted.
• December 16 — Donations for prizes close. (You’re still free to donate after this, but your name won’t be entered into any of the drawings beyond the 16^th.)
• December 23 — Prize winners will be notified.

Keep track of the amount of money raised by watching the dollar amount rise on the PWP widget in my sidebar!

Why You Should Donate

Well, do you have a good reason not to??

DONATE NOW!

*Note: All donations are made through Paypal. If you’d like to make a donation but have no desire to be entered into the prize drawings, you’re free to do that, too.

And a big thanks to AJ Hackett for being my sponsor. It’s great to get to partner with a company that I know and love so much! AJ Hackett makes getting the pants scared off of you tons of fun! Check out their Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter @AJHackettBungy.

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