Helping Others by Packing For a Purpose
I’m always on the lookout for new ideas for ways of helping others and “Traveling with Purpose”. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised by where I find new material. Recently I was reading a copy of the Costco Connection member magazine and discovered an awesome non-profit organization. “Pack for a Purpose” focuses on helping others by matching travelers with organizations to deliver vital supplies to those in need around the world.
Transport Needed Supplies to Other Countries
I love the concept of helping others when I’m traveling! I often try to leave some extra space in my luggage so I’ll have room to buy a few local keepsakes on the trip to bring home anyway. Now I can use that extra room in my suitcase to take supplies to those in need. You can travel almost anywhere in the world and deliver donated items to a variety of organizations.
This could include delivering basic medical supplies for animals in Costa Rica, children’s clothing to Istanbul, or maybe school supplies and first aid items to Rwanda. When I checked today, there were even 3 locations within the United States, so if you’re in the U.S. you don’t have to travel far to help someone in need. Current American locations are in New York City, Washington County, Maine and Forks, Washington.
The requirements aren’t overwhelming either. We’re not talking about 40 pounds of supplies. How about just 5 pounds? It really is such an easy way of helping others and giving a little back to the community in destinations that you visit. Be sure to bookmark or pin this post as a reminder for when you’re planning your next trip.
Choose From Five Different Types of Initiatives
A variety of projects allows you to choose just the initiative that matches with your passion or the area that you feel is needed most.
Over 525 Education projects are supported around the world. These projects include schools, after-school programs, and libraries.
Seventy-five different Health projects are supported. Clinics, hospitals, HIV/AIDS projects, and maternal health centers are the focus in most areas.
Child Welfare projects support over 75 orphanages and group homes for children in need.
Forty different Animal Welfare initiatives include anti-poaching projects, animal conservation, animal medical clinics, and humane societies.
Socioeconomic Development projects help local residents learn a craft or skill to bring in much-needed income. These can include basket-weaving cooperatives, sewing, and beading projects and artist initiatives.
At “Pack for a Purpose“, founders Scott and Rebecca Rothney have created a website where travelers can search for their destination from among 60 countries and find a tour company or lodging that is willing to accept the items and deliver them to those in need in the community. Once you choose a destination you’ll also find a list of the items that are most needed in that area.
And if your own funds are tight, you can ask friends if they’d like to help contribute for the supplies that you’ll be taking. You contribute by transporting the items, they win by being able to contribute to a need in a place where they may not be going themselves. We can’t all go, but sometimes we can help those who are going.
Helping Others in Need in 5 Easy Steps
1 – Select your destination.
2 – Find an accommodation or tour company and a project it supports.
3 – Choose the supplies you wish to take from the specific items requested.
4 – Drop off the supplies at the accommodation or tour company.
5 – The supplies will then be delivered to the community-based project.
What a perfect way to give back to those host cities. Another benefit is that you’ll have extra room in your suitcase to bring home the locally-produced items that you buy to help stimulate the economy there. It’s definitely a win-win situation and sounds so easy.
Since 2010 “Pack for a Purpose” travelers have taken over 165,728 kgs (364,601 pounds) of supplies to meet essential needs in over 60 countries.
I have personally experienced the joy of delivering school supplies to children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We bought a used suitcase at a thrift store and carried it filled with supplies. To make things easier for the rest of our trip, we left the suitcase there for the group to use. You wouldn’t believe how much help and hope even the smallest gifts can bring. Many children in other countries have a hard time getting even the most basic school supplies like pencils or paper.
For more ideas on giving back through your travels, check out my post on Wilderness Volunteers in America.
Would you consider taking a few supplies to your next destination? Have you transported supplies to those in need? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this idea. Sounds easy, right?
Category: Trip Planning
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
What a fabulous organization! I would love to help with animal welfare especially. I’m glad to know about Packing for a Purpose!
This is such a beautiful and easy way to help out, I love it! There were not that many places in Europe right now that had needs, but I am guessing that changes all the time. Bookmarking for future use!
Isn’t it such a great idea? I’m looking forward to referring to it for future trips.
What a fantastic idea! I often leave space in my luggage for anything I may buy. Only a few times have I bought & packed items which I was told were needed by the local population. I’ll definitely check out the website & put it on my list to check before I go anywhere. Thanks for sharing.
Right? This is definitely one that I’ve pinned and bookmarked for future travels. Thanks for keeping it in mind.
Love this. What an excellent idea. I love helping grass roots agencies. Will definitely check this out. Hope I’ll be able to helip out as love getting involved in education and animal welfare causes.
That’s great Sarah. I’m sure there are many in need of supplies. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this valuable information . I will definitely check out their website
Great organization! I would love to help out with education projects. Thanks for writing about this Packing for a Purpose! 🙂
You’re so welcome. I was glad to discover it. It seems like such an easy way to give back.
I had not heard about Packing for a Purpose before and really love the initiative! I will have to look into it on my next trip to see if there are any needs where I am going!
Thanks Andi. I’m sure there will be many places in need when folks get back to traveling more.
What a great idea, and an ideal excuse to pack lighter when it comes to the clothes and personal stuff we always overpack for ourselves. As I travel more, I’ve been getting better about taking less and less clothes, so I’d be happy to allocate some of my space and weight to help a cause.
Yes. I definitely agree. Plus the extra space on the way home is always nice too.
What a great concept! Love the idea.
This is such a wonderful post! When we traveled to Roatan, Honduras, we would take supplies for the local mission that helped pregnant women and children. There were 10 of us that traveled to SCUBA dive and we all had supplies like powdered formula, school supplies, etc. It’s such a wonderful feeling to see the smiles when the supplies are handed over. It really does make the whole trip so much more worthwhile. Thanks for sharing this information! We will definitely look into it for our next trip in October!
Awesome! What a gift to the place you visited. Thanks for keeping this in mind for the future.
What a fabulous initiative this is, to plan in advance on things to take. I’ve donated stuff while on trips before if I had too much to carry, like shoes, and jumpers (and not my worn-out stuff) It was stuff that I didn’t need, I’d carried them for weeks and didn’t wear them so figured it made sense to donate to a local orphanage. I love this idea, thanks for sharing.
Hi Becki, you’re quite welcome. I loved this idea when I saw it too.
I never knew about Packing for a Purpose before reading your post. It looks like a great initiative and now for my future travels, I would surely look into this and would pack accordingly.
Great! I’m sure they can use all the help they can get when everyone starts traveling again. Thanks for considering it.