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Media Update: May 2006
Altruism and Tourism: An Unlikely Pair
Travels Can Now Easily Protect and
Positively Impact the Places they Visit
Boulder, CO (May 2006) - Sustainable Travel International (STI) announced today that it is collaborating with GlobalGiving to offer travel philanthropy projects around the world.
Travel philanthropy or altruistic travel, as it's also known, is a growing movement whereby conscientious consumers and responsible travel companies donate financial resources, time, talent and economic patronage to protect and positively impact the cultures and environments they visit.
STI is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable tourism development by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related organizations protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. GlobalGiving is an online marketplace that enables people to donate to high-quality, high-impact projects around the world. "Giving directly enables more funding to reach projects," explains John Hecklinger, GlobalGiving's Diretor of Business Development. "In fact, a full 85 percent of donations through GlobalGiving and STI go directly to the projects you select, a higher percentage than is typical for traditional aid channels." The net result? GlobalGiving and STI deliver a more transparent, engaging way for donors to give.
"Because we enable donors to give directly to projects, you will know exactly where your money is going, explains Brian T. Mullis, STI's President. "The donations you make are higher impact because the money you donate goes directly to a well-defined project versus supporting general operating expenses. In addition, many of the projects we're featuring are located in the developing world where a little money goes a long way."
Consumers and travel companies interested in supporting travel philanthropy can browse and select from projects in 18 different countries. Once a project is selected, donors can contribute any amount, using a credit/debit card, check, PayPal, or stock transfer. Gift registries can be set up for special events, and donors can "give" any project as a gift.
Contributions directly support the entrepreneurial work of project leaders throughout the world, who are bringing innovative, empowering solutions to challenging social problems at the local community level. All donations made to projects go through Sustainable Travel International, a registered 501(c)(3) entity, and are fully tax-deductible.
For information about travel philanthropy, please visit www.sustainabletravelinternational.org or call 800-276-7764.
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Major Conferences and Events Go Green
Boulder, CO (May 2006) - As business managers and event planners across the globe become more aware of the potential impacts of global warming, they are actively seeking to reduce their own contribution to the problem. While organizing events for people to come together is a vital part of business and industry development, the greenhouse gas emissions that affect global warming that result from these events is significant. What then, can these organizations do to try and neutralize this impact? greenhouse gas (GHG) or carbon offsetting offers one viable solution.
For example, Canada will host the next World Urban Forum in 2006, a key international event that will bring the global community together to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities, economies and policies. Through a unique program called MyClimate, U.S.-based Sustainable Travel International (STI) is helping to offset conference GHG emissions in conjunction with The GLOBE Foundation of Canada, the Government of Canada and the United Nations Settlements Program (UN-Habitat). Specifically, STI is working with these organizations to calculate and offset conference-related GHG emissions. STI is also offering travel-related offsets to some 10,000 expected attendees who will be either dirving or flying into Vancouver, British Columbia to participate in the event.
The recent Caribbean Tourism Organization's (CTO) 8th annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development, which took place in Puerto Rico from April 25 - 29, 2006, also neutralized the impact of its GHG related impacts through STI and MyClimate. In doing so, the CTO, in conjunction with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, stuck to this year's theme of "Keeping the Right Balance - Economic Progress and Sustainable Tourism" in offsetting not only conference emissions, but also attendee flights.
For more information related to MyClimate™ and other solutions for addressing global climate change, please visit www.my-climate.com or contact Peter Krahenbuhl at 303-448-0967 or peterk@sustainabletravel.com.
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