Passports with Purpose

Today is the kick off for Passports with Purpose’s annual travel bloggers’ fundraiser, exceeding their goal of $100,000 last year to fund five water wells in Haiti through Water.org, this year’s goal is even higher at $115,000, the beneficiary being buildOn, their aim; to build three primary schools and fund three Adult Literacy Programs in the Sikasso Region of Mali, Africa.  Previous years benefitted Room to Read and LAFTI.

Get familiar with Passports with Purpose

Passports and Purpose was founded in 2008 by Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Beth Whitman and Michelle Duffy as a way to give back to the places we visit and to building community amongst travel bloggers.

Since then they have raised over $285 000 for different charities with the help of the travel blogging community.

Because Passports with Purpose is run by volunteers all the money raised (save a few bucks for printing, advertising etc…) goes directly to that year’s beneficiary.

2013 Campaign Beneficiary: buildOn

Founded by Jim Ziolkowski, buildOn builds schools in developing countries and runs afterschool service programs in America’s inner-cities the goal being “to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education”

How it works

Registered travel bloggers for 2013’s campaign procure a prize for a company of their choice that will be given to a lucky winner in a random draw after December 9th.

You can donate starting on November 25th at 11:59 pm, each donation of $10 equals a chance to win a great prize.

And watch the widget below (and in the right side column) as we reach, and hopefully exceed, the goal.

A Cook Not Mad’s 2013 prize for Passports with Purpose

This will be A Cook Not Mad’s third year participating in this fundraiser but our first year procuring a prize.  Each year more and more bloggers get involved and raise money, welcoming the opportunity to give back to the places we’ve been and the places we long to see.

Thanks to Olloclip, A Cook Not Mad was able to procure an Olloclip 3-in-1 lens for iPhone 4 and 4S.

The barrel of each lens is made of aircraft aluminum, the 3-in-1 lens kit includes a fisheye, macro and a wide angle so you can make quality pictures with your iPhone as you travel.  Tim and I will contact the winner and organize delivery of the prize.

We’d also like to thank other sponsors including Expedia (platinum sponsor);  DK Eyewitness Travel—DK Eyewitness Guides and Rough Guides (gold); TBEX (silver sponsor); HomeAway, HostelBookers, Go With Oh, and Eating London (bronze sponsors), without them this fundraiser would not be such a success.