How to have a positive impact through each trip you take
Many of my earliest travels were service projects or mission trips. My first time out of the U.S. was the stereotypical youth group mission trip to Mexico.
Travel expands your world view to include people far outside of the comforts we’re familiar with. It’s not unusual for that exposure to create a desire to help – the hungry, the injured, the sick, the orphaned, the homeless, the abused.
This desire to make a difference while you travel is a good thing, but handing out five dollars to everyone who appears to be in need is probably not the best approach. We all know that tourists’ sympathies are taken advantage of, and we often end up lining the pockets of the offenders, instead of helping the ones oppressed.
Plan Before You Go
This is essential. Wherever you decide to go, the chances are high that you’ll encounter some sort of need. With a little research, you can find ways to help before you go – instead of feeling overwhelmed when you’re onsite.
I’m going to break it down into three main categories of how to have a positive impact through your next journey: traveling on purpose, traveling with purpose, and traveling for a purpose. Regardless of which connects with you most, make a plan before you go!
Traveling on Purpose
Beginning in your earliest stages of planning, you can choose to put your travel money only where it does good, and not harm.
Support Destinations and Attractions the Give Back
The same idea applies to all of your travel plans. Candi, of Castles and Carpools, reminds us that
Bloggers are now using their platforms to help fund charitable efforts or increase awareness on important topics. When you start your trip planning by browsing these websites or blogs, you’re creating traffic to their sites. That allows them to increase their impact and doesn’t cost you a cent. And you’re starting your journey with purpose.
Candi Hurst of Castles and Carpools
Use those hashtags to search for the causes you’re passionate about – like #sustainabletravel, #giveback, #accessibleadventures, #ecotravel – to look for where to eat, shop, stay, and play!
One of these bloggers shares a bit of her heart:
I travel with purpose by advocating for the earth. I focus on spreading awareness around eco-friendly accommodations and eco-travel. Climate change is no joke and we have to take responsibility to travel in the most earth-friendly way that we possibly can. This doesn’t mean being perfect or beating ourselves up for forgetting to bring our reusable water bottle, silverware, etc. It means doing our very best to, yes, bring our reusable items and such, but it also means educating ourselves and putting in the effort to think about what kind of companies we are supporting on our travels and what kind of effect these companies have on the planet. Can you pick an accommodation that’s eco-friendly and does less harm to the environment? Can you eat at a local restaurant to support the local community? Can you go shopping at a store that provides fair-trade products to advocate for fair and safe working conditions? These are just a few of the ways we can start to think differently about how we travel and become more intentional in our travel choices. We can’t be perfect. But we at least have to take small steps, educate ourselves, and think beyond ourselves. Our choices don’t just affect us. Our choices affect everyone and everything around us. We are all connected and we can all be purpose driven travelers.
Adency Start of Purpose Driven Traveler
Go Small
My Town Travels is a National Movement committed to the preservation and promotion of small town culture through its local ambassadors, residents, and patrons. You can check out their small town highlights as travel destinations. This is a great way to encourage stability and growth of small town culture, values, and heritage through travel.
Everything you do is funding something. Fund what matters.
Traveling With Purpose
If you want to step it up another notch, you can look for ways to physically serve on your trip. This could be anything from donating to a local cause, bringing much needed items along, or volunteering a portion of your time.
Travel on Purpose is a unique travel company connecting travelers to organizations doing good in their local communities. Creator and owner, Dianne Sivulka, loves to help families and small groups plan a purpose-driven vacation. By driving tourism dollars into deserving places that are off the beaten path and selecting unique resources like small locally owned hotels, indigenous tour guides and other hidden-gem experiences, travelers can experience the best that is available and also make an impact at the same time. Best of all, Travel on Purpose vacations pair travelers with an organization in the area that is changing lives. Dianne and her family have experienced life-changing travel moments while meeting people and learning about their life-giving efforts. Seeing firsthand the good work being done in various corners of the world has inspired them to do more, share with others, and become more connected with projects that they care deeply about. Because of these trips, they have become ambassadors for the people, communities, and organizations they have been privileged to spend time with. It is this exact reason Dianne began Travel on Purpose, so that others can experience the same.
Dianne Sivulka of Travel on Purpose
If you’re traveling internationally to a country that Travel on Purpose is not already working with, YWAM and UNICEF are other great in-country contacts.
If you’re traveling domestically, you can contact the county’s United Way, food bank, community center, or public library for ideas on how you can serve during your visit.
Wherever you travel, you’ll find both people in need and people serving them!
Traveling for a Purpose
The next level of purpose is a completely different way of going. It’s going for the sole purpose of doing good, or giving back.
For many, mission trips are the pinnacle of traveling with purpose. And when you work with an experienced host agency, they certainly have the ability to have a profound impact. Traveling as a learner and not a teacher is the key to making sure you’re helping those you’re aiming to help. Plan to listen more than talk. Know that you will follow more than you lead. And look for lessons to take home as opposed to teachings to leave behind.
Candi Hurst of Castles and Carpools
A mission trip can take place in any city, state, or country. It doesn’t always mean building a house or bringing food to the homeless in dark alleys. Family trips are designed to help you serve in practical ways that are aimed at your age group. This can look more like running a sports camp, cleaning a school, or just helping kids practice their English.
Not all mission agencies are prepared to take children or wheelchair users (mainly for safety reasons). We’ve had great experiences with e3 Partners, with children of all ages and abilities, but eligibility varies by trip. One More Child takes families, but children must be at least 10. Group Mission Trips offers family trips – the age requirement varies by location. We’ve only used them for youth trips, but they do an excellent job of putting the details of the experience together for you so that you can focus on your family and on serving. Other groups that I’ve found, but don’t have personal experience with, are Mission Discovery, Kids IM (only in the Philippines), and Edify. You can also search google and mission trip data bases, but they’re hard to navigate, and you don’t always know what you’re getting yourself into.
Do Good Feel Good
I love traveling. Always. I also hate the idea of spending all my money on family fun, when other families are struggling to afford the essentials.
It feels better to spend my travel money where it does good.
It feels better to make myself useful in bigger ways.
I hope this article gave you some practical ways to begin making a difference with your travels. Feel free to reach out if you need any help finding a way to do good through your next trip!