“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that
goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
It’s literally the ticket to the whole world…but only 30% of Americans have a passport. Of course, many people can’t afford to travel internationally very much (although if you use the methods and tips in our book, you can do so on surprisingly little!).
But a passport is about so much more than travel. And travel is about so much more than sightseeing and vacationing. It’s about witnessing different ways of life than your own, experiencing different cultures and ways of thinking, meeting and interacting with people who have a completely different lifestyle than your own.
It’s about their traditions, beliefs, loves, foods, hardships, dances, songs, history, geography, and passions. It’s about life itself – and there is far, far more to life and the world than what any of us see in our own backyards, in the little corner of this planet that we are born into.
That’s why I was thrilled to be part of a new movement that is gifting girls aged 11 to 15 with their very first passports. The Passport Party Project. The brainchild of Tracey Friley, The Passport Party Project has brought passport parties to numerous cities around the U.S., including Austin in March 2012. I was co-organizer of the Austin event with Tracey, where 10 girls from the Ann Richards School came together to learn about travel, express their dreams for seeing the world, take their passport photos, and be given the tools (and application fees) for getting their very first passports. And we all had a blast in the process!
Now, The Passport Party Project has moved on to Phase 2. Girls who followed through with the passport application process and got their very first passports through Phase 1 are now invited to enter to win an opportunity to get their very first passport stamp on an all-expenses paid trip to Belize!
The entry period for the girls to apply began on May 17, and will go through June 3. At that point, the judging period will begin (June 4-10). I am one of the judges, along with Ana Serafin of Traveling Latina and April Danielle of Absolute Travel Addict.
Read all about the Belize Contest and the rules at The Passport Party Project website.
The six lucky winners will be announced on June 17!
Want to help? You can by going to The G Project, where The Passport Party Project is competing in a crowdsourcing project, open to everyday visionaries from all over the world with innovative ideas in any phase of development, from early concept to workable solution. Daizia from the Austin passport party is the face you’ll see when you do!
As Tracey says, this is more than just giving girls their first passports — it’s about creating global citizens through its awareness initiative that develops cultural understanding, confidence, growth and appreciation for learning new languages, meeting new people and developing new insights.
So please go to The Passport Party Project’s G Project page and vote — you can do so EVERY DAY through June 3! Together, let’s open up the world to our youth.
