LAKE COUNTY? Having an adventure and making a difference at the same time is the focus of an upcoming national contest centered around Make A Difference Day Saturday.
Volunteers are asked to document volunteering experience and submit a picture and a short summary that best illustrates the experience. A $5,000 volunteer vacation package goes to the winner. Photos and stories can be posted at www.travelocity.com/makeadifference between October 27 and November 10.
A winner will be selected by December 17. Travelocity and USA Weekend Magazine put together the nationwide contest as part of its Travel for Good program. Make A Difference Day happens yearly on the fourth Saturday of October. “It”s a day when volunteers conquer what individuals cannot,” a press release reported.
A 2007 Travelocity forecast poll found that 11 percent of respondents plan to volunteer during their vacations, up from six percent in 2006. Quarterly grants for the travel agency”s employees and two per quarter for its customers are also available to ?people who wish to help others through volunteering but do not have the financial means to take a volunteer vacation,” according to a press release.
Packages offer opportunities to embark on volunteer experiences ranging from environmental work to animal rescue and habitat restoration to humanitarian and home building missions both at home in the United States and abroad. The non-profit volunteer travel providers include EarthWatch Institute, GlobeAware Adventures in Service, Cross-Cultural Solutions and Take Pride in America. For more information, visit www.travelocity.com/t4g.
Service organizations in Lake County include area libraries, senior centers and churches, along with such agencies as 4-H, Boy and Girl Scouts, Lake Community Action Agency and Lake Family Resource Center.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
