Uganda 2019
Lindsay had dreamed of initiating a sustainable sewing program in Tijuana back in 2016 when we looked at sewing machines and materials as she excitedly talked to an organization down there about empowering the women currently living in the Tijuana dump. Burnt by yet another person that did not appreciate her efforts, The project was shelved, and Lindsay passed in 2017 before it was able to go anywhere. It was something incredibly close to her heart though, as she cared so much about giving women a sustainable opportunity to build their own future. So when I was contacted by a woman from Uganda later that year called “Angel” on behalf of her organization “Destiny Wings” via facebook, I was struck by the similarities in their missions and motivation. There was no doubt in my mind that was the project I wanted to promote. But after some time back and forth, I waited to talk to Angel via skype and hear their Village needs and suggestions. There is no coincidence when I tell you her 20 page pdf on a sewing program she already had prepared was sent soon after. Next was to set a date and find the Give Backpackers team to come with me to Uganda. Having already met a philanthropic world traveller in my father’s hometown spiritual store “The Zen room” next to my yoga studio when I went home between the South East Asia GBP adventure and moving to Vancouver, I knew Mikaila would be keen as that’s what we had bonded over when we met that fateful day. Fast forward a year and... read more
Hawleyween 2018
Our second annual Hawleyween without Lindsay Hawley took place on October 20th and was an ode to some of her favorite things: the sunset and the ocean. Raising money for non profit Oceana at The Sunset Restaurant in Malibu, we gathered as friends and family to celebrate the life and legacy of our favorite person and a cause to close to her heart. Oceana’s mission is to make our oceans more biodiverse and abundant by winning policy victories in the countries that govern much of the world’s marine life. They help prevent overfishing, trawling, the killing of protected animals and pollution. Lindsay grew up by the ocean and her favorite place was the beach- especially at sunset- so combining both of her loves was the perfect way to celebrate her Halloween fundraising tradition. Through a raffle with exciting prizes such as vacations and a large painting donated by resident artist Ross McDowell, we also raised money for Waves 4 Water, a charity venture that Live More Happy clothing co founder Gary will be undertaking personally in 2019. Waves 4 Water was started by professional surfers who saw a need for clean drinking water in the villages they were visiting.They work on the front lines to provide access to clean water through the distribution of portable water filters, the digging and renovating of wells, and the construction of rainwater harvesting and storing systems in places where groundwater is not accessible. Where should we have Hawleyween 2019? Let us know your thoughts and if you’d like to get on board to help out 🙂 ~ Namaste Kelly... read more
Sending love to Peruvian Hearts
In memory of Lindsay Marie Hawley, we continued the Halloween tradition she started all those years ago by throwing her annual Hawleyween fundraiser in San Diego October 14th 2017. It was a roaring success with over $7,500 raised towards Peruvian Hearts, a non profit that builds female leaders in Peruvian communities through education and mentorship. Lindsay had raised money and visited the Cusco center during Christmas of 2011, providing scholarships for girls to get a formal education, doing arts and crafts and pampering them with mini spa sessions. In June of 2018 our very own Give Backpacker Carissa Castro travelled to visit the girls we helped through our donations. She spent time in Cusco getting to know the community and as we did in Cambodia of April 2017, Carissa went first hand to see where our money was going. It is our mission with Give Backpackers to travel to the communities we are raising funds for, with at least one trip each year. Stay tuned to hear where our next one will be… ~ Namaste Kelly Pantaleoni... read more
Continuing to Give Back during difficult times
It’s with a heavy but inspired heart that I write the first blog post since the Give Backpacker’s founder Lindsay M. Hawley’s passing on New Years Day 2017. She was more then a best friend, she was my idol who made me want to give back, travel and live more. Lindsay was a guiding light for so many of us, and her shocking and sudden death left us all speechless. Unsure how to deal with the loss and feeling the urge to do what she always inspired me to do, I chose to embark on a wild journey through South East Asia that April, flying out of LAX on 4-14-17. Following in her footsteps quite literally, I researched all the places she went to and asked a couple mutual friends if they’d like to join my quest to keep Give Backpackers alive. Even though our kind hearted friend is gone, we can keep her spirit with us in so many ways. This was my way of keeping Lindsay close, and I learned so much along the way. I encourage others to follow their heart when dealing with pain and loss, it helped me so much and I cannot wait for the next trip. This is a brief summary of the latest Give Backpackers journey, hopefully I’ll see you on the next one! I flew to Siem Reap with Elliott Breit, a friend of Lindsay’s and Give Backpacker advocate from San Diego. Carissa Castro, a long time friend and fellow model that worked for Lindsay’s other company LMH promotions (yeah, Linz was a badass), had already arrived the night before.... read more
Getting Back to Giving Back, instead of Selling Out.
I do not believe in Black Friday and I do not believe in Cyber Monday. Today is #GivingTuesday but I believe every day should be a Giving Day. Givebackpackers was not started to sell the world more stuff. It was started on the idea of connecting purpose driven travelers and good causes to the resources they need to do more good in the world. We first introduced the concept of selling handmade goods from around the world after I had some success selling Mexican artisan accessories on Krissy’s etsy shop to raise money for Door of Faith Orphanage in Baja. On our trip around the world last year we collected the most amazing handmade things along the way and began selling them online and at markets and events. It was a lot of work to keep that much inventory organized and to physically manage all of it. I quickly realized the idea of selling stuff did not align with my values and my mission to create meaningful experiences that made an impact. Earlier this summer Krissy and I parted ways as business partners. She kept the stuff and started a new company, Twin Peaks Apparel and the Givebackpackers got back to what we do best, travel! We have made two different trips to Nicaragua, where we are funding a clean water well in a rural village and sponsoring a school with supplies, security, playground equipment and seriously needed upgrades to the school. Each trip had about 5 volunteers from all backgrounds, with the shared goal of traveling with a purpose. (We made plenty of time for fun adventures like... read more
Helping kids in El Transito, Nicaragua
Our first few days in Nicaragua have been so successful. Our friends from San Diego, the Fortune 421 crew and I landed late Wednesday in Managua and the group of us piled into the old land cruiser and set out for El Transito. El Transito is a sleepy fishing village of about 3,000 people, dirt roads, horses, pigs on the side of the road and really basic homes. In 1992 it was practically destroyed from a tsunami and its crazy to see how over 20 years later they are still rebuilding. Makes me think about the destruction in Nepal that just happened and how I hope we can assist them in rebuilding much quicker. We arrived to the first school yesterday and I was shocked to see the very simple, two room structure that was school to about 30 children ages 4 to 10. The yard was just dirt and rocks and the swing set was in such disrepair that only 2 of the 8 swings worked. It was sad because I wanted to push all the kids on swings but they were fighting over the working ones. A couple of the volunteers with us got creative and made soccer goals out of rocks and played with the one ball they had while the rest of us brought out the coloring books and colored pencils we brought. It was amazing to see the kids excel at coloring and they were so proud of the pictures they drew. It is a great activity to do with kids and volunteers, because even with a language barrier it is fun to name... read more
In Wake of the Quake –100% of Nepal Shawl Purchases to Disaster Relief
In Wake of the Quake –100% of Nepal Shawl Purchases to Disaster Relief & assisting a family who hosted our fellow Givebackpacker during his trek through Nepal.
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The Trouble with Paradise
Sea of Seven Colors – San Andres Unwinding to the rhythmic sounds of aqua waves and the tropical taste of Limonada de Coco, a favorite drink among Colombians, San Andres is a lush paradise escape. Lindsay, Sy and I are posted up on Bugry Beach at a hidden bungalow nestled in-between balmy palms with a rainbow painted dock stretching out into the “Sea of Seven Colors”. Que Bonita! Unfortunately, there is a hefty weight that rests on Linz and my shoulders. We fear that sharing photos of this beautiful island serenity portrays us inaccurately and the fun displayed on our social media possibly diminishes all of our hard work. Does posting photos of paradise give the appearance we are on some touristy vacation rather than vigorously pursuing our givebackpackers mission? Our wandering may often walk a fine line between productivity and play but we like it that way! Our work is our play. Shedding light on some of the darker difficulties we face is not always in sync with our inspirational style. Being the Co-founders of an ambitious start-up demands that we wear all the hats and that means we often times sacrifice our basic needs like sleep, proper nutrition and personal finances in order to get givebackpackers off the ground. Building a conscious brand that truly resonates with our values requires diligence, ground research and an endless investment of our time. I rarely know what day it is because there is no such thing as weekends off. We are learning to accept that it is virtually impossible to complete a to-do list that continually grows with each passing... read more#WCW – Veronika Scott- Superwoman of Sleeping- Bags
“I really believe that people can tackle far more than they think they can” – Scott Every day the rising sun brings new beginnings, an opportunity to redefine yourself. I get jazzed up at the mere thought of it. Envisioning all the possibilities, the ways we can grow and create. The ways we can change our colors like karma karma karma chameleons. Our ability to adapt & flow is monumental in our success & evolution. A stunning example of this is the Superwoman of Sleeping-Bags and my Woman Crush Wednesday, Veronika Scott. Veronika Scott founded, The Empowerment Plan, which is a Detroit based Non-profit that employs and supports the homeless community of 20,000 people. Scott creates sustainable solutions to help break the cycle of poverty along with renewing hope by hiring, training and providing work for women struggling on the streets to make her amazing Sleeping Bag Coat. Talk about Feel Good Fashion!!! Scott’s goal is to, “give them the power to take control of the life they want to lead”. I am so inspired by her unwavering perseverance and her ability to stay positive in the face of discouraging words that were yelled at her by one woman in the homeless community. “Your coats don’t matter, jobs matter. We need jobs, not coats”, instead of letting it get her down, Veronika realized the woman was right and this sparked her idea to hire homeless woman to make the Sleeping Bag Coats. Brilliant! Lindsay and I resonated strongly with what Scott is building in the world and the adversity that she has faced growing up as a child of... read moreBuild Your Future Today- Cambodia
BFT Center is dedicated to providing Cambodian people with the right intellectual and economic tools to be self sufficient. Their vision is built upon two beliefs: Knowledge is Hope & Peace is Development
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San Diego Givebackpacker: Corinne Aparis of Access Youth Academy
We have done a lot of philanthropic projects abroad because we believe in being more than tourists, we want to do more than just take photos and enjoy the sights, and our money and efforts can go a lot further, but Givebackpackers are GLOBAL, which means we volunteer right in our own communities in need too. Last Saturday Lindsay, Tiffany and Corinne were helping these teens from the Access Youth Academy program at the Mt Hope Community Garden in San Diego. Giving back starts at home. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XLiSDKxurA&w=560&h=315] Corinne Aparis is the Academic Coordinator at Access Youth Academy and joined in November 2013 after moving back from India where she was working with a non profit for 8 months. Originally from San Diego, she pursued her undergraduate degrees in English and International Development at the University of San Francisco in 2010. Throughout Corinne’s time in university and post-grad she worked and did fellowships in South Africa, Uganda, Australia, and India where she supported and coordinated a multitude of social change projects for at-risk youth to immigrant and refugee families. Corinne is a world traveler who lives the givebackpacker lifestyle, make a positive impact wherever she goes, whether it is out in the surf on her home turf beach, giving sage advice to her very lucky girlfriends, or while trekking through jungles and sneaking across borders in the Congo. To support either of these local programs, please visit the sites below, or make a much needed donation of funds or working laptops, as the kids in Corinne’s programs desperately need computers to do their homework and apply for scholarships.... read more
“A Passport of Purpose” By: Gloria Atanmo
Givebackpacker Glo asks, what do you travel with? A passport of pages or a passport of purpose?
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