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Make a Difference with Meaningful Trip

“It doesn’t take much to do good,” claims Joe Staiano, founder of Seattle-based Meaningful Trip. He should know.

At home, Staiano devotes his time to several non-profit organizations: ICO (Inner City Outings) through the Sierra Club, IRC (the International Rescue Committee) and Camp Erin, founded by All-Star major league baseball pitcher, Jaime Moyer and his wife Karen, for children grieving the death of someone close to them.

For 10 years Staiano coordinated overseas tours for REI Adventures to such dream destinations as Ecuador/the Galapagos Islands, Turkey and India.  He then spent the next 7 years working in community-based tourism and volunteering his expertise in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Moved to make a difference in the lives of the people he met beyond his own volunteer efforts, Staiano started Meaningful Trip with the goal of giving back to the local communities. Volunteer tourism is a worthy goal, he recognizes, and “the travel and tourism industry can do even more,” starting with his own company.

First, in addition to ensuring the travel expertise of his global partners, Staiano goes further by asking tough questions, such as: “How many women are on your staff?” What are your environmental values?” “What do you do to support your community?”

Second,  a portion of each client’s fees, typically 5 – 10%, is donated to women’s empowerment, health, education, and poverty alleviation. His company also supports hunger and anti-trafficking programs in the U.S.

The third leg of Meaningful Trip’s “Triple Give” giving mechanism extends to Staiano’s dream of “building a community that cares” when clients return from their travels. Through meaningful dinner parties and thought-provoking conversations, Staiano encourages people to explore actions that make a difference in their local communities.

“Travel with an open heart and open mind.  Meaningful travel and you can change the world,” says Staiano.

For more information on responsible travel and all of  Meaningful Trip’s itineraries, including a Founder’s trek in Nepal in November, click : http://www.MeaningfulTrip.com or contact: info@meaningfultrip.com.

*All photos: Copyright Joe Staiano

How are you making a difference in your travels or in your own communities, Wanderboomers? Share your experiences with us here.

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Where in the World Are We?

I’m making one last ditch effort to engage my tween on our road trip back to Seattle. This time I pull out International Landmarks by educatedKid, a large deck of cards with photographs of 40 famous landmarks on one side and interesting facts and statistics about the landmarks on the reverse side. For example, who knew that the Sydney Opera House has the largest mechanical organ with 10,500 pipes? Or that the official paint of The Golden Gate Bridge is known as “international orange?”

The World Wonders on these cards cover 6 continents, 18 countries and 30 cities. A challenging activity for any of us would be to identify what we think the 40 landmarks are before even looking at the cards. Go ahead. I’ll give you two minutes to write down 40 world renowned landmarks. Ready? On your mark, get set, GO!

No fair peeking at the list at the end of this blog until you’re done.

Although the photography could be more appealing, the cards provide a fun way for both kids and adults to learn about the sites. The deck comes with a brief list of cross-cultural activities to expand upon the images and inspire further discoveries. I had intended to provide a link for the cards but alas! They’re no longer in print. However, I did discover an alternative: Rand McNally Schoolhouse World Facts & Landmarks Flashcards and Games. And this deck includes 44 world landmarks. Okay, you know what’s coming. Go ahead. I’ll give you another 30 seconds to come up with 4 more landmarks to add to your list. You did make a list, didn’t you?

You may wonder how successful I was in using any of these card decks to stimulate conversation with my tween on our road trip. Sigh. Not much, I’m afraid. But I like to think I planted a few seeds for thought and later discussion. And I learned something, too. That sometimes the best times together come from simply breaking out of our everyday routines and enjoying the drive in silence.

FYI ~ Here’s the list of International Landmarks through the eyes of educatedkids:

Arc de Triomphe                                           Pyramid of Kukulkan
Big Ben & Westminster Palace                  Sagrada Familia
Brandenburg Gate                                         St. Basil’s Cathedral
Catedral Metropolitano                              Sphinx
Colosseum                                                        Statue of Liberty
Eiffel Tower                                                      Stonehenge
Forbidden City                                               Supreme Court
Golden Gate Bridge                                       Sydney Opera House
Gondolas of Venice                                      Taj Mahal
Great Pyramid                                                Temple of Luxor
Great Wall                                                         Temple of Ramses II
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests            Terra Cotta Army
Little Mermaid                                                Torii of Itsukushima
Moai of Rapa Nui                                            Tower Bridge
Mont-St-Michel                                              Tower of Pisa
Neuschwanstein                                             U.S. Capitol
Notre Dame                                                      Washington Monument
Parthenon                                                         White House
Pentagon                                                           Windmills of Holland
Phra Si Rattana Chedi                                  World Trade Center (references 9/11)

How many of these landmarks made your list? How many have you seen, Wanderboomers?

Leave a comment here to let me know how you did and to share your favorite sites.

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Pick a Card, Any Card

The Art of Travel Conversation scores an A+ on packaging design. You can’t help but be inspired by the beautiful art and travel words gracing the cover of this deck of cards. Comprehensive and sophisticated in their approach, Australian authors Keith Lamb and Louise Howland focus on “travel discussion that involves both serious thought and fun.” Clearly, the objective is not only to ignite conversation, but also to increase players’ knowledge and understanding of the world.

Topics include history, politics and geography, environmental awareness, areas of travel interest and creative pursuits. Each card contains three questions or imagination-starters, ranging in difficulty from elementary to advanced levels. The cards come with a 32-page booklet filled with tips for using the cards and an expansive section on word definitions, together with descriptions of places and landmarks, providing a strong educational component. The addition of three blank cards encourages players to generate their own questions based on their travel experiences or interests.

Though the cards are presented as questions that can be used with children as young as five, I find that they are best suited to those with advanced travel vocabulary and more travel experiences under their belt. Even though the first level of questions targets elementary-age children, younger kids will need adults to explain or rephrase many of the statements, quotes and questions.

Many thanks to authors Keith Lamb and Louise Howland for the opportunity to take these cards for a practice run.

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And We’re Off!

We’re heading down the highway from Seattle to Portland. It’s late in the day, and my goal is to have a pleasant enough trip with my reluctant tween in tow. I have a business gig on Friday and a birthday on Monday so Portland presents the perfect opportunity for a weekend getaway celebration. Except I seem to be the only one excited about getting out of town. Never fear, however. I’ve brought along a few different decks of travel cards to spark engaging conversation. My challenge is to figure out a way to have my daughter remove her iPod earphones long enough for her to actually hear what I’m saying. Hey – I can dream, can’t I?

Here’s what I brought along for entertainment: Travel Table Topics to Go, The Art of Travel Conversation and International Landmarks. Let’s start with the first one. I’ll talk about the last two card decks in separate blog posts to follow.

Travel Table Topics to Go is a series of 40 cards all related to travel that slip inside a plastic case. The cards are designed for ages 10 and up. The beauty lies in their simplicity. Each card has one question. Out of the 40 cards, 38 are presented as either Wh-questions (e.g. “What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen?”) or imagination-starters (e.g. “If you could trade houses with someone for two weeks whose house would you choose?” or “If you went on a volunteer vacation, who would you most like to help?”). Only two are presented as yes/no questions, a good thing since these have the potential to be conversation-stoppers rather than conversation-starters.  For instance, how do you think your teen would answer the question: “Have you ever had a psychic or out-of-body experience?” Uh-oh. On second thought, are you sure you’re ready to hear the answer to that question?


Hello fellow wanderboomers! I’m a Seattle-based travel journalist, specializing in fun travel adventures for the young at heart. My articles have been featured in Hemispheres, AAA Highroads Magazine and Northwest Travel & Life Magazine where I'm a frequent contributor. When this Wanderboomer isn’t traveling, I help global executives polish their personal and professional brand for long-term results.
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