When you know better, you travel better. – Shaw Medical Travel Consultants

Roslyn Parker is traveltodogood.com‘s CEO/Chief Experiences Officer.

When I first started my company ten years ago my mission was simple….travel and do good I defined doing good as a single volunteer experience. My company’s role is to facilitate doing good. As a social entrepreneur my travel change agency serves as a catalyst for me to do my “heart work” and to empower others to travel to do good.

I partnered with non-profit organizations and worked closely with them to identify their needs and how we would volunteer and support them. Volunteers arrived eager to lend a helping hand to a local non-profit. It seemed like a win win to me. However over time, I realized that doing good was more than just a single volunteer activity. It was a holistic shared learning experience that encompassed so much more.

So after years of doing it half wrong, half right and now mostly right, I am eager to share with others what I have learned on this journey of traveling to do good. Listed below are 11 ways to travel to do good.

First things first – Travel with an open heart and an open mind.
This is the foundation of a travel to go good travel experience. Lead with your heart and the rest will follow. Be open and willing to allow the experience to unfold perfectly for you. Leave your desire to judge others or the situation at home. Trusting the process to a willing travel participant in this way will create travel memories to last a lifetime. During my travels, I have met some of the most amazing people in the world. The people I meet when I travel to do good, have become friends for a lifetime. To put it simply, I practice the golden rule, treating others in the way I want to be treated.
Add a volunteer or service project to your trip.
Whether your travels take you to a domestic or international destination, adding a volunteer project to a vacation, meeting or conference is a great way to make a difference in the lives of others. Volunteer and service learning projects can vary in duration and can include half day, full day, week long or even month long projects. Depending on the needs of the non-profit organization, volunteer projects can focus on education, literacy, health, women’s empowerment, community development, recreation and/or the environment. When volunteering or working with an organization learn as much as you can in advance of your trip. Meet virtually by email, phone or video call. Share information about yourself and be open to learning about others. When volunteering look to your non-profit host to provide guidance. They will have many of their own answers and will look to you for support in a different way.
Be a culturally competent traveler.
An informed traveler is a more mindful traveler. Before your trip, research and expand your understanding by doing a deeper dive into the history and cultural norms. Cultural competency is the ability to understand and effectively communicate across cultures.
1. Learn a few local word or phrases in the local language or dialect.
2. Dress appropriate to local norms and customs.
3. Show respect for local religious and/or cultural sites.
4. Exhibit table manners according to local customs.
5. Ask permission before you take pictures.
Make it less about you.
When it comes to doing good, you are now in a position of service. Now is the time for patience, flexibility and adjustment if necessary. Leave your ego at the door. Traveling to do good takes humility and the understanding that we are all one.
Take the road less traveled.
For many developing countries, tourism is a big economic driver. When you spend your tourism dollars, you support the local economy by putting people to work. This is called sustainable tourism and supporting a destination in this way can be the greatest way to give.
Do business with companies who are doing good.
Understand the underlying business principles and philosophies of the companies you do business with. When you are checking out online reviews what information can be gleamed in terms of their social barometer. Just how socially responsible are they? Does the hotel have a nonprofit or foundation they work with? How are they supporting the local community? What measures do they have in place to protect the environment? Whether it is an international chain or small locally owned hotel, get to know their priorities and how they relate to the community, their employees and to the planet at large.
Pack to do good.
Make a big impact by making a little space in your suitcase to pack supplies needed by organizations around the world. Check with your trip agent/organizer or group leader, nonprofit partner or hotel concierge for a list of non-profit organizations and needed supplies. Visit packforapurpose.com and learn how you can make a difference in this way.
Shop to do good.
Put your tourism dollars where they are needed most. Why not buy from a local artisan or crafts person who often have some of the coolest handcrafted items for sale. Supporting a small enterprise while improving the lives of entire communities is empowering on so many levels. I love shopping with local vendors and co-ops because I know that I am supporting local projects that will fuel small businesses and empower a community.
Be mindful of the environment.
Remember, you want to leave a destination better than you found it. So, don’t forget to pick up after yourself. When you are staying at a hotel, do you really have to change your towels and sheets every day? Many hotels have programs to conserve water and energy which in the long run impacts the community and planet earth in a very positive way. Small actions can make a big impact.
Be an example of the change you want to see in the world.
Change can occur through one action at a time. Small acts of kindness, compassion and understanding can make major shifts. Demonstrate love, be love. Demonstrate peace, be peace. Demonstrate kindness, be kind. Change your world within the and when you go out into the world, whether you are home or away, change will follow you.