travel fundraising | MORAL COMPASS: Great Places to Go Where the Going Does Good

SEATTLE, WA, Nov. 18, 2015 – Experiential travel leader Wildland Adventures — along with one of the country’s best-known outdoor retailers, REI – is closing its doors on Black Friday this Thanksgiving holiday and encouraging its staff, friends and family to enjoy the great outdoors for the day while also thinking of others less fortunate.

This year Wildland Adventures is also giving thanks to an alumni traveler and an incredible cause that she has embraced. The company is advocating a Thanksgiving “pay it forward” to assist the fundraising effort of a young Wildland client, Jamie Eisner, age 12, who is half-way toward a $6,500 goal that will help build a well for a school she recently visited on a family safari in Tanzania.

From now until the end of Black Friday (Nov. 28), for every adventure photo posted and tagged, Wildland Adventures will donate $10 – up to $500 — to building the fresh water well for the Mikocheni Primary School. Submissions should be tagged on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with #OptOutside and #Wildland.

Those who are Interested can also donate directly to the cause by visiting: https://www.gofundme.com/mpswell/donate

“Before I visited Tanzania, I took for granted that I have easy access to water whenever I want, air conditioning, plenty of food, medicine, a great education, and so much more. The children at Mikocheni have none of this, but we can give them something that would change their lives,” explains Jamie. “With the well, the kids will do better in school because they’ll be less tired and less dehydrated. If they are doing better in school, then they will be more successful when they grow up, and live a better life.”

(See the Go Fund Me page with project and fundraiser info: https://www.gofundme.com/mpswell)

Approaching its 30^th anniversary year, Wildland Adventures has a lot to give thanks for, and when better than at Thanksgiving, said Kurt Kutay, CEO/President, who founded the company with Anne Kutay, Vice President, in 1986. As active managing directors they are continuously refining and evolving their Wild Style of travel.

“The ‘Wild Style’ is based on an ethic of sincerity, compassion and understanding that breaks down barriers of separation to build lasting intercultural, interpersonal, and environmental bonds designed to enhance rather than exploit the people and places where they travel. By fostering genuine connections to create personalized experiences their travelers, Wildland fosters a growing and vibrant community of enlightened and compassionate travelers.”

Rated by National Geographic Adventure as the #1 Best ‘Do –it –all ’ Outfitter on Earth and Fodor’s as one of the World ’s Best Tour Specialists, Wildland Adventures offers more than 150 itineraries on 6 continents in 37 countries.