Passports with a Purpose and The SageCliffe Resort

My site is usually full of many angry, cuss-filled rants about travel. Occasionally, though, I am lucky enough to write about good things as they pertain to the travel community. Today is one of those days, and frankly, this news warms the brittle lump of coal that is my heart.

I was recently asked to take part in Passports with a Purpose, an annual fundraiser started by a group of travel bloggers who decided they weren’t just going to see the world – they were going to make it a better place, too. Naturally, I jumped at the chance. In 2008, PwP raised $7,000 for Heifer International. In 2009, they raised nearly $30,000 to build a school in rural Cambodia. And this year? They’re upping the ante – and trying to raise $50,000 to build a village in India through a partnership with Friends of Lafti. Once complete, the village will serve as a home for the Dalit (untouchable) population in India.

Holy cats. I just got goosebumps typing that. Seriously – the lump of coal in my chest is positively glowing. Can you blame me for going against my true (cranky, occasionally evil) nature  and wanting to help out?

The premise behind PwP is pretty simple: they’ve got loads of prizes to give away to good folks who donate some money to their cause (folks like you, right?).  PwP teams up with travel bloggers, asking them to spread the word, and highlight one of the amazing prizes that’s up for grabs. For every $10 that you donate, your name will be entered into a drawing for the prize of your choice (plus, your donation is tax-deductible).

And all I have to do is tell you about the cause, and highlight one of the amazing prizes, and I get myself out of at least 10 years of purgatory for all those times I kicked my brother in the junk when we were kids. I know – I’m excited, too!

Given karma, though, and my inherent evilness, you’d assume that the prize I had to tell you about would be something heinous, like a two-week internship at a hog-fat rendering plant, or an exciting weekend spent in the trunk of someone’s car!

BUT NO. Instead, I get to tell you about something TOTALLY AWESOME (proving that if there is a god, he sure as hell isn’t paying attention to what I did from the ages of 6 – present).  The good and generous folks at SageCliffe winery and resort  have generously donated a weekend getaway at their lovely estate on the Columbia River near George, Washington. It includes an overnight stay at a private Cave B Inn Cliffehouse;  a wine-pairing dinner at Tendrils Vineyard Restaurant, which features house-made pastas, organic meats, and herbs, vegetables and fruits grown in the SageCliffe orchards; a cellar barrel wine-tasting with Freddy Arrendondo, the estate’s official wine-maker; and a hot stone massage for two at the Spa at SageCliffe. You’ll even get two commemorative wine glasses so you can wistfully pretend you’re back SageCliffe long after you go home.

To recap, if you donate to help make this happen …

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You could spend the weekend here:

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Pretty sweet deal, right? You support a good cause and you get a chance to win a fantastic weekend getaway. At the very least, you’ll get yourself out of a few years of purgatory (which, if you’re anything like me, is well worth the $10.) To donate, simply visit the Passports with Purpose donation page, and enter your donation next to the SageCliffe line (you may easily be swayed by any of the other amazing prizes up for grabs … and I’ll be honest – as long as you donate, I’m cool with that). It’s pretty much that easy.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, all this do-goodery is wreaking havoc on my evil soul. I’m off to smoke a cigar and watch reality TV in hopes of balancing this all out.

Update from Geraldine: Just so you kids know, every entry made on the donation page equals $10. So if you type in “1” you’ve donated $10 (your total donation will appear at the bottom of the page, so there’s no surprises). Make sense? I hope so. And thanks, Rand, for helping me figure it out.