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The World's VolunTour Challenge

I am traveling the world while helping others. Come join me to this life-changing experience!

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The World's VolunTour Challenge

The World's VolunTour Challenge

The World's VolunTour Challenge

The World's VolunTour Challenge

The World's VolunTour Challenge

I am traveling the world while helping others. Come join me to this life-changing experience!

I am traveling the world while helping others. Come join me to this life-changing experience!

I am traveling the world while helping others. Come join me to this life-changing experience!

I am traveling the world while helping others. Come join me to this life-changing experience!

Daniel Rountree
Daniel Rountree
Daniel Rountree
Daniel Rountree
1 Campaign |
Los Angeles, United States
$1 USD 1 backers
0% of $20,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

About a year ago, when thinking about my eight-hour daily routine, I pictured myself as an uninspired and unchallenged person. I started feeling as if my life had no  direction. I felt I was going nowhere. I went to college and now have a job as a designer that lets me live comfortably. But I felt there was something missing in my life and I knew I needed to act on it.

A couple of months later, I watched a television documentary about a kind of travel which's popularity levels are increasing, called philanthrophic travel. This means exactly what it sounds like: a combination of tourism and philanthropy, with an emphasis on the latter. Philanthropic travel connects travelers and communities that can benefit from them. Most of the people who set out on this type of travel are motivated from within.

I was so enthusiastic about the idea of traveling around the world while getting to help others, that I thought I needed to give a twist to my life by doing so.

THE JOURNEY

At first I considered to look for a community in a developing country where I could establish for several months and a local nonprofit to volunteer in during my stay. But then I had a better idea; I decided I would dedicate a semester to this project and I will work for the most nonprofits I could during that time. So I made a list of places all over the world that, in one way or another, have nonprofits that need help. I literally found hundreds of them but I knew it was not going to be possible to cover them all in a single trip, so I decided that I was going to narrow my list to the 20 countries I really wanted to visit but that also need the most help. I decided that I will have 20 weeks (5 months) to go through all of them. I will stay at least for a week in each of those 20 places volunteering in local nonprofits. This will help me to better understand and document the invaluable work of these altruistic organizations and their volunteers and supporters, and how they impact in a positive way.

Here is the list of all the places I will visit during the upcoming months:

  • Argentina (the region of Cordoba)

  • Brazil (favela in Rio de Janeiro)
  • Cambodia (Phnom Penh)
  • Colombia (Cartagena)
  • Costa Rica (rural area near the city of San Jose)

  • Ecuador (surrounding rural area approximately 45 minutes from the city of Quito)
  • Ghana (the Greater Accra Region)
  • Guatemala (Guatemala City)

  • Peru (rural locality close to Arequipa)
  • India (agricultural community in Bir)
  • Kenya (Kiberia, the largest slum in Africa)

  • Madagascar (Nosy Be)
  • Nepal (Kathmandu)

  • Philippines (Filipino hill tribe)
  • Sri Lanka (Kandy)
  • Tanzania (Arusha)
  • Thailand (local hill tribe in Chiang Rai)

  • Uganda (Kitende)

  • Vietnam (impoverished settlement in Hanoi)

  • Zambia (Livingstone)

The nonprofits located in the regions I am traveling through, not only need volunteers but they need economical aid too. I could afford to donate some of my monies to them, however I am pretty sure that would not be enough. If I involve other people in my project — you the contributors, I will not only be able to donate a lot of more money than if I do it by myself, but I'm sure that you — the contributors, and I will positively leave our marks in and give back to the 20 countries and charities visited.

THE FILM

I am going to record absolutely every step of my journey. Along with a small film crew, I will film and document every happening in each of the countries where I will volunteer. After my 5 month journey, the World's VolunTour film will be released. 

THE BOOK

I am also going to take thousands of photos during my adventure, featuring some of the most inspiring communities and motivating persons. A book, documenting all of the extraordinary stories I will indubitably listen to and exhibiting the photographs taken during this journey of a lifetime, is going to be released along with the film. 

GET INSPIRED!

The idea is that both the film and the book serve as an inspiration for others to go out of their comfort zone, explore themselves and do something similar than this.

Custom-designed t-shirts and postcards will also be made and sent to those who help this noble travel adventure come true!

THE BUDGET

  • $10,000 - Donation to all of the 20 nonprofits that I will help. I will personally give them the money and let them know that it came from persons who truly care about our world's development!
  • $5,000 - Production of the World's VolunTour documentary-style film.
  • $5,000 - Production of the World's VolunTour book.

    RISKS & CHALLENGES

    As you can see, I am not asking you to contribute with my travel expenses. I have created a separate personal budget to cover my travel (mainly food, housing and transportation) expenses. I want this campaign to focus on what WE CAN DO FOR OTHERS, not on me.

    Of course, as with any volunteer-based program, this charitable project is not without its challenges. The main challenges to overcome include:
    • Follow up: Unfortunately, most persons who travel to become voluntary workers for a short time, do not follow up with the residents of the places where they worked for. To overcome this challenge, I compromised myself to follow up on a monthly basis (after my journey ends) with every nonprofit visited and continue donating money to them and visiting on a long term basis.
    • Complexity: For travelers desiring to make a difference, it can be challenging to become educated about the complexity of the issues nonprofits work for. When planning this project, I studied every aspect of the volunteer work I will do in each of the countries I will visit, and the long-term impact it will have.

    Even if this Indiegogo campaign does not reach its goal, I am going to leave for this revolutionary journey. I know that it will be challenging and I am willing to take any risks. I am confident that I will leave a positive impact and give back to every place visited and that I will produce a beautiful and inspiring film and book narrating touching stories. I want people to get inspired to contribute with communities who really need it. After all, giving is receiving.

    OTHER WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE

    Even if you are unable to economically contribute, there are some other ways in which you can help:

    • Spread the word on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest...)
    • Blog/vlog about the campaing.
    • Use the Indiegogo tools to share this campaing.

    Remember to follow me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER and VIMEO for continous updates on this project!

      THANK YOU!

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        Choose your Perk

        The Postcard

        $5 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. Your money will go directly to the local nonprofits I'll help.
        Estimated Shipping
        December 2014
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        The Poster

        $10 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a small 11.3" x 17.3" poster of the "World's VolunTour" documentary film. Your money will go directly to the local nonprofits I'll help.
        Estimated Shipping
        December 2014
        0 claimed

        The Poster 2

        $15 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a medium 18" x 24" poster of the "World's VolunTour" documentary film. Your money will go directly to the local nonprofits I'll help.
        Estimated Shipping
        December 2014
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        The Poster 3

        $20 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a large 24" x 36" poster of the "World's VolunTour" documentary film. Your money will go directly to the local nonprofits I'll help.
        Estimated Shipping
        December 2014
        0 claimed

        The T-Shirt

        $25 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a custom designed "World's VolunTour" t-shirt. Your money will go directly to the local nonprofits I'll help.
        Estimated Shipping
        December 2014
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        The Film

        $50 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a custom-sized poster and a digital (DVD or Blu-Ray) copy of the "World's VolunTour" film. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the film production.
        Estimated Shipping
        April 2015
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        The Book

        $75 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a custom-sized poster and a digital (DVD or Blu-Ray) copy of the "World's VolunTour" film and both a hard and digital copy of the "World's VolunTour" book. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the book production.
        Estimated Shipping
        April 2015
        0 claimed

        T-Shirt, Film and Book

        $100 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a custom-designed t-shirt, a custom-sized poster and a digital (DVD or Blu-Ray) copy of the "World's VolunTour" film and both a hard and digital copy of the "World's VolunTour" book. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the film and book production.
        Estimated Shipping
        April 2015
        0 claimed

        Contributor Credits

        $250 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a custom-designed t-shirt, a custom-sized poster and a digital (DVD or Blu-Ray) copy of the "World's VolunTour" film and both a hard and digital copy of the "World's VolunTour" book. You will appear as "Contributor" on the credits of the film and book. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the film production.
        Estimated Shipping
        April 2015
        0 claimed

        Co-Producer

        $500 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a custom-designed t-shirt, a custom-sized poster and a digital (DVD or Blu-Ray) copy of the "World's VolunTour" film and both a hard and digital copy of the "World's VolunTour" book. You will appear as "Co-Producer" on the credits of the film and book. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the film production.
        Estimated Shipping
        May 2015
        0 claimed

        Associate Producer

        $750 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a custom-designed t-shirt, a custom-sized poster and a digital (DVD or Blu-Ray) copy of the "World's VolunTour" film and both a hard and digital copy of the "World's VolunTour" book. You will appear as "Associate Producer" on the credits of the film and book. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the film and book production.
        Estimated Shipping
        April 2015
        0 claimed

        Executive Producer

        $1,000 USD
        You will receive a postcard, directly sent from me to you, during my journey. You will also get a custom-designed t-shirt, a custom-sized poster and a digital (DVD or Blu-Ray) copy of the "World's VolunTour" film and both a hard and digital copy of the "World's VolunTour" book. You will appear as "Executive Producer" on the credits of the film and book. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the film and book production.
        Estimated Shipping
        April 2015
        0 claimed

        Join Me!

        $2,000 USD
        You will be able to join me for two weeks of my journey, in the two countries of your choice. You'll be featured and fully credited in the film and book. By the end of our journey, you will also get all of the above "World's VolunTour" rewards. Please note that you will need to cover your own travel expenses and must have a valid passport and/or visa if required. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the film and book production.
        Estimated Shipping
        October 2014
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        Join Me 2!

        $5,000 USD
        You will be able to join me for four weeks of my journey, in the two places of your choice. You'll be featured and fully credited in the film and book. By the end of our journey, you will also get all of the above "World's VolunTour" rewards. Please note that you will need to cover your own travel expenses and must have a valid passport and/or visa if required. Your money will go to the local nonprofits I'll help and to the film and book production.
        Estimated Shipping
        October 2014
        0 out of 3 of claimed
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