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Summer and fall are vacation months. It's the time when you board a plane and find yourself engulfed in a totally fresh environment in an attempt to get away from the stress of your every day life. But, from what I have found, there's not a whole lot of gratification in indulging without giving...and that includes vacationing, as well. Learning to give back while you're on vacation can provide you with a memorable experience that is difficult to replace. If you're wondering how you can do good while on vacation, here are some ideas:
Let Someone in Need Use Your Home
I'd bet that if you really thought about it, you know someone who is struggling with his or her home situation. This could be someone living in a bad environment, someone coming through town without the funds to afford a hotel, or just a friend needing a place to stay while renovating their own home. Nonetheless, why not offer up your home to someone you know in need while you're away if you can trust them enough? Your home is just sitting there and if you think about your social network, you may know someone who could really use your home while you're away.
Help Out the Poor
People often complain about beautiful areas of this world being over developed and they claim that they want to see the earth in a more 'natural' state. If this is the case for you, doing a little bit of charity while on vacation may be a great choice for you. Lots of poor and underdeveloped countries are also remarkably beautiful. Why not set some time aside to hand out packed sandwiches and fruit to the poor in a breath-taking area? They'd probably be more than happy to indulge you in some local stories and secrets, too.
Plan a Car-free Vacation
One of the things a lot of people cite as their reason for not using a bicycle on a daily basis is time. It takes longer to bike places than it does to drive in a lot of cases. But if your vacation is going to truly be a time of relaxation-then time shouldn't matter at all. Why not plan a vacation that is totally car-free and bike everywhere you go? I can say from experience that bicycling along beaches is simply one of the best ways to vacation.
If you're anything like me, you'll find that just going on vacation and forgetting completely about doing good isn't very satisfying. Before you plan your next vacation, try to map out how you can use your time off from work to better the planet.
Have champagne taste but organic beer money? Live vicariously and check out the most luxurious eco-digs on Planet Green TV's World's Greenest Homes.
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