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Widness & Wiggins Announce New Relationship with Travel Industry Leader at Planeterra Foundation
BURLINGTON, VT, March 24, 2009 - The PR team of Widness & Wiggins (Sara and Dave) is pleased to announce that they are now working with a travel industry leader who continues to set new standards for green and sustainable travel. This is Richard G. Edwards, Director of Planeterra, the non-profit foundation launched by G.A.P Adventures.
Richard's mission is to present sustainable and community-based travel as the core of future tourism development, through Planeterra's efforts and outreach. To do this he relies on the support of world travelers who give generously to a foundation like Planeterra and/or who give by volunteering their time while traveling.
Says Richard, “By getting to know local people in the communities we visit, we are able to help identify individual needs and act quickly to meet them. Our at-present 30 projects that range from supporting tourism training in Tanzania to assisting a women’s weaving cooperative in Peru to working with street children in a Rio favela offer travelers with a few hours, a few days or a few spare dollars a unique opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people and communities around the world.”
Formalized in 2003 by G.A.P Adventures, Planeterra evolved out of a long history of travelers committed to finding ways to give back to the people and places they visit. Planeterra selects the projects and works with G.A.P to arrange voluntour travel opportunities, which are offered by foundation partners including STA Travel, the world’s largest provider of youth and student travel.
Voluntours offer travelers a hands-on opportunity to make a direct and lasting contribution while experiencing true cultural immersion. Says Richard, “Planeterra programs span the arenas of health, education, employment skills training, cultural heritage preservation and environmental conservation. Where there is a need, we recognize it, and we act quickly to meet it. Whatever the project, Planeterra has the insight, agility and technical and financial wherewithal to successfully see it through.”
Richard and the staff of Planeterra remain committed through other assignments to sustainable environmental and socio-economic issues. Conde Nast Traveler magazine has recommended Edwards as the Top Travel Specialist for Costa Rica for the past three years in recognition of his efforts in combining travelers' growing desire for a relaxed, yet meaningful vacation, with ways to limit their impact on the environment and local cultures and to give back in a positive manner.
Please be on the lookout for future news releases and information on Planeterra, its projects and goals.
For more information, interviews and photos please contact:
Sara Widness / 802-234-6704 / sara@widnesspr.com
or
Dave Wiggins / 303-554-8821 / d.wiggins@comcast.net
