Mondays are for dreaming: Passports With Purpose

Last Monday I dreamed about building a school in Cambodia with Passports With Purpose. Today is the kick-off for the fundraiser and I’m happy to announce what I hope is a dream-worthy prize: $150 in gift cards from the leading photo website Shutterfly!

I’ve been orderin g photos, holiday cards, and other items from Shutterfly for years and have always been happy with the quality of their products, the usability of their website, the speed of delivery, and the variety they offer.* And since pictures are such an important part of any of my travel experiences, I thought they would make a great prize for this contest. Here are just a few things you can do with the cards (if you win, you’ll get three, each worth 50 U.S. dollars) :

• Mark a year in travel with a calendar that includes photos of all your favorite destinations
• Create a photo book for one of your favorite trips, complete with your own descriptions and stories
• Order prints of any size or variety
• Give them away as gifts (but I won’t tell if you keep them for yourself)

Since Shutterfly ships all over the world, there are no restrictions on the gift cards – you should feel free to enter to win them as many times as you like, no matter where you live.

Of course, my prize is far from the only thing you can win. From gear to getaways there are lots of chances to win great prizes. Every $10 that you donate gets you once chance toward the prize of your choice. And it’s up to you – you can donate $50 and split your chances among five different prizes or put all in one basket for the really killer prize of your choice. You can even make the donations in honor of a loved one (they make great holiday gifts!) Every donation receive will put us closer to that goal of $13,000 to build that school.

All funds raised go directly to American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC), which is a non-profit 501(c)3 registered in the United States; this organization will oversee all aspects of building the school.

However, a lot of thought and planning will need to go into the building process before it can get underway. Without effective planning, it will be hard for the building manufacturers to build a school that the people in Cambodia could only dream of visiting. For example, modular buildings are becoming much more popular (you can visit this website to learn more) in countries all over the world, and this could be a great choice for this new school. Or a simple and traditional building may be preferred instead. Making decisions like this just showcases the importance of planning the construction process from start to finish.

To browse the other prizes and purchase chances to win, please visit the Passports With Purpose website between today and December 21, 2009. And if you’re a participating blogger (or anyone else with a Monday dream) please feel free to share your link below. That will give all of us a chance to dream about what we can win together.

*Please note that Shutterfly did not donate the gift cards or ask me to say nice things; my comments come unsolicited from a satisfied customer. Learn more about their philosophy and approach.