“Trekaroo exists to enable families to inspire
and equip each other to explore the world.”
It’s part of our mission statement. At Trekaroo, we love to travel with our kids, whether it’s the weekend jaunt to the museum, a few hours at a baseball game, or a more extended trip. We also know that travel is a luxury, especially in the midst of a tough economy. Not everyone gets to travel, especially those in under-resourced urban areas.
We believe in giving back. We’re passionate about making a positive impact on communities, both abroad (Check out Kiva!) and in our own backyards (Big City Mountaineers). As individuals and as a small company, we give part of our time and resources to help others.
During Thanksgiving last year we gave away $500 and had our user community vote on whom to give it to. An organization called “Big City Mountaineers” came out on top. If you’ve read my bio, you may have gathered that I love the outdoors and enjoy climbing mountains. Well, I’m super excited to be able to meld that enthusiasm with a worthy cause! Over the last couple of years, I’ve participated in a number of Summit for Someone benefit climbs. The Summit for Someone benefit climb series raises money for Big City Mountaineers. BCM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit which provides outdoor wilderness mentoring programs for at-risk teens. The mission of Big City Mountaineers is “enhancing the lives of under-resourced urban teens through transformative outdoor experiences.”
In a few weeks, from August 4th-7th, I’ll be climbing Mount Rainier in Washington.
With your help and my summit attempt, the BCM program will reach at-risk teens nationwide (over 2,600 program days last year!). I’m seeking to raise $4000 for the organization. Thank you for considering donating on my behalf. Get out there, do good, and have fun!
Donate online here:
http://www.summitforsomeone.org/main.php?page=4&climber=7034
Many thanks and happy trails!
Brennan
Intro | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
Travel positively
Trekaroo is passionate about making a positive impact on communities. We believe that in addition to being fun, travel also bridges divides. Our vision is to enable families to see the world in order to instill a greater compassion for those in need.
“Given a chance, a child will bring the confusion of the world to the woods, wash it in the creek, turn it over to see what lives on the unseen side of that confusion.”
Big City Mountaineers
http://www.bigcitymountaineers.org/about
About Trekaroo
http://www.trekaroo.com/about
Related articles on giving back:
Addicted to collecting passport stamps
Kid conversations on the road: What’s poverty mom?
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Brennan Pang (brennan) is co-founder and COO of Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
Slide-a-ma-jig from Lucky Radish Amusements is a fun game for young kids. It’s a Mr. Potato Head style game where you can slide and mix and match a myriad of different body parts (hat, head, torso, legs, feet), as well as change the background that the characters appear on. It’s got great colorful characters and hilarious sounds. My kids are 4 and 6 and they can spend quite a bit of time playing with the game. It’s probably best for the 3-8 aged set, but it can also amuse young-at-heart adults for a few minutes. Here’s some commentary from my kids’ first experience with the game:
“a hahaha”
“i like that one (bumble bee!)”
“oh, that looks good (building a dinosaur…)”
“look at him, he’s a ghost!”
“aaah, goo goo man!”
“this game is really funny!”
“what?!?!?”
“this one’s cool!”
So pay the 99 cents and do the Slide-a-ma-jig.
The Steal – Win a Slide-a-ma-jig
We’ll be giving away four Slide-a-ma-jigs (Value $0.99).
To enter:
Share what your favorite iPhone game or application is for kids and why in the comments below.
For additional entries, feel free to do any or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra entry, but be sure to leave a separate comment for each one:
- Tweet a link to this Monday Mad Steal via @Trekaroo
- Post this on your Facebook Wall using the Facebook Share link above
- Post this on your blog (leave another comment with the link)
Rules and guidelines:
- 18 years of age or older
- US Residents only
- One entry per person
Deadline to enter: Sunday, April 4, 2010 at 11:59PM PST (deadline extended)
What is Monday Madness?
Every Monday, Trekaroo announces on our blog, either a fantastic giveaway or an incredible deal. It could be a green water bottle or Broadway tickets. Return every Monday to the Talking Trekaroo Blog for the details. Want a reminder? Become a Trekaroo member or follow us on facebook or twitter. This Monday Madness was sponsored by Lucky Radish.
Related articles:
- 10 Fun Travel Activities for Kids
- Top 10 Travel Games for Elementary School Kids
- Top 5 Travel Toys for Preschoolers
- Games on the Go
- Preparing Kids for Travel
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Brennan Pang is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
Update (1/24) – When 11:59pm PST rolled around on January 20th, we had received a total of 266 reviews for Haiti. As a result, we’ll be donating $3,000 to Compassion International on behalf of all the reviews shared by our Trekaroo families. Thanks for showing such an outpouring of support for those in Haiti.
Update (1/19) – So far 222 reviews have been written in donation to the Haiti relief efforts! We have even more exciting news. One of our generous Trekaroo families has added an additional $1000 to our pledge. So, we are increasing our pledge for any NEW reviews to $20 until we hit our extended $3000 limit. Keep writing to help Haiti.
flickr: XOZ
Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Haiti. Officials fear more than 100,000 dead in the 7.0 earthquake. Our family sponsors a child in Haiti (Benji, 6 years old) and are hoping for the best.
If you’ve got money to spare, here are a few organizations that you can donate to for earthquake relief:
Some photos from the Boston Globe here.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA | WA
The Walt Disney Family Museum
We had the opportunity to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum this weekend with our two kids (6 and 3). The museum will open on October 1st, 2009 and is located near the Golden Gate Bridge, on the grounds of the Presidio of San Francisco, a former army base which is now part of the National Park System. The museum offers a fascinating look into the history and life of the Disney family, as well as the founding of the iconic Walt Disney Company by Walt and Roy Disney.
The museum is world class in it’s fit and finish, but be forewarned that it is first and foremost a museum and not a theme park. The museum starts off with the history of the Disney family and moves into the captivating story of the growth of the nascent animation industry. It showcases the pivotal role that Disney played in advancing the art and science of animation. I found all of it fascinating and I learned quite a bit about the history of animation. Our kids were engaged by the plethora of video animations, but spent the most time in the Disneyland model area near the end of the museum. Our 6 year old likes to draw and was especially intrigued by the history and the process of animation.
Limited stroller parking is available, but I would recommend not bringing one. Due to the lack of stroller access and the grown up nature of the museum, I would only recommend it for kids over 6 years old.
Read the full review and see photos of the new museum here »
Find more activities near the Walt Disney Family Museum »
Find activities for kids in San Francisco »
Find kid-friendly hotels in San Francisco »
Brennan Pang is a contributing author on Trekaroo – a reviews site dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | FL | HI | MA | NY | PA | TX | VA
Melissa Newby at the examiner wrote a nice article on travel with kids and trekaroo. http://tinyurl.com/ov49fh
