Be a Part of the Story
Trek Guatemala works to improve the quality of life in the communities that we visit throughout during our journeys. Our Travel Philanthropy Program allows our staff and guests to work hand-in-hand in supporting community development projects in the small Mayan villages we visit. In support of our sustainable travel initiatives, we invite all guests and friends of Trek Guatemala to join us on our mission to help enhance education, environmental awareness, and medical services in rural Guatemala.
Travel Philanthropy Program: Here’s how you can help!
1. School Supplies
The children of many Guatemalan villages lack access to basic resources needed to help further their education, both in and out of the classroom. That’s why Trek Guatemala has partnered with Pack for a Purpose, a non-profit organization built to link tourists to local communities. Even the smallest amount of extra space in your luggage can go a long way. For our guests, the process couldn’t be easier:
- While packing, fill those extra side pouches in your suitcase with school supplies like notebooks, pencils, calculators, markers, colored pencils, binders, crayons, or any other classroom necessities. You can see a complete list of needs here.
- If you’re a participant on one of our adventures, simply hand us the supplies during the pre-trip briefing that takes place the evening prior to the trek.
- If you aren’t a guest on one of Trek Guatemala’s trips, shoot us an email with your travel dates to Antigua and we’ll work around your schedule in finding a time to collect the items.
Rather than simply giving local school children the donated supplies, Trek Guatemala works in conjunction with the local environmental organization EcoActiva to host educational programs centered around waste management in the communities. Children and adults alike are given the opportunity to learn about the long-term effects that plastic and wrappers on their land, as well as better understand the separation of trash, recycling and compost. It is at these seminars when the school supplies are distributed.
2. Financial Donations
Trek Guatemala has designed a way to give-back even once our guests have returned to their home countries. For those guests who want to contribute to our Travel Philanthropy Program, Trek Guatemala accepts donations via PayPal (info@trekguatemala.com) that are then used for community development projects like the ones described below. Please indicate in the payment process that the money is designated for our Travel Philanthropy Program.
We are proud members of Pack for a Purpose, an initiative that allows travelers like you to make a lasting impact in the community at your travel destination. If you save just a few kilos of space in your suitcase and take supplies for the projects we support in need, you’ll make a priceless impact in the lives of our local children and families. Please click here to see what supplies are needed for our projects.
Success Stories:
Trek Guatemala Guest Donations
Over the past five years, Trek Guatemala guests brought down more than $15,000 in school and home health supplies for the rural Mayan communities we visit in support of our Travel Philanthropy Program. We distribute the supplies in the communities our groups visit to kids who have never held a crayon, and who can now draw the colorful world around them! We are proud members of
Success Stories:
Panibaj Footbridge
In 2017, Trek Guatemala partnered with the small coffee-growing community of Panibaj to rebuild a hanging bridge that connected Panibaj to surrounding communities and also enabled us to cross the Rio Madre Vieja along our 4-day trek. It was a great project of collaboration and started a friendship with the community that continues today. We feel a sense of pride every time we cross it!
Now, our partnership with the community of Panibaj extends well beyond the bridge reconstruction. Every Trek Guatemala tour group visits the community, meets with local small-batch coffee farmers (and tastes the best coffee in Guatemala!), and we continue to support the community with our travel philanthropy efforts.
Success Stories:
COVID 19 Pandemic Relief Efforts
We’re proud to report we contributed nearly $5,000 and distributed 600 masks to the indigenous Mayan community of Pachute, one of the rural villages we visit during our multi-day treks. The money helped to buy much-needed food, clothing, and medicine.
Special thanks to the many donors of our Trek Guatemala Community Relief fundraising campaign! We’d also like to thank Humans in Action for donating the masks, and to Women’s Justice Initiative / Iniciativa de los Derechos de la Mujer and Maia Impact Starfish One By One for their support and collaboration.
Our work supporting the Mayan villages we visit continues now that things appear to be returning to normal via our ongoing Travel Philanthropy Program…read on to learn more!
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