Starting with our wetlands restoration project in New Orleans, Sweeties gave back in every port.
New Orleans: Sweeties planted 600 new grasses in a marsh devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Costa Maya, Mexico: 150 Sweeties pulled over 200 giant bags of garbage from Uvero Beach in a 45-minute contest. We pulled a sink, a television, vacuum cleaner parts and tons of other oddities one should never see in the ocean. We found trash from Greece, China and many parts in between.
Belize City, Belize: Partnering with Lifeline, a philanthropic organization run by the first lady of Belize, Sweeties painted bright cartoon characters on the walls of a children’s hospital ward. Donations of toys and clothes were also made. Across town, another gaygle of Sweeties painted three children’s classrooms and a storytime corner. Over 1,000 children’s books plus other school supplies were delivered. Sweet guest Erin Cottom of The Cottom/Shakkottai Investment Group donated a much-needed copier with toner and tons of paper. It was all totally Sweet!
Roatan, Honduras: In Roatan, Sweeties repainted a children’s e-learning center and donated two new computers. It costs $150 per kid per year for access to the e-learning center. Our Sweeties rummaged through their pockets and donated enough to give four more kids access to the center.
Cozumel, Mexico: In about 30 minutes, we pulled 1,500 pieces of plastic off the beach. Next, we planted 25 mangroves in a swamp devastated by Hurricane Hugo. Finally, we ended our day with a celebration with the local Rotary Club at Carlos Canseco Community Party, where we painted park benches and trees (to protect them from bugs) and planted more trees. The community made us lunch, too.
Finally, it was the world’s largest CARBON FREE cruise ever! We bought carbon offsets for all our air and sea travel, which left over 6,000 trees in our wake (literally, at a reforestation project in Louisiana).
Tags: Jen Rainin, Shannon Wentworth, Sweet Caribbean Cruise, video, voluntourism
11/17/09
5:23 pm
Shannon:
I was proud to be part of the Uvero beach clean up and I was amazed by the outpouring of support for all the projects. You helped us make a difference…thanks from the women of Denver. We hope you are getting some well deserved rest….Dede Frain and Stace Williams