Heart of Travel - Help me continue my mom Joyce's journey and connect those with cancer
Location
During her final years, my mom Joyce saved up enough frequent flyer miles and points for her dream trip to Australia. Unfortunately, she faced a sudden and brief bout with cancer before she could go. The Heart of Travel Foundation (www.heartoftravel.org) will continue Joyce’s journey and ensure other cancer patients/survivors get the chance to make their dream trips possible. As part of their travel experience, participants will interact with locals impacted by cancer, exchange ideas, raise cancer awareness, and participate in local events. In addition, this model enables them to spend invaluable time with a family member or guest to enjoy the local culture and sites. Our website will have specific pages to detail each trip, anticipated costs, and resources needed, and we will seek mileage/point donor programs with major airlines and hotel groups, many of which advertise in Condé Nast Traveler. Participants can share their favorite pictures, experiences, and takeaways via their web pages so that donors and partners see firsthand the impact of their contributions and the imprint on a person’s life and legacy. Global citizenship is about making people and places better, and the Heart of Travel Foundation hopes to achieve that goal one moment, one mile at a time.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
415 Graham Drive
Project City
Clearwater
Project Province/State
FL
Project Postal/Zip Code
33765
Project Country
United States, CA
Your idea
Name Your Project
Heart of Travel - Help me continue my mom Joyce's journey and connect those with cancer
Describe Your Idea
During her final years, my mom Joyce saved up enough frequent flyer miles and points for her dream trip to Australia. Unfortunately, she faced a sudden and brief bout with cancer before she could go. The Heart of Travel Foundation (www.heartoftravel.org) will continue Joyce’s journey and ensure other cancer patients/survivors get the chance to make their dream trips possible. As part of their travel experience, participants will interact with locals impacted by cancer, exchange ideas, raise cancer awareness, and participate in local events. In addition, this model enables them to spend invaluable time with a family member or guest to enjoy the local culture and sites. Our website will have specific pages to detail each trip, anticipated costs, and resources needed, and we will seek mileage/point donor programs with major airlines and hotel groups, many of which advertise in Condé Nast Traveler. Participants can share their favorite pictures, experiences, and takeaways via their web pages so that donors and partners see firsthand the impact of their contributions and the imprint on a person’s life and legacy. Global citizenship is about making people and places better, and the Heart of Travel Foundation hopes to achieve that goal one moment, one mile at a time.
Innovation
Are you a traveler or a travel company?
Traveler , Travel company.
Tell us your idea. What makes your idea innovative?
During her final years, my mom Joyce saved up enough frequent flyer miles and points for her dream trip to Australia. Unfortunately, she faced a sudden and brief bout with cancer before she could go. The Heart of Travel Foundation will continue Joyce’s journey and ensure other cancer patients/survivors get the chance to make their dream trips possible. As part of their travel experience, participants will interact with locals impacted by cancer, exchange ideas, raise cancer awareness, and participate in local events. In addition, this model enables them to spend invaluable time with a family member or guest to enjoy the local culture and sites. Our website will have specific pages to detail each trip, anticipated costs, and resources needed, and we will seek mileage/point donor programs with major airlines and hotel groups, many of which advertise in Condé Nast Traveler. Participants can share their favorite pictures, experiences, and takeaways via their web pages so that donors and partners see firsthand the impact of their contributions and the imprint on a person’s life and legacy. Global citizenship is about making people and places better, and the Heart of Travel Foundation hopes to achieve that goal one moment, one mile at a time.
Impact
What is the likely impact of your idea?
Participants will have opportunities to share their stories with others across the globe and vice versa. There are the cross-cultural components of learning other practices, languages, and philosophies. Trips may provide therapeutic benefits for those who may be battling a terminal illness or provide a time and place to reconcile a relationship or unresolved issues. Our selection process will take into account the individual’s overall health and ability to travel. The Heart of Travel Foundation will seek a broader impact through partnerships with cancer groups, find-a-cure fundraisers, and other causes to promote global citizenship and individual success stories. This is not just a “send someone on a fun trip” idea. Most of us have family or friends with cancer and have witnessed the drive and determination it can create in them. We will seek and select those “change agents,” who want to use their own struggles with cancer to benefit and impact others. Consequently, we envision our impact broadening over time beyond those we send on these interactive journeys. Sure, there will be personal milestones along the way, yet we are most interested in impacting the broader local and international communities.
What would it take to launch or spread your idea?
We need approximately $50,000 to launch, with 80% allocated towards initial trips and 20% for business development and fundraising. Condé Nast Traveler is the perfect partner, as our foundation will need partnerships with travel agencies, customer loyalty programs, and private investors. In fact, several individuals through this contest have offered miles for our cause. This experience and exposure could establish the foundation and accelerate our initial growth. We will fund the primary travel costs via donations from individuals and travel-related companies in the form of miles, hotel points, or financial contributions. We will encourage those taking trips and their families to participate locally and overseas. Perhaps, they have a bake sale, seek donations at work, or initiate a charity event. People impacted by cancer often want to be involved in a cause like ours, and they will be instrumental in spreading our idea and message. Within 5-7 years, we hope to be firmly established as the premier trip-granting foundation.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
Describe yourself as a social innovator.
Both my undergraduate and graduate degrees are in international business, and I have worked on several projects to promote social responsibility, from organizing a benefit concert and local charity events to completing academic research on the events of 9/11. I have the cultural curiosity and feeling of social responsibility that comes from living and traveling abroad and do my part to minimize my environmental impact when I travel. When globetrotting for good, it’s important to leave an imprint not a footprint. Before a great white shark diving expedition in Australia, for example, I selected an operator that was focused on shark research, feeding practices, and species conservation. In fact, it was that 2007 trip down under using my mom’s miles which inspired me to start the Miles of Miracles Foundation to continue her journey and legacy. Unfortunately, it took the loss of my mom and her miles to send me on my ultimate adventure. Now, it's time for me to pay it forward and onward by launching a foundation for others, who still have the chance.
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Comments
Hello everyone,
I just posted this proposal today, so I appreciate any insights or feedback you may have. This is an idea I want to materialize, so I definitely welcome your tips and ideas on how to make it better.
As far as the pictures, they are of my mom during her first trip ever to New York City (just before her cancer diagnosis and death), and my mom and I at one of my graduation ceremonies.
Thanks for taking the time to read my entry, and I genuinely appreciate your votes and support!
Brandon Bethea
Great ... This is the most Wonderful thing I have ever read!
I love this, I will support in any way I can!
I think this is an amazing idea and a beautiful way to turn the dreams of one individual into the realities of thousands! I really love the part about how this will allow a multi-cultural sharing of feelings and ideas about what cancer patients are going through. I've never heard of anything like that and I think it will have a very amazing impact on helping people and their families deal with their experiences.
This idea should be applauded as both humanitarian and compassionate. SImilar to the Make A Wish Foundation or Big Brother Organization, however this is more global in nature. I would like to think that leaving an imprint of your heart with a family member 2,000 miles away and getting the chance to say hello and good-bye might bring worlds and souls together.
With the amount of people worldwide affected by this horrible disease, it's hard to imagine anyone not finding this idea irresistable. We constantly hear about a "global economy" but this idea really highlights where our emphasis should be, a "global community". Cancer knows no borders or boundaries, the dialogue should be global. Kudos to Brandon for turning his personal tragedy into such a compassionate, beautiful concept. I will certainly be in what should be a long line of humans helping this idea become reality.
Thanks to everyone for their votes of confidence and support. Before I decided to focus on the nonprofit side, my background was in international branding, so I'm particularly proud that you all seem to get the essence of and story behind my idea. This is ultimately what will drive the organization and, hopefully, determine our success. Thanks again for your support. It means a lot to myself, my mom, and hopefully anyone who has been impacted by cancer.
My hat goes off to this uncanny idea. Continue to follow your heart and make everyone pay attention to what is real
What a fabulous way to celebrate someone's life! I am proud of Brandon for thinking of other people in need and I know how deeply cancer has affected 1000's of families int his country alone, yet alone the entire world! I think this idea could establish a forum for people to be able to live out their dreams and find a little peace in an otherwise crazy world!
Pura Vida all,
Jessica Stassens
Good luck with your mission B! I have full faith in your cause and that your mom is super proud of your efforts in helping others battle this disease.
Best Wishes!
Cynthia Cancio-Perez