It has been just over a year since we launched the Gate 1 Foundation, our nonprofit organization committed to improving lives through travel, education and cultural exchange. Our mission is simple and basic: to provide children with better opportunities to learn and grow by offering supplies and new facilities to some of the world’s most rural and under-served places. But simple and basic needs can sometimes prove challenging to provide, which is why we have an entire team dedicated to the effort. The Gate 1 Foundation has just been formally approved as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This is exciting news as we will soon be able to accept charitable, tax deductible, donations to further increase the scope of our efforts for the children the foundation supports.
Since we began, the Foundation has not only donated time and resources to improve school conditions, including new classrooms, printers, computers, uniforms and even wood-burning stoves; it has also invited our travelers to visit the schools we help, encouraging them to hand-deliver supplies – like pencils and paper and everyday items like warm clothes – directly into the hands of teachers. It’s a terrific learning opportunity for everyone, and a chance for travelers to hear firsthand about the local curriculum and about the community issues that affect a village’s education efforts. “As a teacher, visiting the school in Ecuador was the highlight of my trip!” said Patti F. of Chicago, California, of the insight she gained during a visit.
In Costa Rica, students benefit from a new playground constructed in a safe environment free of debris. In Peru, Gate 1 funds multiple projects in five different schools. In Thailand, kids are enjoying a new library built with funds from the Foundation. All told, we have been proud to help 16 schools in 9 countries: Peru, Costa Rica, Argentina, Bali, Thailand, Turkey, Swaziland, India and Colombia. And we are working on an additional project in Turkey, with new projects in South Africa, Morocco and beyond.
You can learn more about the Gate 1 Foundation here. We hope our efforts inspire you as much as they inspire us. We invite you to check back to the website often to learn how you can make donations directly to the places we support, many of which are featured on Gate 1 Travel’s itineraries.
Gate 1 Travel Blog 