Caring for Elephants in Thailand
Donation protected
Take 2
{sorry for the double email - the first was an error.. user error}
Hello! It was brought to my attention that the reasons I chose to go to Thailand were not very clear. Yes I LOVE elephants - that is a huge part of it. But not all of it......
You know when your life is rolling along.... you have friends, family, work. Then suddenly everything changes. You are left standing in your life - unsure of how to take the next step. Maybe you lose your job, a loved one passes, a relationship changes. It could be anything.
That was me a few months ago. I found myself left feeling empty and lost. What I created from that disorienting state was space and time for me to figure it all out. By "it" I do mean, my life..... One day, I realized I had actually lost myself long ago. It took having my world turned upside down to learn it - but it was true.
Always one to make a splash, I jumped back into life - a full-on cannon ball! I knew I needed to live big, to be big. This was the courage that resulted in my volunteer trip. A friend best described it as my "eat, pray, love" moment, a journey for the human experience.
Why should you support me? In truth, you don't have to. I will love you all the same. Maybe you'd rather donate directly to an elephant organization or take a volunteer trip yourself- If that's the case - go for it! However, maybe just maybe you donate $10, $25, or even $50! Please know that with every donation that person is changing the trajectory of my life - and from there.... possibly the world. It's the butterfly effect.... you just never know. AND - with every donation you support the Surin Project - you free an elephant from a life in chains. That's karma.
If you are receiving this it's because at some point in time, our paths crossed. Your life touched mine, and I yours. Now, I hope to touch the lives of others and spread that love. Along the way, I hope to learn a little more about me and about the most fundamental of experiences - being human.
love & elephants
erin
..................................................................................
Hello Friends,
This summer has been a renaissance for me. In April, I realized that I could be living a much fuller, larger and joyful life. In May, a dear friend gave me the idea to go off and work with elephants - I thought he was crazy. Five days later that crazy idea was a reality. I created the possibility and then took appropriate actions - it really works!
On July 18th, I will board a plane headed for Thailand where I will spend the next few weeks volunteering my time and energy in Surin. I will be working with the elephants as well as helping to empower the Mahouts (elephant wranglers/owners). The idea is that through volunteerism, positive elephant tourism will support the community without the Mahouts returning their elephants to street begging and performing (a practice that reduces the elephants life span by 50%).
This voluntourism (did I just coin that??) helps to free the chains of Surin's elephants and support their Mahouts and families. Elephants are very emotional animals - could you imagine spending your life chained to a fence? Me neither.
This is why I need your help. This fundraising campaign is to help me cover only the direct out of pocket expenses (volunteer fees and airfare). If more than the goal amount is raised I will work with my project coordinators to properly donate any extra money directly to the Surin Project. This is about the elephants and their communities - therefore, no donation is too small or too large.
Plus I gotta say - I just really love elephants - there is something so wise and majestic about them. Stay in touch! I will be blogging about my travels and experiences - follow me: these irish eyes
To give credit where credit is due, the above video was created by Galia Osmo and is widely used by The Surin Project as well as Travellers Worldwide. Who and what are these organizations? The Surin Project is the NGO with whom Travellers Worldwide works. Travellers is the volunteer abroad organization that I am working with to go to Thailand. The video is succinct - it really drives the point home.
Please donate and please share this. The fate of the elephants is in all our hands.
Thank you!
Erin
{sorry for the double email - the first was an error.. user error}
Hello! It was brought to my attention that the reasons I chose to go to Thailand were not very clear. Yes I LOVE elephants - that is a huge part of it. But not all of it......
You know when your life is rolling along.... you have friends, family, work. Then suddenly everything changes. You are left standing in your life - unsure of how to take the next step. Maybe you lose your job, a loved one passes, a relationship changes. It could be anything.
That was me a few months ago. I found myself left feeling empty and lost. What I created from that disorienting state was space and time for me to figure it all out. By "it" I do mean, my life..... One day, I realized I had actually lost myself long ago. It took having my world turned upside down to learn it - but it was true.
Always one to make a splash, I jumped back into life - a full-on cannon ball! I knew I needed to live big, to be big. This was the courage that resulted in my volunteer trip. A friend best described it as my "eat, pray, love" moment, a journey for the human experience.
Why should you support me? In truth, you don't have to. I will love you all the same. Maybe you'd rather donate directly to an elephant organization or take a volunteer trip yourself- If that's the case - go for it! However, maybe just maybe you donate $10, $25, or even $50! Please know that with every donation that person is changing the trajectory of my life - and from there.... possibly the world. It's the butterfly effect.... you just never know. AND - with every donation you support the Surin Project - you free an elephant from a life in chains. That's karma.
If you are receiving this it's because at some point in time, our paths crossed. Your life touched mine, and I yours. Now, I hope to touch the lives of others and spread that love. Along the way, I hope to learn a little more about me and about the most fundamental of experiences - being human.
love & elephants
erin
..................................................................................
Hello Friends,
This summer has been a renaissance for me. In April, I realized that I could be living a much fuller, larger and joyful life. In May, a dear friend gave me the idea to go off and work with elephants - I thought he was crazy. Five days later that crazy idea was a reality. I created the possibility and then took appropriate actions - it really works!
On July 18th, I will board a plane headed for Thailand where I will spend the next few weeks volunteering my time and energy in Surin. I will be working with the elephants as well as helping to empower the Mahouts (elephant wranglers/owners). The idea is that through volunteerism, positive elephant tourism will support the community without the Mahouts returning their elephants to street begging and performing (a practice that reduces the elephants life span by 50%).
This voluntourism (did I just coin that??) helps to free the chains of Surin's elephants and support their Mahouts and families. Elephants are very emotional animals - could you imagine spending your life chained to a fence? Me neither.
This is why I need your help. This fundraising campaign is to help me cover only the direct out of pocket expenses (volunteer fees and airfare). If more than the goal amount is raised I will work with my project coordinators to properly donate any extra money directly to the Surin Project. This is about the elephants and their communities - therefore, no donation is too small or too large.
Plus I gotta say - I just really love elephants - there is something so wise and majestic about them. Stay in touch! I will be blogging about my travels and experiences - follow me: these irish eyes
To give credit where credit is due, the above video was created by Galia Osmo and is widely used by The Surin Project as well as Travellers Worldwide. Who and what are these organizations? The Surin Project is the NGO with whom Travellers Worldwide works. Travellers is the volunteer abroad organization that I am working with to go to Thailand. The video is succinct - it really drives the point home.
Please donate and please share this. The fate of the elephants is in all our hands.
Thank you!
Erin
Organizer
Erin Fallon
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
