One day while I was scouring the Internet for things to do while in our trip to Costa Rica, I came across Pack for a Purpose. To be honest, I do not remember where I found it or what I was searching, but I visited their website and started to read about people who had donated through this great organization. I looked at the locations in Costa Rica that we’re accepting donations and found a hotel listed in an area not too far from where we were staying, I decided that I was going to try to bring what I could to help.
My girlfriend and I were going to be backpacking around Costa Rica, and because of that I knew that our space would be limited in our bags, so we we made the best of the room we had, and cut out anything we had already packed that wasn’t completely necessary. The Monteverde Conservation league was the group we were going to be donating to through the Hotel Belmar in Monteverde. They work to conserve tropical ecosystems and biodiversity within those ecosystems and do so through the Children’s Eternal Rainforest in Monteverde, a very large environmental preserve. Not only that, but they focus a great deal on environmental education as well.
For that reason, we decide to bring school supplies. In our small bags we were able to fit a school bag, pencils, pens, erasers, pencil sharpeners, dry-erase markers, glue sticks, and a couple pencil cases.
When we arrived in Monteverde, we looked up where we would need to go in order to drop off our stuff. Once we found it on the map, we made the 40 minute uphill hike to Hotel Belmar from where we were staying, which was worth it for the views and new animals we saw on the way.
When we arrived, the hotel graciously accepted our donation and we happily made our decent back, feeling a bit lighter, and glad that we had been able to find our destination.
We would highly recommend Packing for a Purpose, no matter the space you have in your bags, it is very easy to do and will surely help someone in need.