I guess I feel like Marsha in the regard that I don't want to do volunteering on vacation. Some folks organized for people that wanted to, to bring school supplies for some needy school on the Carnival Dream. I forget which island it was. I thought that was a great thing to do.
I can see it now - RCI has a tour that plants shrubs. Carnival can start offering their own voluntour which is "to help the Cozumel Red Cross by clearing brush from around their building".
I don't want to belittle the Red Cross on Cozumel, but what helps them more - spending $50 on a tour to plant a bush, and after the costs of the plants and transportation are deducted the charity gets what's left, or taking it on your self to simply walk up to the Red Cross and hand them $50?
I was googling them and they are more concerned about getting medical supplies for their ambulances. Pack a couple boxes of surgeons gloves and donate them.
Originally posted by Luv2Cruise2007:
Our family would volunteer for sure.
I'd certianly think about doing it too. While my skills are not very relevant to disaster relief I think there can be a benefit to actually trying to help. I understand the other comments about getting skilled help and that's Ok too.
Dave, you seem angry at the idea of helping others. Again, it's not for everyone (obviously not for you). I am just saying that for my family, we would volunteer. I am pretty sure that planting flowers is not the only activity. I would pick up garbage or whatever needed to be done to help out. That's just me...I certainly wouldn't ask anyone else is does not want to do it to help.
I'm not angry about helping and let's not start making personal observations about each other.
My issue is with the value-add of these tours. The tours are not customizable. They are controlled as to what you do and how long you have to do it. Read the Cozumel tour details HERE.
As I said previously, would the Red Cross prefer a new tourist-planted shrub and whatever money was left over from the tour, or would they want the whole $50 where they could hire locals to do the landscaping and have a likely higher quality job and more money left over for their coffers? Plus it adds to the local economy.
Granted, these tours provide a rallying point for those so inclined, as well as "good corporate citizen" points for the cruise line.
I'll be in Cozumel next month on a Carnival cruise. Just so nobody thinks I am an evil malcontent I'll drop by the Red Cross and make a $50 donation on behalf of cruise-chat. That way I can't even take the tax deduction.
Rather than take away from my time adding to the Cozumel economy by visiting a beach and having lunch and drinks at Pancho's Backyard, I decided to do the $50 donation now to the U.S. based "Friends Of Cruz Roja Cozumel". I just completed the PayPal transaction. A pdf of the receipt and thank-you note are available on request. It was on behalf of the cruise-chat.com members.
Hello from Cozumel and thank you so much for your donation! What a nice surprise! Your ENTIRE donation will buy elastic bandages and roll gauze in the USA -- to be brought down via our tourist burro network.
RCCL approached us and asked if there was anything tourists could do to help. Since we're primarily staffed by medical pros and our building is brand new -- freshly painted and tiled -- we couldn't think of anything foreigners might do for us inside, Of course, we'll give the tour and explain what we're about...
The planting idea is ours. The foundation plantings are installed but we have quite a bit of bare street frontage. (The building is on a corner, marked by a large, concrete, red cross.) The $50 fees will be used to buy plants and soil to beautify the property along the main street and, hopefully, add a pretty bed around the big cross. We will dig the holes in the coral before you arrive! And rest assured, we plan for those plantings to be permanent.
In any case, hope you have a chance to visit and enjoy our Isla!
y muchos gracias!!!
All Best,
Deb Bollag
Friends of Cruz Roja Cozumel in the USA &
Member, Consejo Local, Cruz Roja Mexicana IAP in Cozumel, MX
Welcome to cruise-chat, Deb. And thanks for the information. I hope I didn't offend you with my remarks. I am always suspicious about this type of thing, anytime a big corporation is involved you have to wonder exactly how much is really going to the charity. It is interesting that RCI approached you, and not the other way around.
I was happy to make the donation and perhaps others might consider it too. I know if I were to be injured while in Cozumel I'd like to know I had a well-staffed and well-stocked ambulance available to help me. This is why I think cash donations are more usable since you know what you need, and which brands you prefer.
I might make this an annual thing for us to do. After all, Cozumel is my most favorite place in the Caribbean.
Hello from Cozumel and thank you so much for your donation! What a nice surprise! Your ENTIRE donation will buy elastic bandages and roll gauze in the USA -- to be brought down via our tourist burro network.
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