Rebecca Rothney – Founder of Pack for a Purpose

We had the chance to speak with Rebecca Rothney about the organization she founded: Pack for a Purpose. This organization helps you have a big impact on your travels by using a small amount of space in your luggage to pack supplies needed by community projects worldwide. Let’s jump into the interview!

Can you tell us about yourself and why you founded Pack for a Purpose?

I took my first overseas trip at age 11, and my undying love of travel was born! In the 60 years since then, I have travelled to more than 45 countries and all 7 continents.

My husband and I, Scott, were married in Antarctica 21 years ago. Giving back to the community was instilled in me at a very early age by my parents. My mother always required us to take a hostess gift to express gratitude for someone’s hospitality. This has been a constant throughout my life and is one of the founding principles of Pack for a Purpose.

The other founding principle was to eliminate logistical issues for travellers. For me, Pack for a Purpose is a way to express your appreciation to the people of the country you are visiting.

The idea for Pack for a Purpose evolved from my travels in Africa with my husband, Scott. On our second trip, we had the opportunity to visit an elementary school. Working with Wilderness Safaris to find out what supplies were most needed, we took 150 pounds of supplies to the children at the school.

Seeing the students playing with the soccer balls, and watching the principal’s joy when she saw the rulers, as there were not any at the school, was a powerful experience for us.

Over several more trips with friends and by ourselves, we managed to take more than 2000 additional pounds of supplies. On our trip to Kenya, I asked their travel agent in the states, “Why don’t all your guests use the extra space in their luggage for this?” “Because they don’t think about it,” was his reply. That was my aha moment.

I knew that taking large amounts of supplies required a great deal of time and logistical cooperation with the accommodation or touring company. I felt I needed to develop a simpler and more direct way for travellers to take supplies where they were going.

By asking travellers to pack 5 pounds (2.27 kgs.) of supplies, everyday travellers could easily get involved without the need for logistical support. That amount would take only a small space, require little effort, and still make a big impact.

In the last 10 years, travellers have taken over 194,140 kgs (427,108 pounds) of supplies meeting essential needs in over 60 countries.

What is the vision for Pack for a Purpose?

The first vision for Pack for a Purpose is that it becomes a “household” term for travellers. We want every traveller to be aware of our website and how easy it is to make their travels more meaningful. We hope to continue to grow as we have in the past, to include more countries and accommodations and tour companies going forward.

The next most important vision is to move from an all-volunteer organization to a sustainable model with two full-time employees. Pack for a Purpose could continue to grow and spread its outreach farther than ever before with a staff of two.

What is the one thing about your brand that you are most proud of?

With a small team of amazing volunteers, we created a global brand, growing Pack for a Purpose from 27 accommodations in 10 countries to over 450 accommodations and tour companies in 60 countries in 10 years.

How can we support and/or get involved with your company?

There are several ways to support Pack for a Purpose, which can be found here or on our website. Once it is safe to travel again, travellers can get involved by visiting our website to see if we have participating accommodations and tour companies at their destination.

Then you simply need to follow the steps at this link, knowing the trip you take will go farther than the miles you travel. Our FAQ is also a valuable source of information. By taking the supplies which are requested directly by the projects, your generosity will be truly meaningful. When you deliver a requested stethoscope, which weighs less than a kilo, it can touch 10,000 hearts.   

Contact Information

Learn more about the position by contacting Pack for a Purpose here.

If you’re already convinced about improving the world, you can submit your volunteer application here.

I hope that you enjoyed our interview with Rebecca Rothney. If you know of an organization that we should feature (maybe it is your organization), please let us know in the comments below or https://www.truetravellers.org/we-want-to-feature-your-organization/.

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