Fans of NPR may have caught an interesting story on "Selfish Giving" this morning. In this season of giving, the story explores whether giving that is not purely unselfish is moral. The story focuses heavily on cause marketing, where companies give to charity in order to sell more products, and suggests that giving and volunteering are the latest fad. But at the end, referring to students padding their college applications, the story asks "Is the high school senior who is volunteering in Costa Rica really making a difference in the life of sea turtles?"
In this economy, with non-profits cutting staff and services, we think that any reason that encourages people or companies to support social causes is a good one. SEE Turtles wouldn't exist without the support of socially conscious companies like Endangered Species Chocolate and Nature's Path, and those companies are successful because their customers want to support environmentally-minded businesses. Our project is based on the premise that many travelers want to do good while having fun and prefer operators who leave a positive impact on the locations where they send people.
From personal experience, I first went to volunteer with sea turtles in Costa Rica after graduating from college as a way to gain experience in the conservation field and build my resume. I wanted to help both the turtles and my career prospects and accomplished both. Yes, volunteering can help a young person get a job or into college. But it also helps small conservation groups cover long stretches of nesting beaches and brings in critical income to coastal communities. If helping sea turtles becomes a fashionable thing, its certainly better than the latest smart phone...
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