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Outside Magazine February 2005

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Destinations: Adventure Altruism
Giving Large (cont.)


	Kayaking with Brad Ludden and young adults with cancer (courtesy, First Descents)

Brad Ludden
First Descents
970-476-9400 | www.firstdescents.org
Pro kayaker Brad Ludden started his First Descents kayak camp for young adults with cancer in 2001, after realizing how much the sport had helped a friend learn to deal with the disease. Participants spend a week paddling, fishing, hiking, biking, and riding horses in Colorado's Vail Valley—and leave with greater confidence, courage, and patience.

Medicines Global
310-556-0809 | www.medicinesglobal.org
"Can you imagine what it would be like if every traveler going into Africa took

"We are out to get everybody who is doing adventure travel to give back," says Janice Belson, who heads up Medicines Global. Her strategy: Convince adventure travelers to pack extra medical supplies and drop them off at clinics around the world.

one tube of antibacterial cream?" Janice Belson wonders aloud. If it seems like an unusual fantasy, consider that the 62-year-old's fledgling organization has helped distribute nearly $2.5 million in medical supplies to hospitals and village health posts worldwide since 1999. The strategy: Convince adventure travelers to pack an extra first-aid kit to drop off at a clinic in need. So far, hundreds have heeded the call, shuttling everything from Band-Aids to brand-name antibiotics. This month, Belson will embark on a three-week expedition with four South-Central Los Angeles high school students, bringing more than $1 million in pharmaceuticals to Sri Lanka.

Greg Mortenson
Central Asia Institute
877-585-7841 | www.ikat.org
Mountaineer Greg Mortenson cofounded this Bozeman, Montana–based nonprofit in 1996 to promote education and literacy in Central Asia—especially among women. To date, he's helped build more than 40 schools, which serve 21,000 students in northern Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mountain Travel Sobek
888-687-6235 | www.mtsobek.com
To encourage ecotourism that benefits regional economies, Mountain Travel Sobek has teamed up with the Nature Conservancy to teach river-guiding skills to locals along the Yangtze River, in China's Yunnan Province. The 36-year-old adventure-travel company regularly contributes money to organizations like the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Earth Action Institute.

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