We, a far-flung group of travel writers under the leadership of the 4 cupcakes from Seattle–Pam Mandel, Debbie Dubrow, Beth Whitman and Michelle Duffy, have contributed to Heifer International, built a school in Cambodia, and built a village in India. Travel writers, like all travelers, tend to see both the beautiful sights of the world and the areas of need. Because we are so fortunate to be able to travel, some of us want to give back to the world.

TODAY the Participating Bloggers will simultaneously announce the beginning of this year’s bidding at Passports With Purpose.

NOW we are building two libraries in Zambia. Each year the 4 cupcakes get together and consider worthy projects. Each project partners with a well-vetted organization–this year it is Room to Read. What could be more perfect for the readers of A Traveler’s Library, than to help build libraries in a far off place?  I know you are going to want to be part of Passports with Purpose this year. Just in case you somehow missed out on the past excursions into cyber-fun, here’s how it works.

1. Approximately 100 bloggers have spotted, requested, cajoled and sponsored gifts to be raffled off in a cyber raffle. At the end of this post you will see the THREE prizes being sponsored by A Traveler’s Library, but for Heaven’s sake, don’t limit yourself to those (although we think they are pretty nifty). Take a look at the entire list at the Passports With Purpose site.

2. When you have found a few of those great prizes that you simply can’t do without–or that would make great gifts for someone you love–“you pays your money and you takes your chance.” A mere $10 per chance means you could walk away with a prize worth more than $1,000. Bid $10 on each prize you want, or put all your chance on one coveted item.  For less than the price of most paperback books, you might be flying high, staying plush and dressing to kill. And NONE of the prizes is worth less than $100!

So bid whatever your budget will allow knowing that everyone wins here. At the very least you will get a warm fuzzy feeling because you’ve helped open up the world of books to some kids in Zambia. And since we know you love books, or you would not be HERE of all places–how cool is that?

3. Act quickly, because this raffle only lasts for two weeks. The final day for bidding is December 16, and we’ll tell you who won which prize just before Christmas.

And here are the PERFECT Raffle prizes for Travelers Who Read. I am so excited. You are gonna LOVE these prizes!

Hotel Monteleone

The wonderful Hotel Monteleone, my favorite hotel in New Orelans, is known as a Literary Landmark. So OF COURSE they are the perfect prize for an event raising money for libraries. For the third year in a row this gorgeous, family-owned hotel is offering a New Orleans vacation to one lucky contributor to Passports With Purpose. I always stay at the Hotel Monteleone when I am in New Orleans because I love being walking distance to the Mississippi, on  Royal Street with its fantastic shopping,  and right in the center of great jazz and fabulous food. I’m not alone–Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, even Ernest Hemingway have stayed there.

The Details: A Four-Day/ Three-Night Stay in deluxe accommodations as guests of the historic Hotel Monteleone located in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter. The $900 certificate is valid Sunday-Thursday nights. (Excludes Friday and Saturday nights and Special Events/ Blackout Dates.) The certificate includes room & tax charges.

 Interlink Publishing Group, Inc.

Another perfect tie-in to this year’s project–building libraries.  If you have read much of A Traveler’s Library, you know how much I love Interlink Publishing, specialists in inter-cultural books.  I even recommended them as a source for one of those Ten Perfect Gifts for Travelers Who Read.  With the gift certificate that Interlink is offering, you can buy enough books to keep you reading on every country on your wish list, or cook foods from every place you ever visited, or fiction to keep you entertained while you’re flying away on your travels.  You might even feel generous and turn this into gifts for the whole family.

The Details: Winner will receive an e-mail gift certificate for Interlink books worth  $300.  The choice is yours!

MacMillan Audio Books

We have reviewed some audio books here at A Traveler’s Library, because they are perfect companions on a road trip. And MacMillan Audio supplies most of our audio books, like a Louise Penney mystery, a Mary Kay Andrews romance and a C.J. Box thriller. At one stage in my life I drove from Tucson to Phoenix on a weekly basis and could not have survived that boring stretch of I-10 without a collection of audio books. A friend listens to them as she works out. Some people have their ear phones on as they do housework. Of course that only applies to people who actually DO housework, but I digress…

If you win the great prize offered by MacMillan Audio, you will have enough listening material for your next cross-country road trip, for sure.

The Details: The winner will receive a catalogue of MacMillan’s latest offerings, and the winner will be able to choose $100 worth of audio books. It is all up to you–fiction, non-fiction, educational or frivolous. You and your ears can have fun with your favorite literary form.

So that’s it from A Traveler’s Library for prizes for the Passports With Purpose fund raiser for libraries in Zambia. Now go check out what all the other prizes are, and then come back and tell us which ones you really, really want to win. We’ll be waiting.