Text & Photos: Julie Schwietert Collazo

Francisco and I are always interested in people who are able to transform an amazing idea into an even more amazing project that makes a tangible, positive difference in people’s lives.

So we’re proud to be participating in Passports With Purpose, which starts today and runs through the end of December.

Passports with Purpose is the idea of four travel bloggers who got together for coffee and a chat about how they wanted to use the blogging platform to support a cause they all cared about.

A few hours later, they’d mapped out a plan: they’d contact their readers, fellow bloggers, former employers, and other people in their vast networks, and engage them to participate in a raffle, with all proceeds going to the organization, Heifer International.

Heifer International is a cause we’re happy to get behind, as the organization is committed to ending hunger through sustainable, poverty-fighting practices.

All the prizes in the Passports with Purpose raffle are donated, all raffle tickets cost $10, and all transactions take place online through the site First Giving.

Right now, 49 different prize packs, ranging in value from $20 to more than $400, are up for grabs; raffle winners will be drawn on December 29 and notified on December 30.

To support the project, Francisco is offering a cooking class and dinner for four to raffle participants from New York City!

If you didn’t already know this, Francisco is a private chef. This year alone he has cooked his way around Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and New York, teaching cooking classes or making amazing meals in kitchens as diverse as the Whole Foods Culinary Center, Villa Sevilla, Casa Amarilla , and the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

To win, just visit this page and look for the code that matches Francisco’s prize pack. Then, make your donation through First Giving, and be sure to enter that code!

Questions? Leave a note in the comments below!