My 2 Kiwi Wishes for Children – Giving U™
#1 – My Whoopsie Wish
As I went through customs in Auckland, I made a bush-league maneuver. See, as I was leaving Nadi, Fiji, the airline rep told me they had ticketed my bag all the way through to Christchurch, so I blew right through customs when I disembarked and headed to the domestic terminal to meet my connecting flight. So fast!
Actually not so fast, because when I tried to check in, I discovered my bag was still on the carousel at international baggage claim. It was quite the process to have the mistake corrected – especially since I wasn’t allowed to re-enter the immigration area. (Remember, you always clear customs and immigration at your first port of entry! Doh!)
In the end, someone from Air New Zealand had to pull my bag for me, then it went through a special “full bag search” before I finally got it back 1.5 hrs later. I then had to literally run for my connecting flight and ended up boarding with only minutes to spare. I realize it was my own fault – and so lame for a travel pro!
As I sat back in my seat with the in-flight magazine, I read about the Make-a-Wish organization’s “I Wish I Hadn’t” campaign where you share your personal whoopsie and make a donation to help a child’s wish come true. I thought my bag incident qualified quite nicely so I made a small donation. You can share your whoopsie and donate too!
#2 – My Plumpy’nut Wish
Tooling around Christchurch, I wandered into the Save The Children’s store. I have absolutely no room in my luggage (note: 1 bag for 2 years), so I wasn’t really shopping, until I spied these Save The Children Wish Certificates.
There were about 20 certificates in which to choose — from buying a family a yak to kids’ education sets to packets of seeds for farmers.
I decided to buy a week’s supply of Plumpy’nut, a special high-protein, high-energy peanut butter for severely malnourished children. I bought one week’s supply for about US$15 – Nice!
Interested in shopping at Save The Children? You can purchase a Wish Certificate online throughthe UK organization. Check it out today!
Making Wishes Come True
Both my travel mishap and non-shopping expedition turned into something truly worthwhile in the end. Which just goes to show, in life there are no wasted opportunities! Please join me in making a few wishes come true!
Tags: Erin Michelson, GoErinGo.com, Make-a-Wish, Save The Children
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 6th, 2011 and is filed under The Giving Guide.