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Please excuse the following rare, but important holiday season message!
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Originally Posted by 1leglance 

Jay, please take this in the way it is intended…
But you guys are SUPER LUCKY when it really comes down to it…

YES – you are right! We feel incredibly lucky, in so many ways: We could have rolled. Someone could have rammed into us. We could have rolled on top of another car, We could have been in the mountains, or the Redwoods, or one of the thousand other places we’ve been over the past year that a Big Rig Tow Truck would not be coming to get us.

But you know what? There’s actually a bigger reason that we’re lucky, and are taking this whole thing in stride. And that is, that we know that we’re so fortunate to be able to even explore this amazing planet and spend our days making a positive difference in the world in some way.

Not to sound like a commercial (sorry!) but you can too…

Several of the readers of this thread have taken up the challenge to commit a few days during their next expedition to volunteer their time to help a local entrepreneur, a group of street kids, or even local artists in the communities they’re visiting.

The easiest way to make a difference is to support the efforts of the overland travelers who have already run Photography Workshops in 2010.

Please click on the link / covers below to take a look at (and hopefully order!) one of our 2011 calendars.

All of the images were taken by the kids during one of the Muskoka Foundation Photography workshops this year, run by our volunteers, including Overland Journal contributor Ann Lockley.

100% of the profits go to the children who took the photos.

Please forward this to your friends, every dollar makes a difference in these kids lives.

Thank you all for your support over the past year, and especially during this ‘challenging’ time in the EcoRoamer.

Thank you so much also, to all the overlanders and portal members who helped out by volunteering during their expeditions this year!