If you have not heard of Pack for a Purpose, you are not alone. Until recently, I was not aware of this organization either.  Let's face it, there are some amazing organizations doing some fantastic actions for people of this word and it is hard to keep up with all these wonderful efforts.

Here is a bit of information about this incredible organization: Basically, Pack for a Purpose enables you to make a difference when you are traveling to other countries. Pack for a Purpose takes your donation of school supplies and/or books that a vacationer would bring from home packed into their suitcase. They then distribute the donations to the communities in need they work with.

I realize how fortunate my family is to live in the United States. In fact, we live in one of the most populated areas of our nation and are very fortunate to have libraries, museums, culture and every store you could possibly image to purchase whatever our 'little hearts desire'. Children in other parts of the world are not as lucky as we are. Some children do not even have access to a libraries or a book store.

The Sandals Foundation works closely with the Pack for a Purpose organization to assist vacationers who travel to the Caribbean and want to bring their donations. And that is exactly what my family did recently on our trip to Turks & Caicos. We travel to the Caribbean for the Social Media on the Sand Conference at the Beaches Resort on the island of Turks & Caicos.

Each attendee was tasked to bring a backpack loaded with school supplies, books, toys, medical supplies and/or sports equipment. I'm going to say that again for emphasis . . . Each. Attendee. Brought. A. Filled. Backpack!!

ISN'T THIS AMAZING?!

My heart was overflowing that morning seeing this table overflowing with donations for the children of Turks & Caicos. It was amazing to see how much was going to be donated to a local school.

My children helped me pack our Pack for a Purpose backpack prior to our departure to the island and it WAS stuffed. I almost could not even zip it up. I know I was over the 5 pound limit. My children are home educated and we have supplies . . . oh, boy do we have supplies. 

My children were like kids in a candy store going through our bins and boxes of supplies, books and manipulatives. I had a number of activities that I had purchased and had not yet used and my kids decided they wanted to donate all these math manipulatives and reading aides, as well as new school supplies and new books we had yet to read.

I loved that my children were very involved with packing the Pack for a Purpose backpack for the Sandals Foundation. This little backpack was such a simple and easy way for my family to make a small difference. My children were actively involved in giving back. My children were excited to select the items for our backpack donation and they really could see the difference they could make and create a better learning environment for other children.

All the attendees at the Social Media on the Sand Conference worked together to make a difference. It was amazing to be a part of this wonderful event.

Disclosure: I was invited to the Social Media on the Sand conference. I was not compensated in any manner for this trip. All my opinions are my own. Images provided by Sandals and used with permission