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Elizabeth Davis
Rebecca Rothney, founder and chairperson of the nonprofit Pack for a Purpose, packs supplies in suitcases and bags to bring over to countries in need. Pack for a Purpose was started five years ago in Raleigh, which has now landed Rothney in the running for National Geographic Traveler's "Traveler of the Year." "We are going to Tanzania next. We've been to other African countries, but this will be our first time there," Rothney said.
When an email showed up in Rebecca Rothney’s inbox congratulating her for being one of 10 finalists for National Geographic Traveler’s Traveler of the Year award, she was both confused and honored.
Rothney, founder and chairperson for Raleigh-based nonprofit Pack for a Purpose, still does not know who nominated her for the award. Unable to send a personalized letter of thanks, she decided to do the next best thing by sending gratitude to the universe to the anonymous person because she said that is what her mother taught her to do.
Past
Until five years ago, Rothney and her husband Scott were avid travelers who used the extra space in their luggage to hold gifts for the country they were visiting. But on their trip to Kenya in 2008, Rothney sent an email to the lodge asking what the nearby clinic and school needed. The clinic asked for a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff because they did not have either. Rothney was shocked.
She then asked her friend Jan Karn, a retired nurse, for those two items, and within four days, she had two of each item to bring with her to Kenya. Rothney said she and her husband called their travel agent to ask if all of his clients bring gifts with them, but he said, “No, they don’t think about it.”
“That was shocking to me, quite honestly,” Rothney said. “I thought ‘Well gosh, why wouldn’t they think about it? But that’s OK; I will give them a way to think about it.’”
Rothney said her trip to Kenya helped her realize that she could help.
“Being kind to other people is certainly not a new, unique idea, right? I mean, come on,” Rothney said. “But we couldn’t find a place on the Internet at that time where it was formalized.”
According to Rothney, it took a year and a half from that point to get Pack for a Purpose up and running, but with the help of their web designer Erik Macenas and webmaster Justin Scheef, the organization went live.
Present
Rothney said she never imagined receiving such a prestigious award when she started Pack for a Purpose five years ago.
“It [being honored] was not in my wildest fantasy,” Rothney said. “We spend all of our time trying to focus on the mission, not applying for awards because we don’t have that much time yet.”
Rothney said she had a feeling that if she made it easy and convenient for people to help out, they would; but she never thought her organization would garner recognition in such a prestigious magazine.
“I am featured in National Geographic Traveler, and people who read National Geographic Traveler probably like to travel,” Rothney said jokingly. “So they would be good candidates for Pack for a Purpose.”
Rothney said the aspect she loves most about the award is that they describe the recipients as ordinary people, adding that she can’t stress enough how ordinary she is.
“There is nothing exceptional about me, and that should empower every reader out there, every student to know that even if you are ordinary, you can still do extraordinary things if you have passion and commitment,” Rothney said. “You can do extraordinary things, especially if you can talk other people into doing it.”
Rothney joked that she is happy to be “ordinary.”
“It does not require a particularly giant skill set to do something wonderful,” Rothney said. “And wonderful comes in all different kinds of sizes. Sometimes just making somebody smile that is having a terrible day is pretty wonderful.”
Rothney said it is hard to say exactly how many people have directly benefitted from the supplies brought by Pack for a Purpose travelers, but can judge their contribution according to the number of projects they have supported in addition to the weight of all the supplies that were donated.
There are 889 projects on the website, and from January to August of this year, Pack for a Purpose travelers brought 21,613.13 lbs. of supplies to countries they have visited, according to Rothney. Although this number is fluid, Rothney estimates that these supplies served about 510,759 people.
Rothney made a point to mention that she could not have accomplished all she has without all of the volunteers, including six interns from NC State, describing them as the blocks of the organization and herself as the connector.
Cameron Vandenboom, a senior in English, said she started interning at Pack for a Purpose in August through the English Internship Program.
“Rebecca Rothney is one of the most joyful, loving people I have ever met and truly has a passion for helping others,” Vandenboom said. “She is truly deserving of the award.”
Rothney was unable to describe her experience with Pack for a Purpose so far in one word.
“It is a joyful, satisfying, incredibly rewarding experience to know that in some small way, my existence on planet Earth has been a benefit to others,” Rothney said. “I mean that sincerely—I don’t want to be here just taking up space and resources until I’m dead.”
Future
Rothney said she would like to see Pack for a Purpose support community projects in the United States because there are places near us that would gratefully accept meaningful supplies.
“I would like for every traveler to have more of an opportunity to express their gratitude and graciousness to the community they are staying in,” Rothney said.
In the future, Rothney said she would like to see every accommodation, tour company, airline, railroad and cruise supporting a community project on the website, first on Earth and then she will “consider the galaxy.”