Tue May 13 09:17:28 2003 Pacific Time
ADVISORY for Saturday, June 7 - Ticket Drawing at NYC Folk Concert
Unusual Prize at Center of Nonprofit Fundraising
Sweepstakes - Trip for Two to Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan; Proceeds to Benefit
Solar Electric Light Fund
WASHINGTON, May 13 (AScribe Newswire)
-- Even in an era of discount travel, five dollars is an exceptional price
for a trip for two to Bhutan, the Buddhist kingdom celebrated for its thought-provoking
commitment to Gross National Happiness.
But five dollars is exactly the suggested
per-ticket donation in a fundraising sweepstakes now being conducted by the
Solar Electric Light Fund, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that introduces
solar and other renewable energy to off-grid communities in the rural developing
world, including Bhutan. The trip, including airfare, has been donated by
the adventure travel company Geographic Expeditions of San Francisco, Calif.
Tickets are being offered both online
at www.self.org, and at concerts of the folk artist Dar Williams, currently
touring to promote her critically-acclaimed new album, "Beauty of the Rain."
The winning ticket will be drawn at Williams' June 7 concert in New York
City.
Williams learned of the Solar Electric
Light Fund (SELF) last year while visiting the remote Phobjikha Valley in
Bhutan. SELF will be providing household solar energy systems to farming
families in Phobjikha who want the safe, bright light of electricity, but
not the transmission wires of conventional electrification, which could entangle
endangered Black-Necked Cranes who nest in the valley each winter.
"SELF offers what is called 'appropriate
technology,'" observes Williams, "helping regions modernize in ways that
help preserve a sustainable way of life, not destroy it. And SELF does so
with the enthusiasm and sensitivity that international humanitarian work
requires. I'm delighted to lend my support."
"We are always looking for ways to help
improve the lives of the local people in Bhutan," comments Brent Olson, Himalayan
Regional Director for Geographic Expeditions. "Bhutan is one of our company's
signature destinations and it is a place very close to our hearts. The need
for power in the Phobjikha Valley is acute, but so is the need to provide
it in a way that is culturally and ecologically sensitive. SELF has a track
record that makes us confident it will be done right."
"Both Dar Williams and Geographic Expeditions
have been extraordinarily generous," says Robert Freling, executive director
of the Solar Electric Light Fund. "We are immensely blessed to have such
allies in our work helping the two billion people still without power on
our planet to leapfrog over older, more polluting means of electrification."
The winning ticket will be drawn at
Dar Williams' tour-capping performance at Town Hall in New York City on June
7. Sweepstakes tickets and more information about the sweepstakes, including
rules and deadlines, can be obtained online at www.self.org.
About the Solar Electric Light Fund
The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF)
helps rural, off-grid people in developing countries power a brighter future
through clean, renewable energy and modern communications. SELF's projects
are shaped by local priorities and led by local people - often women - and
address critical needs in homes, schools, clinics, agriculture, and microenterprise.
Formed in 1990, SELF has mounted high-impact projects in thirteen developing
nations. Its efforts and have earned honors including Mikhail Gorbachev's
Green Cross Millennium Award, selection as a Laureate in the 2002 Tech Museum
of Innovation Awards, and notice in diverse publications including The New
York Times, Foreign Affairs, Strategy + Business, WorldWatch, The Futurist,
and Science et Vie, as well as stories on CNN, CBS Radio, and NPR. Learn
more at www.self.org.
About Geographic Expeditions
One of the pioneers of adventure travel,
Geographic Expeditions operates worldwide, offering a varied roster of overland
tours, walking trips, treks and expeditionary voyages to the world's most
beguiling and "impossible to reach on one's own" places. GeoEx is noted for
small groups, expert leaders, and an intense passion for out-of-the-way travel.
It was named by Travel & Leisure as one of the 3 best travel companies
in the world.
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