Q
&
A
HowdidThePassportPartyProject start?
“It was oneofmydreams toempower girls
fromdiverse cultural backgrounds through
travel. I had aprogram calledCampCaribe,
which tookgirls to theU.S. Virgin Islands.Out
of the 10girlswhowent,maybeonehad a
passport.And then I learned that of themore
than 318millionpeople living in theUnited
States, about 38percent have a validpassport.
It planted a seed.Whydidn’t I just buypass-
ports for abunchof girls? I gathered agroup
fromOakland, took them toAlameda to spend
theday talking about travel, and I gave them
money for passports.”
What’s thehurdle to travel?
“Inunderserved communities— thosegroups,
cultural or otherwise, that don’t typicallyget
their fair shareofwhat theAmericandreamhas
tooffer— the concept of international travel
is seen as a luxury, while inother communities,
international travel for teens is awayof life.
Basicnecessities like food, shelter, clothing
and saving for collegeor a trade school trump
flights around theworld, global exploration
and inmany cases, service toothers.”
How important is travel inachild’s life?
“It’s likehaving aglobal permission slip that
says: ‘Theworld is yours, andwith it youhave
anopportunity to seewhat theworldhas to
offer.’ At aminimum, travel for youngpeople
plants seeds basedon theexperience. At best,
travel can changehow children think about
other people, other cultures and theworld.”
Wheredoyou seeyourself and theproject
headed?
“Going forward, the sky is the limit. In spite
of any funding, partial sponsorships or travel
gifts theproject has received in thepast, I
needmore funding andmore sponsorships
andmore travel gifts to continue togetmore
girls on the road. I have always spentmyown
money and alwayswill, so this project isn’t
going anywhere. It ismy legacy. I’m always
moving forward.”
–
JILL K
.
ROBINSON
Inspiring
Future
Travelers
Herownwalletand
communitysavvyhelped
TraceyFrileyopenup
theworldof travel forgirls
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,RESIDENT
TraceyFrileybeganThePassport PartyProject
as a riteof passage for underservedAmericangirls from ages 11 to 15. The fun and informative
global-awareness initiativehas not onlygivengirls their veryfirst passports, it has alsohelped
to create agrowing communityof responsibleglobal citizens. Frileywas recognized in 2013 as a
NationalGeographicTraveler
Traveler of theYear— someonewho travelswithpassion andpurpose
andhas amotivation that can inspireus all.Go to
Passportpartyproject.org
to learnmore.
34
SEPTEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
PHOTO
JONATHAN B I ELASKI
