BackpACS Launch and Website Orientation:
First of all, we are so excited to finally have this group on the go! We have our first event this Monday February 1st at 6:30pm in Kerr Hall East. There will be free food…(diverse in nature of course), travel talks by seasoned speakers, and a friendly environment where you can ask questions get solid advise and tap into unique and valuable resources right here at home. We will also be announcing an upcoming contest that will give away even more awesome prizes! Become part of our network and we believe you will be on a flight to somewhere, sometime soon.
Our Philosophy:
Travel is one of the most important things you will ever do in your life. Not just for yourself, but for others. Traveling breaks down cultural barriers and can put your life in a refreshing perspective. Whatever your reason for doing it, we don’t care – we just insist on one thing…that you do it! Whether you want to sip margaritas in Mexico, learn to roll sushi in Japan, help build houses in Guatemala or just simply immerse yourself in another culture…. We are an excellent place to begin! You never know what you’ll discover in the vast network of Ryerson travel links….however….we will need YOUR help building it!!!
WANTED: Country Profiles, Pictures, Advice, Tips, Stories & Contacts & “Other”…
We are looking to YOU….yeah YOU Ryersonian…. We are looking to you to help your fellow student travelers “plug-in” to the world of travel. We are seeking mini profiles of places you’ve visited that may include what you liked or didn’t like, what you ate, what you did, if you’d recommend it to others, articles, links, pictures…whatever your heart desires! Share your experience with us and you never know who you could inspire. And if it is possible, please provide us with a contact name so students can get advice from you personally.
Our Game Plan:
Ryerson has many untapped travel resources, so we are building a data base of them in our Ryerson Links section to help YOU take full advantage of your university experience and tuition fees. Ryerson has a plethora of traveling connections….the opportunities are soooooo much closer than you think! Trust US!
The Travel Links tab will be updated with travel related websites that a BackpACS member or Ryerson student found to be useful and reputable. From booking hostels to researching volunteer opportunities, backpACS.ca will help you tap into resources that can help you get started planning a trip on a budget or planning a trip with a purpose.
If you’ve ever wanted to volunteer abroad this is also a great place for you to start. BackpACS is closely related to Ryerson’s Alternative Spring Break programme (ASB) that has researched and worked with a variety of international organisations that also offer individual volunteer placements. Students looking to volunteer abroad should also visit the Ryerson International webpage for information on international experience opportunities and various grants that students can apply for. Faculty of Arts students can check out the Student Experience Centre that not only has available grant money, but human resources too! Most recently in this section we posted links to a Canadian organisation that is recruiting volunteers for placements in Haiti; you can find this link under Country Profiles/Central America/Haiti.
Country Profiles
The country profile section is a superb place to begin research for your trip. First see if there are any Ryerson connections there. As of now…these options are minimal. However, you will find unique connections to Kenya and Malawi. You will also find links to Foreign Affairs Canada and the countries own tourism website.
Please note that covering every country in the world is a work in progress. We apologize if a country of interest has not yet been covered. But if YOU can contribute to this bank of experience we NEED to hear from you. Email us at www.asbryerson.org and you could have your past adventure profiled on this site and saved to the data base!
Make sure to join our Facebook group! Our user name is: backpACS – TRAVEL. Live. Learn.
That’s it for now… Let us know if you have any ideas, thoughts or moments of intense travel relations revelations! Happy Travelling!
