During forty-five-year-old Eileen Badder's group trip to the Marche region of Italy, she walked from village to village over hills dotted with vineyards, sunflower fields and fig trees. She slept in family-owned pensiones and feasted on traditional meals like tagliatelle with grilled rabbit. But her five-day, fifty-mile walk provided a bonus beyond exercise and culture: this journey was arranged by For a Cause, a nonprofit outfitter that helped Badder raise $2,300 in pledges for the breast-cancer organization Y-Me.
For a Cause was founded in 2006 by Robert Webber, who had participated in fifteen charity biking events before starting his own cycling and, later, walking fundraising tours. "I'd lost many friends to AIDS and wanted to do something more," says Webber. The money-raising adventures are combined with European vacations to Italy, Spain, Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands and include nights in historic castles and visits to lesser-known areas.
Seven-day journeys start at $1,200, and the company asks participants to raise a minimum of $1,000. Badder, a New York assistant vice president at a global brokerage firm, is now addicted to the concept. "It's a great way to take a vacation and make a difference," she says. 773-960-4365; rfac.org.
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