Good deeds for causes in need

BECAUSE many Americans make their charitable contributions during the holiday season, each year at this time I mention several worthwhile nonprofit organizations that perform valuable service in the travel industry. Each accepts tax-deductible contributions.

Wilderness Inquiry, 808 14th Ave. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55414; (800) 728-0719, www.wildernessinquiry.org, enables disabled people to go on adventure trips by inviting able-bodied volunteers to join them. On canoeing expeditions, treks and other active vacations, groups consist of disabled and able-bodied people, the latter assisting their less-mobile fellow travelers. Charges are kept low by the contributions that others make to this nationwide tour program.

U.S. Servas, 1125 16th St., Suite 201, Arcata, CA 95521-5585; (707) 825-1714, www.usservas.org, hopes to promote world peace by encouraging travelers to mingle, converse and stay with foreign residents on vacation trips. It registers people willing to accommodate foreign visitors free in their homes and registers others desiring to enjoy such home-stays. The organization defrays administrative expenses through contributions, among other funds.

Wilderness Volunteers, P.O. Box 22292, Flagstaff, AZ 86002; (928) 556-0038, www.wildernessvolunteers.org, sends youthful volunteers (mostly people in their 20s to 40s) into the forest areas of America’s national and state parks and other public lands, mainly to repair the damage done by heedless visitors. Wilderness volunteers restore hiking trails, clean up debris and fire sites, plant trees and take inventory of plant and wildlife species. And although the volunteer pays a charge (in 2007, it will be $239) for the weeklong stint, most of the other costs of Wilderness Volunteers are covered by grants and contributions.

SATH, the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality, 347 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10016; (212) 447-7284, www.sath.org, is the chief U.S. representative for disabled travelers. The organization, which will hold its 11th World Congress in Miami from Jan. 10 to 13, lobbies for disabled people seeking to travel. It also supplies information on travel programs and facilities for disabled people and fights to make travel facilities accessible to them.

Hostelling International, Colesville Road, Suite 600, Silver Spring, MD 20910; (301) 495-1240, www.hiayh.org, operates low-cost lodgings (known as hostels) in America and around the world, charging nominal amounts for dorm beds and rooms. Hostels are now open to people of all ages and are often patronized by middle-age and elderly travelers when younger people are in school. The organization enables a great many people to travel who otherwise could not do so, and it depends on grants and contributions for a large part of its expenses. And keep in mind that hostels aren’t just lodgings; they are often warm gathering places where people of different races, religions, ages and incomes mix and converse.

American Hiking Society, 422 Fenwick Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20910; (301) 565-6704, www.americanhiking.org, is a nonprofit that battles the degradation of our nation’s hiking trails. To that end, it offers one- and two-week volunteer vacations during which its participants pull weeds, remove fences, dig trenches and perform other useful tasks in some of the country’s loveliest national parks. Like the other organizations listed here, this group relies partly on donations from individuals and businesses.