Whatever else gets packed for a trip to Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo, guests are encouraged to bring along their civic spirit and a heart of gold. The Resort recently partnered with its corporate ownership group, Peninsula Papagayo, to provide guests and incentive groups with streamlined opportunities to spread goodwill and good works through the region it calls home. Newly available to Resort guests, Growing Together was actually launched ahead of its time in 2001 by Peninsula Papagayo.

This new Resort programme presents guests with custom-designed volunteer experiences, from supporting local schools and environmental conservation efforts to donating backpacks filled with school supplies and even “adopting” local families during their stay. While Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica has long helped arrange philanthropic opportunities for guests hoping to take their travel to a more meaningful level, Growing Together takes the process a step further. This programme offers convenience and considerations that help volunteers better aid local beneficiaries.

Getting growing

The Growing Together Resort programme got off to a rousing start in January at our annual Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Incentive Partner Summit, an annual conference where incentive meeting planners advise Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts on the state of the incentive industry. Amid a long weekend of presentations, meetings and mixers, Summit delegates put talk into action at the Tablazo School in nearby Sardinal, a town of 30 households that include a number of Resort employees.

As the sun brightened the morning, some six-dozen Summit delegates boarded buses for the 50-minute drive to the Tablazo School, where 55 students, from kindergarten through sixth grade, are enrolled. Incentive planners and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts employees spent the better part of the day painting the school and putting up a fence – efforts that proved so rewarding the volunteers were moved to launch a fund to raise money for new desks and chairs for the school.

Guests take the lead

Volunteer experiences are customised by the Resort based upon each individual’s goals, budget and time. Guests who’d like to “adopt” a local family during their stay can look forward to forming a bond that lasts long after their departure from the Resort. Philanthropic possibilities include:

• Becoming a Backpack Buddy: Many children in the Guanacaste Province cannot afford school supplies or uniforms. Growing Together guests are encouraged to purchase a backpack and fill it with their favourite school supplies to be forwarded to local students upon arrival at the Resort. Backpacks can be personalised, and guests can even present the backpack to its recipient in person.
• School outreach programmes: Growing Together works in 18 elementary schools and 3 high schools, effectively helping more than 4,400 students. Projects including building, painting and landscaping; donating sports items and audiovisual and kitchen supplies; cooking and sharing meals; and playing sports with students.
• Conservation programmes: Guests can spend time working in conservation areas, national parks, wildlife refuges and more. The Growing Together programme offers a range of experiences, from building and cleaning trails to painting buildings, planting seeds and sowing the land.
• Family care: Lend support to the needy families of Guanacaste by donating food, clothing, school supplies, medical supplies and toys. Or take volunteerism to a more personal level by visiting, shopping and dining with local families, or even inviting them to spend time at the Resort.

Individuals, families and incentive groups can join the Growing Together effort. Advance booking is required for individual or family travellers as there is limited availability. Group clients can contact their conference service representative. The Resort can also provide an escort or Four Seasons staff member to accompany participants throughout their volunteer experience, while transportation can be arranged at a minimal cost through Swiss Travel, one of the Resort’s travel partners.