Maupin Travel Celebrates 40th Birthday with 40 Acts of Kindness

December 5, 2019

Maupin Travel turned 40 years old this year! Our team of more than 30 Travel Advisors loves helping people plan their vacations and corporate meetings in Raleigh, Durham, and beyond. To celebrate this milestone, we decided to complete 40 acts of kindness throughout the year.

Our History

Maupin Travel was founded by Tony Maupin, a Raleigh native, in 1979. Trevor and Jordan Smith took the reins in 2014, and the company is thriving in its 40th year of serving corporate, university, non-profit, and vacation customers. While the majority of our team is based in Raleigh and Durham, our team now represents 5 states, 18 cities/towns, and 30 zip codes.

Our 40 Acts of Kindness

The idea for 40 acts of kindness for our birthday started with a few employees. We love taking part in the community, and soon everyone was pitching in ideas. We created a spreadsheet where people could nominate their favorite causes or add ideas, large and small. For example, for every vacation a customer books in November and December, we’re donating $250 to World Relief in Durham, NC. We’ve also done smaller things, such as buying coffee for the next person in line at a coffee shop.

Owners Trevor and Jordan Smith are incredibly generous. They have encouraged our team members to find organizations near and dear to their hearts and have graciously donated time and money to the causes.

The List: Acts of Kindness 

We’re up to 36 acts of kindness as of this writing. We’ll continue these through February 2020. You can read more about some of these acts via the links to posts below or follow along on social media at #40for40. 

Some of these are big, while others are tiny. We hope this list inspires you to spread some acts of kindness of your own! 

1. Children’s Business Fair – We hosted the first Acton Children’s Business Fair in downtown Durham. Sixty-five young entrepreneurs sold their products and services at a one-day marketplace outside our office in Durham’s Innovation District.
2. Shoes for Smiles – We donated items to one of our corporate clients in her mission to bring supplies, shoes, and even trees to a school in Guatemala. 
3. Sponsoring School Children with Amina’s Gift – Karen Garr and Maupin Travel have teamed up with Amina’s Gift, a non-profit organization focused in Africa, to sponsor two young children for their school year.
4. Camden Street Garden – We partnered with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to work for a day in one of their urban learning gardens in downtown Raleigh.
5. Saving Grace 5k – Maupin employee Julie Seneca took part in the Saving Grace 5k. Saving Grace is a no-kill rescue organization and pet adoption agency that is focused not only on getting their rescues adopted but on giving them the happiest possible life they can while they’re in Saving Grace’s care.
6.  Hospice Lunch – Travel Advisor Sherry Mack and her mother provided lunch to the families and staff at the Kitty Askins Hospice Center in Goldsboro, NC.
7. Dinner Delivered – Maupin’s Director of Operations, Julia Glover, delivered dinner to her Bible study group leader after she broke her hip.
8. Sola Hot Mini 5K – Several team members participated in this race to raise money for the Duke ALS Clinic.
9. Lunch with Raleigh-Durham Airport TSA Workers – We rallied as a team to take lunch and enjoy an hour with our local government workers.
10. Vacation Donations – For every vacation a customer books in November and December, we’re donating $250 to World Relief in Durham, NC.
11. Food drive for Backpack Buddies – We helped collect food for this nonprofit organization in North Carolina that helps make sure kids have something to eat on weekends. 
12. Book drive for Read & Feed – Our team collected more than 30 books. 
13. Served lunch at Reality Café 
14. Raleigh Chamber Golf Tournament – we sponsored the Grand Prize for the Raffle, giving away a Royal Caribbean Cruise for two! 
15. Buy a Meal for Someone – Some acts of kindness are not grand, but can make a big difference to a person. One of our team members bought dinner for a friend in need. 
16. Pick Up Trash – We encourage our team to pick up litter while walking when they see it. Every little bit helps! 
17. Compliment a Coworker – Who doesn’t feel uplifted after receiving a compliment? Spreading positivity seemed like a no-brainer. 
18. Compliment a Stranger – So often we are wandering in our own worlds (and in our phones). We encouraged our team to compliment a stranger at least a few times through the year. 
19. Participate in a Fundraiser – Our team produced some fantastic ideas as you’ve seen already, but many of them also suggested adding this to the list. They donated and participated in many fundraisers of their own. 
20. Donate to a Little Free Library – We cleaned off our bookshelves and added those books to some Little Free Libraries in Raleigh and Durham. 
21. Volunteer at “A Place at the Table” – This restaurant in Raleigh aims to help those who can’t always afford a meal. You pay what you can and if you can’t pay at all, you can still eat. 
22. Collect supplies for the Methodist University – The students at Methodist U. gather shoes and medical supplies for children in Guatemala. The kids who do not have shoes are not allowed to play at recess; they have to just sit and watch, so this was a wonderful donation gathering! 
23. Relay for Life – One of our team members challenged himself/herself to participate in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. 
24. Brought a Meal to a Family Friend in Need – One of our team members did this anonymously for a friend. 
25. Delivered Lunch to a Hospice Center – The center and details remain anonymous, but we were glad our team member wanted to help! 
26. JDR Charity Ride at Flywheel – Several of our team members hopped on bikes at Flywheel to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research.
27. Reality Ministries – We sponsored their annual talent show, which was great fun! 
28. World Relief – We sponsored their annual fundraising event here in the Triangle.
29. Fill Your Bucket List Foundation – We have plans to coordinate with this group that makes wishes come true for terminally ill children.
30. Young Life – We sponsored a table at their annual fundraising event. 
31. Our team gathered clothes and coats and donated them to an organization that collects winter clothing for children.
32. We sponsored rescues at an animal rescue organization, but they prefer to remain anonymous. 
33. We donated blankets, litter, and food to our local animal shelter. If you have old sheets, towels, or blankets lying around, take them to your local shelter instead of throwing them out! 
34. Our team gathered toiletries for a local women’s and children’s shelter.
35. One of our team members baked cookies with her family and took them to a local nursing home. 
36. Helped an Elderly Person – Our Maupin family helped pay for roofing and siding on an elderly person’s home and cooked meals for the workers as well.