Travel guru Rick Steves gives $4mil apt to homeless women to counter selfish example of Trump

[kpete]

Link to tweet

Travel guru Rick Steves has donated a 24-unit apartment property in Lynnwood to YWCA Seattle King Snohomish to house homeless women and their families.

Steves, who makes millions selling travel books, started buying cheap apartments 20 years ago as a retirement investment. In 2005, he bought Trinity Place and partnered with the YWCA and the Edmonds Noon Rotary Club to operate the property. Steves planned to eventually will the complex to the YWCA but is deeding it over now.

"I just gave a $4 million apartment complex for homeless women and kids to the YWCA," Steves wrote in a post that went up on this website Thursday.

"It was a complete surprise," YWCA spokeswoman Annalee Schafranek said, adding the donation gives the organization the stability of ownership.

........................


http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/04/14/rick-steves-donates-homeless-apartments-lynnwood.html

[BannonsLiver]

1. Met him a few weeks ago at an event in my city

Observations:

1. Taller than I expected.

2. What you see is what you get. He's the real McCoy.

[Trailrider1951]

2. Not all wealthy people are greed heads

Kudos to Mr. Steves. One of a new breed of philanthropists.

[SMC22307]

3. To counter the rise of the "greed-is-good ethic."

Awesome. I watch his shows regularly, and will continue to donate to my local PBS station.

[Arkansas Granny]

6. I do the same and I've always enjoyed his shows

He's not shy when it comes to voicing his liberal opinions on a variety of subjects.

[SMC22307]

12. Exactly. This was a good thing to read on Easter Sunday...

to counter what I read yesterday about Berkeley. Crazy times we're living in!

[KT2000]

4. That is great!

Rents are getting so high that many more people are ending up homeless. Credit checks/First and last/damage deposit means a person needs about $3,000 to even get a one bedroom.
This society cannot function like that.
Kudos to Rick Steves.

[chelsea0011]

5. He has done travel shows to Eastern Turkey and Iran with the purpose to

humanize and enlighten us to the people living there. His travel advice is to always attempt to discover the local scene beyond the tourist destinations.

[BBG]

39. Travel Diplomacy

Had the pleasure of Rick Steves and Rep Jim "Baghdad" McDermott sharing their thoughts on the importance of travel. That sharing other lands and cultures humanizes the visited and makes us better for it.

[CincyDem]

7. Money is agnostic. It allows good people to be better and bad people to be worse. n/t

[OnlinePoker]

8. Unsheltered homelessness in the region has steadily increased the last few years

As of 2016, there are 4505 unsheltered people living in King county, a 19% increase over 2015. This does not count those living in shelters, transitional housing, etc.

http://www.homelessinfo.org/what_we_do/one_night_count/2016_results.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Seattle#cite_note-12

[Ilsa]

9. I've purchased his videos to take

Virtual vacations. Sadly, I haven't had need for his book/guides. I've always heard that he's genuinely kind like this. Happy to have supporyed his business so he can help others.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

10. Wow! K & R!!!!

[OKNancy]

11. He was a huge Hillary supporter

I said something nice about him on twitter and then got a huge thrill when he liked my tweet and wrote back "thanks".

[grantcart]

13. nice

[kysrsoze]

14. Great guy presents a great example for others

[smirkymonkey]

15. I love Rick Steves!

What a great thing to do! I have been on a few of his tours and they were wonderful! I highly recommend them.

[shenmue]

16. Mensch!

[Botany]

17. The man is far richer then D. Trump

N/T

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Absolutely! And it's more than just money too.

He has a big heart, something that DT will NEVER have.

[Botany]

20. And those women and their familiies will have a home and the simple things will make them rich too.

"Hey, neighbor I'm going to the store need anything? "

Being neighbors will make you rich too.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. Again, absolutely right. A win-win for everyone. n/t

[llmart]

23. Trump's wealth...

is a fraud like him and most of it is from thievery. I hate him with a passion.

Rick Steves is the real deal. If I ever take a trip it will be through his organization.

[JI7]

19. love rick steves.

[llmart]

22. I have always loved Rick Steves' shows...

and the more I find out about him, I love him as a person too. We need so many more like him in this country.

[aikoaiko]

24. Phew. I thought it was just one 4MIL apartment initially.

I'm glad it wasn't that.

[KelleyKramer]

25. a couple years ago he gave 1 million dollars to charity

Don't remember what the charity was, I just remember being surprised he even had that much money

He is a very generous person, we would be better off with more like him

[VigilantG]

26. Exactly what this country needs more of!

Thank you, Rick Steves for your insights from around the world and your generosity! Those families' lives will be greatly improved. And the surrounding community will benefit as well!

[BeyondGeography]

27. He's a good man

And he knows what makes a good life. The Xmas Eve sleigh jaunt in the middle of the clip is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen on television, e.g.:

[cbreezen]

28. My favorite go-to PBS program...

When I feel like traveling the world and I don't have a passport, or airfare!

Kudos Mr. Steves.

[LittleBlue]

29. Jesus Christ, how rich did this guy get on those travel shows?

I mean, I knew they were popular but who would have guessed they were so lucrative?

[progressoid]

31. Also publishes lots of travel guides. On inauguration day he did a cool thing too.

In 2017, Steves posted on his blog, stating that he would donate $1 for every $1 spent on his website on Inauguration Day to the ACLU. According to Steves, the website had higher traffic than usual and that customers purchased $42,962 in merchandise. As a response, Steves wrote a check for $50,000 to the ACLU and stated: "Those of us with passports and who are wealthy enough to travel a lot — especially white, straight, Christian males like me — don’t often think a lot about civil liberties…at least, not in an immediate or personal way. Civil liberties just aren’t an issue for most of us. If a wealthy person is in trouble with the law, he can hire a good lawyer. It’s the poor who are filling our prisons. If I want to smoke pot, no one’s going to arrest me. It’s poor and black people who get arrested, and then disenfranchised. I have a voice because I fit societal norms and I have money."

[renate]

38. I didn't know he'd done that!

He's also a big supporter of Bread for the World.

Before the year ended, 2,470 people responded to Rick Steves’ challenge to raise $250,000. With Rick’s match, together you raised over $567,000 in support of Bread’s work to end hunger in the United States and around the world.

I want to extend a very special thank you to my dear friend Rick Steves. Rick has been a generous Bread member for 30 years, and in the past 9 years, he has hosted a Christmas fundraiser raising nearly $2 million. His continued support is an integral part of raising the necessary funds needed to nourish Bread’s work.

But Rick’s efforts would not be worthwhile if it was not for his generous followers and Bread members who donated. No matter whether your gift was big or small, I want you to know your generosity matters to those struggling with hunger and poverty.

With change on the horizon as president-elect Donald J. Trump takes office, Bread’s work in defending and expanding programs supporting those struggling with hunger will arguably be more difficult. We are prepared to be diligent, and your Christmas gifts have given us the tools needed to start the year off strong.

http://www.bread.org/blog/blown-away-your-generosity

[Boomerproud]

30. Kudos and continued success to Rick Steves.

He walks the walk. I enjoy his shows and will start buying his books to support his worthy causes.

[wryter2000]

32. I'm going to Tuscany on Wednesday

With his book in my Nook

[betsuni]

33. K&R

[Javaman]

34. he's done other good things like this in the past but not on this scale.

He is a good member of the better side of humanity.

[samnsara]

35. have always been a fan of his....

[Grammy23]

36. Anyone traveling to Europe should consider buying his travel guides.

They are updated regularly so that the hotels, restaurants and B and Bs are rechecked to make sure they still meet his standards. He usually has a range of costs so even those on a budget can find accommodations and places to eat at reasonable cost that are safe and comfortable, even if not "luxurious ". We have used his guides for Italy and France and my niece has used them for several other countries in Europe. In fact, his books are her go-to guides when we plan trips.

One thing he highly encourages travelers to do is to learn some of the language and customs. You don't need to be fluent, just polite and make an attempt to say something in their language. It can save embarrassment and misunderstanding, too, when you know how to speak and behave in shops and markets. No one expects you to speak perfectly, just try. Often what happens is they will respond to you in English because they want to practice their language skills, although I have noticed that their English is FAR MORE ADVANCED than my halting Italian or French! 😞

He also highly recommends getting out among the locals when the chance arises. Get to know the people, eat their food, try to experience life the way they do. Every time that has happened with us on our trips, it has led to amazing experiences that we will long remember.

Rick Steves won't lead you astray and may guide you to places you might miss otherwise. I highly recommend his books. And thanks for his generosity to the homeless in his community! That is an example people like tRump could (but sadly won't) follow. 😢

[gopiscrap]

37. Rick Steves is a really nice guy in person.

He is a Lutheran...you wouldn't find a fundy doing something like that!