“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist 1901-1978
Dear Traveler,
To be welcomed into another culture is an incredible gift—one that I’ve received time and time again in my own travels. By reaching out and connecting with communities around the world, we learn to appreciate firsthand not only our diversity, but our commonality … and the understanding we gain can be life changing.
We owe our success to this focus on cultural exchange—which is why in 1992, my husband, Alan, and I established the Grand Circle Foundation as a means to give back to the world that had already given us so much. Since then, Grand Circle Foundation together with the Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation, has pledged or donated $250 million to more than 200 schools and organizations in 75 countries, as well as closer to home in Boston and New Hampshire.
From left: Charlotte, Harriet, and Edward Lewis
Thank you for traveling with us, and for helping to change people’s lives.
Love and peace,
Harriet Lewis
Chair
Grand Circle Foundation
Giving Back to the World We Travel
The sites supported by Grand Circle Foundation (GCF) that you visit on O.A.T. adventures provide you with opportunities for up close and personal cultural exchange. Whether it’s a small school, a private home, or an entire village, our support often makes a big difference in the lives of the people we visit—and they can change our lives as well. These visits reveal the interconnectedness of our global community and enrich your travel experience by giving you a better understanding of the world. Your Trip Experience Leader will keep you informed about the sites we support on your adventure—which might range from an elementary school or local orphanage to a women’s cooperative.
Our Generous Travelers—Partners in Worldwide Giving
We are honored—and humbled—that visits to schools and villages supported by GCF often inspire our travelers to want to give back, and annually we receive an average of more than $1 million in donations from our travelers. Donations include single donations of $5, recurring monthly donations of $25, a bequest of $500,000 and every amount in between. Travelers may choose to donate before a trip, while on a trip, when they return home, in honor of a special event, in memory of a loved one, or because of an email received asking for support for a specific project. 100% of all traveler donations are tax deductible and returned to the regions to support projects.
The kindness and generosity of every one of our travelers is instrumental in helping us fulfill our vision to make the world a better place. You can see a list of our most generous donors, along with sites and projects we support at Grand Circle Foundation.
Bridging Cultures During A Day in the Life
Many of the schools and villages supported by GCF are included during your A Day in the Life experience. Featured on most adventures, this program epitomizes our passion for cultural exchange and brings you far off the well-worn tourist's path and into the heart of a local village or town. A typical day might include a stroll through the village, spending time with a community leader, engaging in a hands-on activity like making bread or helping out with a farm chore, and joining a local family or members of the community for lunch. These visits might also support various local entrepreneurial activities—like a weaving cooperative in Laos, for example, or a handcraft cooperative in India—that provide the village with a source of income.
To provide you with these unique experiences, our regional associates have fostered longstanding relationships with the village leaders who welcome our travelers into their communities—and these invaluable friendships have been years in the making. We want these leaders to know how much we respect their culture and that we care deeply about who they are and where they come from. And by the end of every A Day in the Life, we hope everyone has gained a greater appreciation for the cultural diversity that surrounds us.
Learning Together in the World Classroom
When it comes to changing lives and giving back, Grand Circle Foundation firmly believes there is nothing more powerful, important, or valuable than an education. It’s not only the most effective way to prepare a child for broader opportunities, it’s an exciting process that helps create the future leaders of our world.
Your visit to a Foundation-supported school will provide a telling glimpse into the values of another culture. This intimate people-to-people experience also offers a unique opportunity to learn from each other—because the students want to know as much about our culture as we do of theirs. All over the world, one thing remains constant: the curiosity and enthusiasm of children.
Grand Circle Foundation currently supports nearly 100 primary or secondary schools in more than 60 villages worldwide. By investing in education, we hope to give children the skills, pride, and confidence they need to become leaders of their generation. Working closely with the school principals, teachers and community leaders, we’ve identified unique projects at each school that will best impact the quality of education- ranging from as simple and inexpensive as ensuring students have pencils and paper, to building a secondary school and dormitories for students.
We believe supporting education is the best way to provide choices for young people, especially young girls.
Supporting communities when disaster strikes
Since 1994, Grand Circle Foundation has supported relief efforts to countries impacted by natural disasters where local governments struggle to quickly meet local needs.
The devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015 taught us the quickest way to help is to reach out to our partners and regional associates in the impacted country to identify local organizations with strong leaders to support. When disaster strikes, local community organizations provide immediate relief without a lot of red tape.
Following our model, when earthquakes struck in Turkey and Morocco, we wired funds to our regional leaders who purchased food, tents, clothing, bedding and hygiene items in the days immediately following the quakes.
In 2022 we also began providing relief for people impacted by wars – those in Ukraine and Israel - and have committed to supporting Ukrainian refugees through 2025.
After we provide funds to local organizations identified by our regional associates, we then work with our long-term partner organizations such as Wine to Water and the Joint Distribution Committee to provide ongoing, larger scale support.
In 2024, when Hurricane Helene devastated the communities near the headquarters of Wine to Water in Boone, North Carolina, we provided funding for water filters, home repairs and the purchase of tiny homes and trailers.
Grand Circle Foundation Inspires Us All
In addition to the villages and schools where we travel, we also strive to better the communities where we work—from our more than 30 regional offices around the world to our headquarters in Boston. Worldwide, almost every office organizes annual community service events of their own, from planting trees, to painting buildings, to providing food and gifts during the holidays.
In Boston, associates participate in multiple community service events each year, giving of their time, money, and even pints of blood to help a neighbor in need. Our associates’ most beloved events include serving dinner to veterans once per month, preparing meals at Community Servings, and the largest event, Rebuilding Together Boston.
Conserving Earth’s Resources for Future Generations
As world citizens our mission is to help save the earth we share. We hope to inspire people to act to fight against climate change and to support sustainability. Through our strategic alliances with strong environmental leaders, we help fund, as well as engage and mobilize citizens through legal, political and grassroots efforts to support the underdog in conservation fights.
We support strategic partner organizations across the world whose work demonstrates leadership in effecting change to protect vital local resources while also serving as models for inspiring others to become agents of change in an interconnected world.
