(Originally published with slight variation in Bay Windows.)
For Jen Rainin, creating a lesbian travel company based on the idea of giving back to the world was an extension of her role as a philanthropist, but also a way to convey positive values to her children. Rainin is one of the founders of Sweet, which will offer “voluntourism” vacations that combine fun and relaxation with opportunities for giving back to the communities they visit. Her co-founder and the company’s CEO, Shannon Wentworth, is a marketing executive with experience at established lesbian travel company Olivia, PlanetOut, and Care2, a social network for people who want to improve the world.
For Rainin, philanthropy is a way of life. Her primary job is as chair of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation established by her father, an entrepreneur who built a leading scientific instrument company. Now she is carrying on both his entrepreneurial and philanthropic traditions through Sweet. “I feel like if I didn’t share the good fortune that I’ve experienced in my life, then shame on me. With the foundation, I’m able to do that. Then Sweet came along and the idea that there will be even more opportunity for hands-on giving back really appealed,” she says.
As the mother of two young boys, part of the appeal for Rainin is also what this work can teach her children. She explains, “As a mom, a big part of my job is instilling values in my kids and trying to be a role model. What I’m doing is what I hope my kids will want to do in the future, to find something that they feel passionately about that really does make a positive difference in the world and pursue it with their whole hearts.”
On their first cruise, in October 2009, the volunteer opportunities will start with the chance to help Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in the departure port of New Orleans. As they travel the Caribbean, guests can donate a few hours helping the local communities at every port. The volunteering is optional, and guests will still enjoy a full spread of parties, beach time, and other traditional cruise fun.
For Rainin, though, the volunteer and social aspects of the cruise are not distinct. The travel experiences she likes best are when she has the opportunity to work with people she might not have met otherwise. “You end up making really quick and easy friendships with people who care about the same things you do,” she says. Sweet will give guests that opportunity, in addition to “representing lesbians in a really positive light throughout the world” and making the physical space better wherever they go,” says Rainin.
Parents may gain an additional bonus. Rainin explains, “Any parent is going to be a better parent if they take care of themselves now and again, and get away and recharge.” To do that while volunteering and learning about a different part of the world, however, “will enrich your parenting opportunities with your child. It will spark conversations about what you’ve seen and what you’ve learned, and how you might give back in a similar way in your own community.”
The company has no plans at the moment to offer cruises for families with young children, however. Rainin likes the idea, but says they want to get the first cruise under their belt before making further plans.
Rainin does have some advice, based on her own experience, for parents traveling without their kids. She makes sure her boys each have a small album of family photos. She calls every day to touch base. Now that they can read, they e-mail and send text messages, and Rainin shares what she has done and seen. “It’s a way to include them in the vacation. . . . That makes it a little bit more interesting for them and less like mommy just disappeared for a week and came back with a tan.”
Rainin says her own dad was “a huge influence on me in terms of getting me out to see the world and giving me a perspective on things.” She traveled with him until he died last year, and still travels often with her mom. “It’s one of the most lovely gifts,” she says, “to be able to travel with your parents as an adult.”
Her boys, already good travelers, have gone along on some of those trips as well. “That’s made it a much more fun and richer experience,” she reflects. It also meant she got more of a vacation. She could relax while they spent time with their grandparents, who love them “like nobody else.”
Finding a balance between work and family life can still be tough, however. Rainin, like so many parents, says she wishes for more hours in the day. Sometimes, one of her boy’s soccer games will conflict with a business meeting, and she knows she has to make her kids the priority. She’s found, though, that “people are usually pretty flexible and understanding” if she asks to reschedule.
The biggest challenge for busy working parents, however, she says, is finding the time “to transfer what you think is really important to your kids.” Through her foundation work and Sweet, she thinks she has found an answer. “It’s a really nice thing to have my work be something that is so reflective of what I think is important in the world. It’s sparked so many conversations with the kids. Every day, something new.”
Visit www.discoversweet.com for more on Sweet trips and events.
