Travel Guru Rick Steves to Headline PCI’s ‘Hands Across Borders’ Gala

Virtual event will celebrate changemakers and support efforts to end poverty worldwide

SAN DIEGO—Project Concern International (PCI), a Global Communities Partner, will host its first-ever Hands Across Borders: Celebrating Changemakers virtual event on Wednesday, Sept. 16. This year, to ensure all guests stay healthy and safe during this uncertain time, PCI has transitioned its traditional gala into an online format for all to experience.

The event will celebrate PCI’s work in San Diego and around the world as well as changemakers who make that work possible, including Rick Steves, American travel writer, beloved television personality and philanthropist. Mr. Steves will share travel tips and reflections from his transformative experience filming Hunger and Hope, a documentary which explores innovative solutions to ending hunger and extreme poverty with smart development programs like those implemented by PCI.

“Over the years, I’ve made several trips to developing countries specifically to learn about why, in a world of such abundance, people go hungry,” Mr. Steves said. “I learned from locals and experts about key aspects of extreme poverty and how to beat it. PCI is doing smart development work that’s changing lives around the world, and I am eager to share my experience with attendees so they will walk away feeling encouraged, hopeful and committed to helping PCI continue its important work.”

With a Climate Smart Commitment Grant from Rick Steves’ Europe, PCI is currently implementing the “Carbon Capture” initiative, which consists of promoting reforestation activities and distributing clean, efficient cookstoves among rural families in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. In addition to sharing highlights from this initiative, the virtual gala will also feature PCI’s local Healthy Start program. Healthy Start aims to improve the health outcomes of mothers and babies in African American and Black Immigrant communities in San Diego by providing support during pregnancy and postpartum. Licensed midwives Darynée Blount and Nikki Helms will share their experiences working on the front lines to reduce infant and maternal health inequalities.

The event will also include a silent auction and live performance from Rebecca Jade, the 2020 San Diego Music Awards’ Artist of the Year. All donations go to support PCI’s mission to enhance health, end hunger, overcome hardship and advance women and girls worldwide. For tickets, sponsorship opportunities and additional event information, visit www.PCIGlobal.org/Hands2020.

Both Rick Steves and Carrie Hessler-Radelet, president & CEO of PCI and president of Global Communities, are available for interviews ahead of the virtual gala in September.

About Project Concern International (PCI), a Global Communities Partner: PCI is a San Diego-based international health and humanitarian organization that partners with the most vulnerable communities in San Diego and around the world to implement programs that improve access to health services, nutritious food, clean water, education and economic opportunity. In San Diego, PCI improves the health of moms & babies; strengthens food security; fights human trafficking; and implements programs to strengthen community health, including COVID-19 emergency response programming. Last year alone, PCI impacted more than 21 million lives across Asia, Africa and the Americas, including here in the United States. For more information, visit www.PCIGlobal.org.