Some measure legacy through the dollars they make, but some build their legacy through the lives they touched for the better.
Rick Steves is a travel writer, author, and television presenter well known for his off-the-beaten-track travel guides for Europe and his budget itinerary plans. Since 2000, he hosted “Rick Steves’ Europe” and made the continent accessible for almost every type of traveler.
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But Steves’s passion did not only involve hopping on a plane and discovering new ways to appreciate a destination.
He’s a staunch activist and has looked for ways to combat the most glaring manifestations of the wealth gap – homelessness.
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He admitted on his website that in some of his tours, he would book clients into terrible rooms just so they would better appreciate having a warm cozy home back from where they came from. He’d also intentionally book hotel reservations late in the afternoon so that his tour group would experience the anxiety of not knowing if they’d sleep with a roof over their heads.
The experiment was short-lived though.
Especially when he realized that he can teach this kind of empathy in a more mature, efficient, and effective way.
Back in the United States, Steves devised a way to make a more tangible action to his advocacy. With the profits he made from touring and his guides, he found himself owning a 24-unit apartment complex.
Edmonds, Washington experienced his project first hand in a property valued at $4 million.
The idea is to buy cheap apartments to house struggling neighbors in his community. And instead of collecting rent, his “income” would come from the joy of helping people who are struggling to get back on their feet.
Together with the YWCA and the Rotary Club of Edmonds, he renovated the complex that he found as a “haunted house” and made it into livable apartments.
They called it Trinity Place. Their main recipients were mothers who are recovering from drug addiction. These apartments will give them the space and energy to become who they once were – mothers who have all the love to give.
It might be a housing project for others, but to those who worked with Steves in this project, it’s an avenue to reunite and rebuild families.
It’s a lifeline for mothers and children alike so that they can have a chance to live a better life.
“Moms have big hearts.” Steves said in an interview with King 5. “Because love dominates their outlook. And they have kids on their laps. There’s got to be a way to support them.”
Steves shared in his blog that his motivations come from different aspects of his life.
As a businessman, he felt that companies should make a real commitment to the community they’re serving.
It doesn’t need to be grand. It just needs to be sustainable, concrete, and effective.
As a self-identified liberal, he had enough of people saying there’s not much money to go around.
He believes that we just need to set better priorities, especially in projects that will look after everyone’s needs.
Back in 2016, Steves had helped 61 mothers, or 61 families to be more specific.
He intended for the complex to be given to the YWCA after his passing but when he felt that he’s unrestrained financially, he didn’t wait for the will to kick in.
Steves, staying true to his advocacy, gave the entire property to the YWCA. He hopes that this gesture can inspire people to help in their own way, and create a community that looks after one another.
Watch how this travel guru changed the lives of struggling moms and gave them a second chance at motherhood in the video below!
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