Here is an idea: Postcards From Anywhere (PFA). For $5.00 PFA will send a postcard from anywhere in the world to anyone in the world. The transaction is done on line at the PFA website which shows the countries and postcard selection in each one. The sender fills in the order blank including the message and charges his or her credit card. The order is transmitted to the youth group at the appropriate site. The message is hand written on the card selected, stamped and sent. An appropriate time later the local group is credited with about half of the money and the rest pays to support the web site, promotion, and overhead. The basic requirement is for a reliable group of people who have organizations in lots of countries and people who would be interested in small transactions. The ones that come to mind are Boy Scouts, Catholics, Mormons and 7-11 stores.
I’m not sure if the idea would work but it could give a lot of young people a sense of community and purpose. The business would be pretty much self-financing after a relatively small initial investment.
Why would anyone use the service?
Maybe to impress someone with where they’ve been.
Maybe to send an unusual birthday or holiday greeting.
Maybe to give a unique gift to a young stamp collector.
Maybe someone is writing a school report on Paraguay.
Maybe, like the gnome in the movie Emile, to entertain.
Maybe to talk your friend into going to India. A card might make the place seem less forbidding.
Maybe to win an argument.
Maybe to create a mystery.
Maybe just because you can send a card from Tibet that says; “Wish you were here.”
