The Odyssey

• The Odyssey is a 100% volunteer-run non-profit, founded in September of 1997.
• The Odyssey has no overhead, thanks to its volunteer staff and its corporate sponsors, who provide all of our in-kind needs. These sponsors include Viant, Verio, Star Media, Kodak, Dazzle Multimedia, and the Lonely Planet.
• The Odyssey is funded primarily through donations from individuals and grants from foundations such as the Skoll Co9mmunity Fund, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the San Francisco Foundation, and the eBay Foundation.

• Over 2000 teachers have used the World Trek with an estimated 50,000 students.
• The World Trekkers will traveled approximately 35,000 miles, filing over 850 dispatches from over 40 countries. They were selected from over 2000 applicants.
• The World Trek website receives over 30,000 hits and 1700 unique users per schoolday, and has been accessed from over 90 countries.
• The World Trek featured both live and on-demand interviews on the website with three Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, two Right Livelihood Prize Laureates, an Africa Prize Laureate, twelve Goldman Environmental Prizewinners, a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, and a former President of Zimbabwe, among others.
• The World Trek has hosted more than 20 live chats from over 10 countries, including from a Palestinian refugee camp, a tent city in Turkey after the earthquakes, and a school in Tehran, Iran.
• The World Trek has received awards and notable mentions from the US State Department, The New York Times Learning Network, USA Today, Education World, Excite, and others.

The United States Trek

• Over 10,000 teachers are expected to participate with an estimated 400,000 students.
• The final eight Team Mebers were selected from over 500 applicants.
• The Trekkers will visit every state in the Continental US in conducting their research and meeting with students.
• The US Trek website will feature multimedia provided by PBS, the Library of Congress, and the Team members themselves.