As CHS students sit two years out from several possible international field trips, money is on everyone’s mind. Tours like these are expensive, so any fundraising or scholarship opportunities are necessary for most students to be able to attend.
There are three international trips planned and one domestic trip. Chelsea House Orchestra is going on a performance tour to Italy and Croatia, Spanish students are going to Spain, Matt Pedlow is taking students to several countries in Europe, and the music department is flying to Disney in the spring. In terms of fundraising for these excursions, some organizers find other methods to be more successful.
“The CHO board is responsible for putting together fundraisers,” orchestra director Phillip Sylvester, in charge of CHO’s Adriatic Sea trip, said. “Fundraising is a good way to help reduce prices, but it’s sometimes inefficient. Fundraisers just end up costing families more money. We are trying to set the trip out super far in advance. So start saving.”
On the other hand, the Spain trip led by Spanish teacher Rachel English has quite a few interesting choices in terms of funds, including a donation bingo card, candy bar sales, and a merit-based scholarship.
“For parents to send their students, I always try to have as much information as possible; here’s handouts and information and all that stuff,” English said. “It is hard, though, because you have to have interests. You have to have students who want to.”
The third trip departing for Europe that summer is led by AP Economy teacher Matt Pedlow. He and Sylvester have similar views on the effectiveness of planned fundraisers.
“There isn’t a lot of fundraising on our end because it really doesn’t do much to alleviate the total cost of the trip,” Pedlow said. “However, there are ample ways to fundraise for each student through the EF company. Many students will set up pages asking for money, and some students plan their holiday gift requests around this trip.”
Allison Roberts’s smaller trip to Disney offers a good midpoint in terms of fundraising opportunities.
“We did have a fundraiser in the fall that students could participate in,” Roberts said. “We don’t have a scholarship fund right now, but that’s definitely something we’re aiming towards in the future. Because it’s really special to go to a place and have those memories of performing for a different audience and just like in a different place with each other.”
With similarly priced trips to similar places, a lot of students’ decisions come down to the opportunities to lower the price tag. That said, whichever trip works best for a student is sure to be a memorable and meaningful part of high school.
“There’s no wrong choice,” English said. “Either way you’re going to have an amazing experience.”
