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Students participating in the trip to Mexico have the opportunity to fundraise to help cover the cost of their trip. One of the fundraisers ran until Dec. 15 and included selling gift cards for the Grand Traverse Pie Company. The gift cards were worth $20 and the buyer only had to pay $20 to the student, meaning there is no additional cost to them. What makes it an appealing option is that they got to support a student traveling and experiencing a new culture.
“Every person needs pie and coffee at Christmas, so if you’re going to have to go to the pie company to buy it anyway, you might as well have a gift card that supports a student experiencing the world. We’re hoping a lot of people see the benefit,” Spanish teacher Sra. Hansen said.
However, the Pie Company fundraiser is not the only chance for students to raise money. Later in the year, closer to the trip itself, a large Cinco De Mayo dinner is held for the community, where students have a couple of options for making money, whether it’s selling tickets or getting donations from a silent auction.
“Our biggest [fundraiser] is a Cinco De Mayo community dinner. [At] that one, students sell tickets for a very authentic Mexican dinner, and for every ticket they sell, the student [gets] $10. [In addition], it’s a huge silent auction, so any donations students get for the silent auction, they keep 100 percent of what is bid. So if they get a car detailing service that typically sells for $250, and somebody bids $200, that’s $200 towards their trip. I’ve had students raise $1,500 in three hours for that trip that only costs between $2,300 and $2,500. I’ve done [this fundraiser] for probably 10 years, and I like [it] because it’s not just a fundraiser, it’s truly a community event, and it brings in hundreds of people. We get to celebrate the culture and the holiday of our Hispanic neighbors,” Hansen said.
The overall goal of the fundraising is to help students gain knowledge and experience. By getting the opportunity to travel out of the country and volunteer, they become more well-rounded people. However, the trip is not cheap, so many people never get the opportunity. Fundraising helps make it more affordable for everyone.
“Money should never be something that prohibits people from experiencing the world, especially when it comes to experiencing a new culture. It really is a life-changing experience to [be immersed in] another culture. If we have things that stop us from doing that, [such as] not having enough money, the world kind of becomes a smaller place. We become a better world when we interact with other cultures, so for me, it’s really important that money not be something that stops students from participating in this trip,” Hansen said.
Some students who have gone on the trip in past years have been able to fully pay for their trip through fundraising, proving that they can make the trip to Mexico without having to spend a penny. Students also found the fundraisers to be enjoyable because they were having fun while making money.
“I liked the Cinco de Mayo fundraiser, it was fun to be able to help work and pass out food,” sophomore Adeline Mulder said.
Students who have been on the trip before highly recommend the opportunity to go and recommend doing the fundraiser to help pay for it.
“I would 10/10 recommend the Mexico trip. I made such good friends and had so many life-changing experiences,” Senior Teagan Nerg said.
