talked to Krystina
offered paid consultancy when my internship ends
got funding from McGill for Italy
bought my flights to Italy
im going home to see Dave soon
and theres more to come!
this week is:
my birthday
my beach party for said birthday
the last day of my internship
a spa day with my lovely classmates
life is awesome.
Showing posts with label fundraising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fundraising. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, December 6, 2009
$$$
I’ve been thinking a lot about the trip, naturally, and was curious to see a breakdown of all the expenses. Well folks, here it is:
As you can see, the trip is quite expensive. I’d like to point out that the experience would not be possible without generous support from your family, friends and community, so thank you again to everyone who helped me to be able to participate! I’d also like to note that while I have about a third of the funding as personal, meaning my own money, it does not account for the fact that I’m lucky enough to have ongoing financial support from my extended family and that my main expenses (rent & school) are being paid by student loans.
When I originally signed up for this experience, I knew it would be expensive. I was told that the program fee was about $3,000, and that I was responsible for all additional expenses.. I just didn’t realize how many additional expenses there actually were. I think if I had known how much it would truly cost I may not have signed up, but I’m so glad that I did. If you’re willing work hard at fund raising and have the support of your family, it’s definitely doable. If I were doing it alone, there is no way I would have even considered the program. I was also very lucky that I have a professor who has worked with CCS before. She was able to get me scholarships from my university to reduce the program fee to $2,539, cover $100 of additional expenses, and gather donations from several of her coworkers.
And now, a word on why I chose to volunteer through CCS, possibly the most expensive international volunteer program out there: I knew there were cheaper options available from the beginning. I wanted to go to east Africa, and I wanted to do it through a reputable program with lots of experience. I learned of this opportunity through my professor, and found out through research that CCS is quite reputable, and has been offering these types of experiences for decades. Every person I have dealt with in CSS has provided me with experience-based information, as they have all been on at least one volunteer program before. The in-country staff (who live with you at the Home Base) are locals who know the area well and who speak English. I feel very confident from my experiences thus far that I will be well taken care of throughout my entire experience. Personally, I’m more inclined to make my own experience, and don’t want to feel like I’m part of a tour group or something like that. I chose this intense level of support only because it will be my first time in east Africa, and knowing that it is a dangerous part of the world, I welcome CCS’ support. Next time, though, I’ll probably try to do something with a smaller organization or on my own.
Now, I do have some tips for people considering doing a program like this in the future:
-Be prepared! It IS expensive, so don’t get in over your head.
-(I hope) it will be totally worth it. I’m sure I can confirm this when I come home, but if international volunteering is something you’re passionate about, do it. Make it happen. There are lots of scholarships available out there.
-If you really think there’s no way you could pull something like this off, look around. There are lots of cheaper international volunteering programs available. Try looking through religious or education based opportunities.
-Use my cost breakdown as a very rough guide. I received scholarships and other forms of help along the way that are impossible to calculate. Here is a chart for the worst possible situation (no scholarships, no health insurance, buying more things you need to bring, etc.):
These expenses add up to $7,985, whereas my expenses add up to $6,999. That’s a difference of almost $1,000 – pretty significant.
11 Days!!!
P.S.: Here’s a copy of the packing list, provided by CCS:
(Bold indicates that volunteers have given strong feedback about the necessity of packing that item.)
As you can see, the trip is quite expensive. I’d like to point out that the experience would not be possible without generous support from your family, friends and community, so thank you again to everyone who helped me to be able to participate! I’d also like to note that while I have about a third of the funding as personal, meaning my own money, it does not account for the fact that I’m lucky enough to have ongoing financial support from my extended family and that my main expenses (rent & school) are being paid by student loans.
When I originally signed up for this experience, I knew it would be expensive. I was told that the program fee was about $3,000, and that I was responsible for all additional expenses.. I just didn’t realize how many additional expenses there actually were. I think if I had known how much it would truly cost I may not have signed up, but I’m so glad that I did. If you’re willing work hard at fund raising and have the support of your family, it’s definitely doable. If I were doing it alone, there is no way I would have even considered the program. I was also very lucky that I have a professor who has worked with CCS before. She was able to get me scholarships from my university to reduce the program fee to $2,539, cover $100 of additional expenses, and gather donations from several of her coworkers.
And now, a word on why I chose to volunteer through CCS, possibly the most expensive international volunteer program out there: I knew there were cheaper options available from the beginning. I wanted to go to east Africa, and I wanted to do it through a reputable program with lots of experience. I learned of this opportunity through my professor, and found out through research that CCS is quite reputable, and has been offering these types of experiences for decades. Every person I have dealt with in CSS has provided me with experience-based information, as they have all been on at least one volunteer program before. The in-country staff (who live with you at the Home Base) are locals who know the area well and who speak English. I feel very confident from my experiences thus far that I will be well taken care of throughout my entire experience. Personally, I’m more inclined to make my own experience, and don’t want to feel like I’m part of a tour group or something like that. I chose this intense level of support only because it will be my first time in east Africa, and knowing that it is a dangerous part of the world, I welcome CCS’ support. Next time, though, I’ll probably try to do something with a smaller organization or on my own.
Now, I do have some tips for people considering doing a program like this in the future:
-Be prepared! It IS expensive, so don’t get in over your head.
-(I hope) it will be totally worth it. I’m sure I can confirm this when I come home, but if international volunteering is something you’re passionate about, do it. Make it happen. There are lots of scholarships available out there.
-If you really think there’s no way you could pull something like this off, look around. There are lots of cheaper international volunteering programs available. Try looking through religious or education based opportunities.
-Use my cost breakdown as a very rough guide. I received scholarships and other forms of help along the way that are impossible to calculate. Here is a chart for the worst possible situation (no scholarships, no health insurance, buying more things you need to bring, etc.):
These expenses add up to $7,985, whereas my expenses add up to $6,999. That’s a difference of almost $1,000 – pretty significant.11 Days!!!
P.S.: Here’s a copy of the packing list, provided by CCS:
(Bold indicates that volunteers have given strong feedback about the necessity of packing that item.)
| CLOTHES (Please refer to the Dress Code in your Participant Handbook)
EXPENSIVE OR HARD-TO-FIND ITEMS
| PERSONAL CARE ITEMS
BASIC FIRST AID KIT
|
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
updates
I tried to update a while back, but couldn’t remember how to log in to my account. Kids today and their technology.
Anyway, the deadline for my program fee has came and went, and thanks to everyone’s generosity I was able to pay it in full. I had estimated the trip to cost about $6,000. I contributed 1/3 of my own money, fundraised 1/3, and the final 1/3 was support from my family. THANK YOU again, to everyone who helped me to reach my goal.
My final fundraiser, to backtrack a bit further, went much better than I had expected. Capital Wine and Liquor had offered me 10% of sales from people who came in and mentioned that they were my facebook friends on the First Friday of November. Three friends came in, and Mark, the owner, made a generous personal donation as well. Many thanks to him and to Capital Wine and Liquor!
This past Friday I sent away my visa application (and passport!!) to the Tanzanian embassy in NYC. It was a fairly smooth process consisting of completing several simple forms explaining when and why I want to go to Tanzania, and how I will support myself financially while I am there. I had passport photos taken at CVS ($@ off with coupon, check their website!), and brought the whole shebang to FedEx. I purchased two three-day shipping envelopes with tracking, to prevent losing my passport. I was pretty nervous to let the passport out of my sight, but there isn’t another option. (Even if you apply in person, you need to leave the passport at the embassy for at least a day or two while they complete your paperwork.) I checked the tracking today, and my package has graced the presence of Menands, Tennessee, and NYC. It has yet to reach its destination. I’m beginning to get quite nervous that between 6 days of shipping and two weeks of processing I might not get everything back in time. If that happens, I’m REALLY screwed.
Today, I called my pharmacy to check on the prices of the prescriptions I need to fill when I go. The naive third world traveler that I am, I had expected a figure between $100-$200. WRONG. I have three medications (malaria, typhoid, and traveler’s diarrhea) prescribed. The rough costs are $20, $60, and $275. That makes a grand total of $355. This is in addition, mind you, to the $97 Yellow Fever shot I got a few weeks ago. Yikes.
On a happier note, I received a final preparation packet from CCS. The packet included a recommended packing list, contact information to leave with family and friends, and a powerpoint with some useful Swahili phrases and other information including pictures of the home base where I’ll stay. It’s a lot nicer than I expected. I’m not disappointed by any means, but I am concerned about the message sent by traveling all the way to east Africa to volunteer with some of the world’s poorest people, only to spend time in a nice building with all the amenities of home. I’ll have to wait and see what it’s really like when I get there.
Finally, another bit of good news from my helpful professor, Barbara Rio. She informed me last week that the SUNY School of Social Welfare had some scholarships that may be able to help me. I went in today with a receipt for my money order for my visa application ($100), and the school will mail me a check in the same amount! This is both exciting and unexpected, and I plan to put the check towards my prescriptions when it arrives.
The next step, as I understand it, is to be patient about my visa/passport, begin shopping for things I need to being (a English/Swahili dictionary, conservative T-shirts, etc), and pack! I’m leaving in 22 days!!!
Anyway, the deadline for my program fee has came and went, and thanks to everyone’s generosity I was able to pay it in full. I had estimated the trip to cost about $6,000. I contributed 1/3 of my own money, fundraised 1/3, and the final 1/3 was support from my family. THANK YOU again, to everyone who helped me to reach my goal.
My final fundraiser, to backtrack a bit further, went much better than I had expected. Capital Wine and Liquor had offered me 10% of sales from people who came in and mentioned that they were my facebook friends on the First Friday of November. Three friends came in, and Mark, the owner, made a generous personal donation as well. Many thanks to him and to Capital Wine and Liquor!
This past Friday I sent away my visa application (and passport!!) to the Tanzanian embassy in NYC. It was a fairly smooth process consisting of completing several simple forms explaining when and why I want to go to Tanzania, and how I will support myself financially while I am there. I had passport photos taken at CVS ($@ off with coupon, check their website!), and brought the whole shebang to FedEx. I purchased two three-day shipping envelopes with tracking, to prevent losing my passport. I was pretty nervous to let the passport out of my sight, but there isn’t another option. (Even if you apply in person, you need to leave the passport at the embassy for at least a day or two while they complete your paperwork.) I checked the tracking today, and my package has graced the presence of Menands, Tennessee, and NYC. It has yet to reach its destination. I’m beginning to get quite nervous that between 6 days of shipping and two weeks of processing I might not get everything back in time. If that happens, I’m REALLY screwed.
Today, I called my pharmacy to check on the prices of the prescriptions I need to fill when I go. The naive third world traveler that I am, I had expected a figure between $100-$200. WRONG. I have three medications (malaria, typhoid, and traveler’s diarrhea) prescribed. The rough costs are $20, $60, and $275. That makes a grand total of $355. This is in addition, mind you, to the $97 Yellow Fever shot I got a few weeks ago. Yikes.
On a happier note, I received a final preparation packet from CCS. The packet included a recommended packing list, contact information to leave with family and friends, and a powerpoint with some useful Swahili phrases and other information including pictures of the home base where I’ll stay. It’s a lot nicer than I expected. I’m not disappointed by any means, but I am concerned about the message sent by traveling all the way to east Africa to volunteer with some of the world’s poorest people, only to spend time in a nice building with all the amenities of home. I’ll have to wait and see what it’s really like when I get there.
Finally, another bit of good news from my helpful professor, Barbara Rio. She informed me last week that the SUNY School of Social Welfare had some scholarships that may be able to help me. I went in today with a receipt for my money order for my visa application ($100), and the school will mail me a check in the same amount! This is both exciting and unexpected, and I plan to put the check towards my prescriptions when it arrives.
The next step, as I understand it, is to be patient about my visa/passport, begin shopping for things I need to being (a English/Swahili dictionary, conservative T-shirts, etc), and pack! I’m leaving in 22 days!!!
Friday, September 25, 2009
traditional dinner II
Tonight was the traditional dinner I’ve been planning for quite some time now, and I’m happy to say it went very well. About 20 people came, and everyone seemed to really enjoy the food. I must say, I’m pretty impressed with Chartwells at the moment. I forgot to take pictures of the food, but I promise it was delicious! Also I was very surprised by the incredible generosity of everyone who came. I asked for a suggested donation of $20 per person, but so many who came went above and beyond that that after expenses I made.. drumroll please.. $547!!! So thank you thank you thank you to everyone who came. I had a great time enjoying your company and am very grateful for your generous donations.
83 days and counting!!!
83 days and counting!!!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
traditional dinner
The traditional Tanzanian Dinner is less than a week away! I learned last week that I won’t be able to bring my own food, and that it needs to be provided by the campus suppliers. At first this was really upsetting, but I think that it will cost about the same amount for each of us to make the food, but this way they do all the work =]. The room did change, though. The dinner will now be in the Campus Center Patroon Room. It’s still Thursday, September 24th at 7:00pm. I have asked for a suggestied donation of $20.00 per person to help off-set the costs of my trip ($6,000). I have 19 RSVP’s and I really hope everyone comes. I’m excited to teach everyone the little I know about Tanzanian meal customs and to try traditional foods for the first time. I’ll also be providing information about the city of Moshi, Cross Cultural Solutions, and myself.
Check out my fund raising progress at https://my.crossculturalsolutions.org (login: madelinehannan)
Countdown: 89 days!!!
Check out my fund raising progress at https://my.crossculturalsolutions.org (login: madelinehannan)
Countdown: 89 days!!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
fundraising
As some of you may have noticed, I officially have a date (and time, and place..) for my traditional Tanzanian dinner fundraiser! This is really exciting because it seemed like even getting that much done was a lot of work. So now that I’m back from vacation its time to really get cracking! I need to practice all of the recepies at least once, figure out exactly how many people will be coming and how i can possibly cook for (and buy all the ingredients for) all of these people. My biggest fear at the moment is no one will come. I began addressing some invitations today, but I’m hoping that facebook will attract some people too. So please come, if you’re able; It will be delicious and I hope to teach a little something about the culture which should be really fun!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
On my way
I have purchased my plane tickets (2,100!) and am working on paying my dad back. I still have another $360 to go. I just finished a letter writing campaign, appealing to about 70 local and national businesses asking for donations. That was a pretty depressing experience, as I was turned down almost immediately upon the (personal) delivery of each letter.
IN THE works: I am in the midst of organizing a traditional Tanzanian dinner as an actual fund-raising event. I will send some personal invitations and flier around the city and my campus, and I hope to have at least 50 people come. I’m still undecided if it should be “donations welcome” or set a base amount. Any input you have would be welcome =] I did just hear that I will be able to host the event in the campus center at UAlbany, and that one of my professors and the school of social welfare will be co-sponsoring the event. This is very exciting!
Also, I heard yesterday that Capitol Wine on Lark Street will help me fund raise by setting a date where they will donate a portion of each sale made by a someone who mentions me to my efforts! This is awesome because the owner, Mark, is a regular at the bakery where I work and so it’s a little more personal, and also because it’s my first response to the letters I sent! There may be hope yet!
NEW NEWS: I just reviewed my flight itinerary and one of my flights is missing! I have not heard from the company that there has been a change and I have not received a refund, but now there is a large (like, Ethiopia to Washington D.C. large) gap in my schedule! I’m contacting everyone I can to see what happened, and I hope to have some answers by Monday. Stay tuned for more updates on that front.
Dont forget to watch my progress at https://my.crossculturalsolutions.org/login.aspx, log in “madelinehannan”!
IN THE works: I am in the midst of organizing a traditional Tanzanian dinner as an actual fund-raising event. I will send some personal invitations and flier around the city and my campus, and I hope to have at least 50 people come. I’m still undecided if it should be “donations welcome” or set a base amount. Any input you have would be welcome =] I did just hear that I will be able to host the event in the campus center at UAlbany, and that one of my professors and the school of social welfare will be co-sponsoring the event. This is very exciting!
Also, I heard yesterday that Capitol Wine on Lark Street will help me fund raise by setting a date where they will donate a portion of each sale made by a someone who mentions me to my efforts! This is awesome because the owner, Mark, is a regular at the bakery where I work and so it’s a little more personal, and also because it’s my first response to the letters I sent! There may be hope yet!
NEW NEWS: I just reviewed my flight itinerary and one of my flights is missing! I have not heard from the company that there has been a change and I have not received a refund, but now there is a large (like, Ethiopia to Washington D.C. large) gap in my schedule! I’m contacting everyone I can to see what happened, and I hope to have some answers by Monday. Stay tuned for more updates on that front.
Dont forget to watch my progress at https://my.crossculturalsolutions.org/login.aspx, log in “madelinehannan”!
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