So yesterday (Saturday May 15) we finally had our first car wash fundraising event. Its was a lot of fun and quite successful too! We raised a little over $800. And I bet we could raise even more if we had a location that was visible from the street, or with a good intersection. For most of the time I was out on the street waving signs and yelling to passing cars. I found that there were two major (but easily fixable) problems with our marketing scheme.
1) Many of the people were very confused as to where the washing was taking place. I know this because many of the people actually stopped there cars or slowed down to ask where it was.
2) That we didn't have enough (any) signs that displayed our cause, mentioned Morocco and what we intend to do there. I feel that if more people new more information about what we're doing more people would be willing to stop and donate some money.
Both of these problems are easily remedied. For the first, we could work on making signs that explicitly say where to turn. We could also have the car wash at a different location, Vani mentioned that her dad owns several motels on the cape which he would be willing to let us use. For the second problem we can simply make signs that stuff like "Send us to morocco" or "your donations will help us go to Morocco". OK so those would probably be kind of lame but something along those lines would be good. I also think that we should really be talking up the whole program while we're washing the cars, I think was already the case on Saturday but I was out on the street most of the time so I'm not sure.
I guess that's all I have to say. I think that the whole event went very well and we raised a lot of money doing something that was a lot of fun.
Oh I also think we should work on making T-shirts or at least all wearing very bright shirts of the same colour.
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Monday, 29 March 2010
Why I Decided to be a Part of this Journey to Morocco:
Well I've always had a love for traveling whether it be a trip to Boston or Seattle. I love learning about different cultures and people. The reason I chose to go to Morocco is because I think it will be a great opportunity not only to learn about Morocco but to also bond with my friends in an entirely different environment. I am also looking forward to the many months we have to prepare for the trip. My sister, Abbie, recently went to Japan for a school trip. It was similar to this one. The students were strongly encouraged to raise the money themselves through car washes, auctions, bake sales etc. I thought that that was a great idea because the kids (not that they were much younger than me) got to bond and earn their trip so it was very rewarding. So yah I hope that answers the question of why I decided to go to Morocco.
Am I Nervous for this Trip?
No. I would say no I am not nervous. Well no maybe that wasn't the correct answer. I am not really nervous about the traveling aspect of the trip. As I said earlier I love to travel to new and exciting places so that aspect of the trip doesn't really worry me. I am, however, worried about keeping up with all the CAS requirements and organization. I have a tendency to fall behind (both academically and otherwise) and once I've done so its hard for me to get back on track.
As for the trip itself I feel no other emotion than excitement.
Fundraising?
I am extremely eager to contribute my skills and effort to the fundraising for this trip. I love being creative and I think I will enjoy coming up with new ways to earn this trip.
Am I Comfortable With this Aspect of the Morocco Trip?
I would have to say no, I do not plan on being 'out of my comfort zone' for the duration of the 15 or so months, prior to our departure, in which we will be raising money and planning for our trip to Africa. I enjoy working for a good cause, particularly when I am privileged enough to be working along side some of my best friends and peers. That is not to say that I believe that this part of the trip will not be challenging. On the contrary I think that this step of the journey should definitely be a challenge for all of us, because if it isn't it won't feel nearly as rewarding. I think that the most challenging aspect of the preparation will be managing my time and working hard so that I won't fall behind.
Personal Fundraising
I plan to earn my portion of the payment by working over the summer and throughout the school year. I have recently applied to work a several local shops. As of yet none have responded, this is no cause for concern however because I only just submitted applications. If working at any one of these locations is not enough to pay for the trip I am prepared to do odd jobs such as babysitting or ... well I haven't quite worked out all the possibilities for raising money, but I know that I will personally be able to raise a good, large chunk of the cost.
My Thoughts on the First Meeting (on Wednesday)
I believe that Wednesday's meeting wasn't particularly helpful. The reason being that it was still very general. Nothing specific was covered. I did, however, like that sheet with the calculations for earning the money for the trip. Even if I don't use it (I highly doubt that I will) it was still useful to see how we could plan out things like that. As for the overall meeting I believe it was too much of an over view and didn't really help us move forward in the whole process of preparing.
My account of this meeting is however slightly unreliable due to the fact that I am very eager and excited to begin the fundraising and planning aspect of this trip.
Well I've always had a love for traveling whether it be a trip to Boston or Seattle. I love learning about different cultures and people. The reason I chose to go to Morocco is because I think it will be a great opportunity not only to learn about Morocco but to also bond with my friends in an entirely different environment. I am also looking forward to the many months we have to prepare for the trip. My sister, Abbie, recently went to Japan for a school trip. It was similar to this one. The students were strongly encouraged to raise the money themselves through car washes, auctions, bake sales etc. I thought that that was a great idea because the kids (not that they were much younger than me) got to bond and earn their trip so it was very rewarding. So yah I hope that answers the question of why I decided to go to Morocco.
Am I Nervous for this Trip?
No. I would say no I am not nervous. Well no maybe that wasn't the correct answer. I am not really nervous about the traveling aspect of the trip. As I said earlier I love to travel to new and exciting places so that aspect of the trip doesn't really worry me. I am, however, worried about keeping up with all the CAS requirements and organization. I have a tendency to fall behind (both academically and otherwise) and once I've done so its hard for me to get back on track.
As for the trip itself I feel no other emotion than excitement.
Fundraising?
I am extremely eager to contribute my skills and effort to the fundraising for this trip. I love being creative and I think I will enjoy coming up with new ways to earn this trip.
Am I Comfortable With this Aspect of the Morocco Trip?
I would have to say no, I do not plan on being 'out of my comfort zone' for the duration of the 15 or so months, prior to our departure, in which we will be raising money and planning for our trip to Africa. I enjoy working for a good cause, particularly when I am privileged enough to be working along side some of my best friends and peers. That is not to say that I believe that this part of the trip will not be challenging. On the contrary I think that this step of the journey should definitely be a challenge for all of us, because if it isn't it won't feel nearly as rewarding. I think that the most challenging aspect of the preparation will be managing my time and working hard so that I won't fall behind.
Personal Fundraising
I plan to earn my portion of the payment by working over the summer and throughout the school year. I have recently applied to work a several local shops. As of yet none have responded, this is no cause for concern however because I only just submitted applications. If working at any one of these locations is not enough to pay for the trip I am prepared to do odd jobs such as babysitting or ... well I haven't quite worked out all the possibilities for raising money, but I know that I will personally be able to raise a good, large chunk of the cost.
My Thoughts on the First Meeting (on Wednesday)
I believe that Wednesday's meeting wasn't particularly helpful. The reason being that it was still very general. Nothing specific was covered. I did, however, like that sheet with the calculations for earning the money for the trip. Even if I don't use it (I highly doubt that I will) it was still useful to see how we could plan out things like that. As for the overall meeting I believe it was too much of an over view and didn't really help us move forward in the whole process of preparing.
My account of this meeting is however slightly unreliable due to the fact that I am very eager and excited to begin the fundraising and planning aspect of this trip.
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