[JaneYoung]

Our travel resources: Sponsors, booster club, families

One of our short term goals after the booster club formed 5 years ago, was to be able to fund the travel for the mentors. The mentors still pay for their food & entertainment expenses. We met that goal and 2 years ago we started paying for chaperones' hotel rooms as well. Discussions regarding travel expenses have revolved around questions such as, would our sponsors want us to use monies for travel? The answer to that is that we think our sponsors want 418 to compete as well as possible. We are frugal, look for reasonably priced hotels, and plan ahead.

It has also been a goal of ours that anyone who qualifies for travel (service hours met) and wants to travel should not stay home because of financial reasons. We offer travel 'scholarships' to those who need it, full or partial. The student talks with our teacher in confidence and the request is kept anonymous and submitted to the board.

In general, students pay for their travel expenses. If the booster club can, it will donate to try to help with the overall expense. An example would be to help with the bus expense for travel to Atlanta. The amount of that donation varies year to year, depending how well the fundraising has gone.

Everyone pays for their meals and entertainment. We try to plan meals ahead by looking at the area and what is available. We also plan for a movie the first night of travel which serves as our entertainment.