Good Morning.
You need to come up with a game plan today and divide up your tasks. You need to put on your team jersey and walk into the following
A.) Television station studio
B.) Newspaper office
C.) Microsoft
Print up flyers that you have EARNED the trip and need the funds. These flyers go in the windows of all businesses in town.
Our bank does a program for the local food bank- customers can pay a dollar for a white plate, five dollars for a green plate, etc., write their name on the plate, and the plate gets hung up in the bank (also popular at Christmas time using ornaments on a tree). Ask your local businesses to do the same thing.
Run a carwash this weekend.
Run an Easter Egg Hunt this weekend asking your local chain stores to donate the materials you need. At the hunt hold a raffle (use a gaming license of a local civic group)
Ask the local Bingo Hall to hold a Special Easter Weekend Bingo session to help you out.
Do a “Youngster Night” this Friday- send flyers home with younger school kids that there is a babysitting/movie night. Your team watches the kids and keeps them entertained and the parents get a night out. You can hold it at school, church hall, wherever you can get quick permission.
After you are in the paper, and people are aware of your situation, Get out to the grocery store and help people load their groceries for tip money; it’s a holiday weekend and they are grocery shopping. Stay polite and practice your gracious professionalism.
Set up all of these things then go back to your media and advertise them.
Make sure all of your material and conversations are professional and clear. There should be no gray areas; take a mentor with you to all meetings and walk ins.
There is a campground outside of Atlanta, Stone Mountain(?) that may have cabins cheaper than hotels in the downtown area.
Find a team in the Atlanta area that can put you in touch with a church, VFW, or Ruritan Group that will let you bunk in their hall; usually the ladies auxillary will cook for you.
Better yet, ask your local churches for a contact church in the Atlanta area. You’ll have to pack your sleeping bags and will have a great time roughing it.
Contact the local rental agency about a cargo van; fly your core team down and then have the rest arrive on Thursday by vehicle. Divide your team up into smaller groups. Airline fees can sometimes work in reverse, they can lower the cost if you only need a handful of seats. And check with all the airlines that fly out of your area; you can send a few on one carrier and a few on another. It’s a patchwork of logistics but it may work.
Post the number of students, male/female, and the number of mentors so if someone is browsing and can help, they have an idea of what you need.
You will get so much more out of this experience by working towards it your selves and not having it handed to you. You can do this. You need to compile all your ideas and assign duties, one or two people doing everything won’t work. Again- You can do this.
See you in Atlanta.
Shelbo’s Mom
