With these funds, 17 exemplary high-school students in Philadelphia will participate in a 6-day language-immersion and community service trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico!  These students were selected based on their school leadership and their strong desire to grow through culture and language immersion.  They are excited and grateful for the opportunity to meet with community leaders in Puerto Rico, and to be serving a local orphanage that is still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria in 2017.

The goals of this trip center on bringing the language-learning process alive in a way that broadens student horizons and prepares them to be thoughtful, global-citizens in this increasingly interconnected world. 

On this 6-day trip in April, students will:

• Practice their Spanish skills to form meaningful connections in an immersive environment!
• Take a guided walking tour of Old San Juan
• Visit the historic Castillo San Felipe del Morro
• Explore El Yunque National Forest
• Enjoy a thrilling Zip-Line adventure above the canopies of Toro Verde
• Take a cooking class to learn about and savor Puerto Rican culinary traditions
• Participate in a service project at a local orphanage with community leaders 

Logistics and Financing: 

• The total cost of the trip is $33,000!  This includes airfare, lodging in San Juan, ground transportation, local guides, breakfast and dinner, and excursions.  We need your help!
• Each student is responsible for paying $400 of their own money to participate on this trip. This is a HUGE ask of our students.  In addition, each student has committed to participating in the various fundraisers that we are doing at our school and in the Philadelphia community to raise additional funds. 
• The trip takes place during the students' Spring Break. 
• We are partnered with Better World Tours, an INCREDIBLE organization dedicated to creating unique and immersive journeys that inspire travelers to connect with and care about the global community.  Better World Tours believes that as a company they have a responsibility to not only its travelers, but also to the countries and communities in which they work.  A portion of their profits is donated to the local communities to which travelers are visiting.  (Interested in Better World Tours?  Read more here! https://www.betterworldtours.com/)

THE BOTTOM LINE!

We cannot do this without your support!!!

Last year, we raised just over $3,000 through this page.  As a result, we took 15 seniors on a life-changing trip to Puerto Rico during their Spring Break. We have more students participating this year, and as such we need to beat last year's total! 

I am SO thrilled and blessed to have the opportunity to plan and execute another cultural and service learning trip for my incredible students this year.  I humbly ask for any support that you can give!

Back Up Plan