Deposit collection and meeting 12/12!

Thanks to everyone who came to the informational meeting on Thursday! What a huge response! This will be the best group yet!

Next on the schedule will be collecting a non-refundable trip deposit of $350, checks made out to "Amped for Education". This will take place on December 12 at Frontier. Time is still TBD, but online payments for this trip can be made through ampedforeducation.org.

Here are some other notes to consider:

This will bring the remaining trip balance $849. I will post a payment schedule on this blog prior to the 12/12 meeting. 

We will also finalize trip dates on or before 12/12. I will research some flights/group rates with Pioneer Valley Travel and have travel dates to consider. I will post these dates on this blog in the coming weeks. 

Payment for the flight will have to be made first, once we lock in our group numbers and dates. This will probably mean a check or two made out to PVT for the flight cost (~$600)

There will still be time to opt in after 12/12 at the $1199 trip cost, however flight costs are variable as the trip dates move closer. It will also be more difficult to travel on the same flights as the group. 

Please contact me with any questions! This blog will be essential for relaying information for the rest of the way. So check back often!

Joe Costello

Joe.costello2@gmail.com

508-944-7917

Info Meeting for August 2015 trip on Thursday 11/13 at 7pm!

Here is the text of my mass email for the August 2015 trip:

Hello!

You are receiving this email because you are someone who I think may be interested in this service trip that I am organizing for this summer.  I have organized similar trips in the past 2 summers with Frontier students that have been tremendously successful, and I am excited to lead another trip for this summer in August 2015! 

Amped For Education (ampedforeducation.org) has been increasing their efforts over the last 3 years to change the educational outcomes of Nicaraguan students.  Thanks to Frontier students and their meaningful work with Amped in the past, Amped now facilitates trips year-round like this one for groups based across the US!This past summer, my Frontier group helped to build a learning center that offers academic support for secondary students in an impoverished area outside of Granada. 

I will be holding an informational meeting in my classroom at Frontier (A218) on Thursday 11/13 at 7pm to make a more detailed pitch and answer questions.  If you are curious in the meantime you can scroll through my blog of our 2013 and 2014 trips here:
frontiergoestonicaragua.blogspot.com

The cost of the August 2015 trip will be $1199 excluding flight costs.  This figure includes all meals, ground transportation, some cultural excursions, housing costs, and program/project costs for 9 days in Nicaragua.

I am planning on collecting deposits in mid-December or earlier.  The non-refundable deposit will be $350 made out to "Amped For Education."  Amped is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization and any contributions to Amped are tax deductible.


Please contact me with any questions and I hope to see you next week!

Joe Costello
508 944 7917

Here are some links to check out if you want to explore some more:

Amped For Education's Youtube page with tons of media from past trips, including a lot of video of the Frontier trips!
https://www.youtube.com/user/ampedforeducation

Amped For Education's Facebook page.  Lots of great pictures and updates!
https://www.facebook.com/ampedforeducation

The Learning Center needs our help!

Here is an update of the learning center from the Amped staff:

With the help of Frontier and Turners Falls High School students, Amped for Education opened a learning center in August 2014 in an impoverished area of Nicaragua. The area schools have dismal records when it comes to test scores, attendance rates, and achievement.  The idea behind the learning center is to communicate with public school teachers and reinforce concepts that are learned in class through project-based learning.
The need for education in the community could not have been more profoundly demonstrated as the center was broken in to and the learning materials for the children were stolen. The chairs that our students sit in each day, the soccer balls that they use during recreation time, and the food that they eat during break were all taken. Our instructors used this as a learning moment to explain to students that doubling down on their commitment to themselves through education can prevent their generation from being so desperate. We have now provided another job, albeit unexpected, to a Nicaraguan, as we have a security guard at the facility overnight to ensure that nothing like this happens again.
The students and community have shown great resolve during this, still attending class the very day after the robbery; sharing what was left of the chairs and taking turns standing during lessons. Community members rallied around us and provided temporary supplies to repair our fence.

Now, we need your help to replace the items taken and help pay for the caretaker that will help ensure security in the future. For example, one chair costs approximately $6, but absolutely no donation is too small.  All of the money raised will go directly to supporting the learning center and the education of Nicaraguan students.

We put a lot of effort into building that place and I want to make sure that we continue to support it even though we are back in the US.  I created an Indiegogo fundraising campaign to try and raise the money to restock the learning center. 

Here is the link:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/amped-for-education-learning-center/x/6403569


Please contribute any small amount that you can, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, share what you did with as many people as you can!  Show them your pictures and tell them the story of what you did in El Pantanal.  Share this fundraising campaign as a way to spread the word!