Trip date options, payment schedule and 12/12 meeting recap

The travel agent has gotten back to me with prices for 8/9 - 8/18!

These flights are American Airlines from Hartford at ~$778 per person. 

So our options are:

1) July 20 - 29 from Hartford on Delta for ~$763 per

Or

2) August 9 - August 18 from Hartford on American for ~$778 per

PLEASE CONTACT ME ONLY IF EITHER OF THESE DATES WILL FORCE YOU TO DROP OUT. Based on responses I will make a decision that will accommodate the most travelers. If you asked me to set your money aside, please let me know where you stand with these options. 

Here is a link to the forms that travelers need to fill out through Amped's website:

http://ampedforeducation.org/volunteer-in-nicaragua/upcoming-volunteers/

In addition, I will need a copy of the traveler's passport for the travel agent to secure their seat on the flights.

The payment schedule for the cost of the trip made out to "Amped for Education" is:
12/12 -- $350
1/30 -- $150
2/27 -- $150
3/27 -- $150
4/24 -- $150
5/29 -- $150
6/26 -- $99
***Any/all payments can be made using the online payment feature on Amped's website!  Use the link above!***

As soon as we lock in travel dates, I will post more information about paying for the flights. Checks will be made out to "Pioneer Valley Travel".

I am looking to make a decision soon on travel dates and post again during winter break.  Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

Joe Costello
508 944 7917
joe.costello2@gmail.com

Potential Trip Dates: Late July 2015

They way I organize flights will dictate what dates the trip will be held.  I'm trying to get the lowest cost possible so I tell the travel agent to work in a range of about a month to find the lowest price for what our group number will be (30ish?).  Some of the feedback I got from the last meeting was to try and move it a bit earlier, so I asked the agent to look from 7/20/15 - 8/20/15 for 9 days and here is what she found:

7/20 - 7/29 (Note: there are no direct flights to Nicaragua from our area)

1.)
From Hartford, through Atlanta, to Managua.  Return to Hartford.  Don't have times yet.
$743

2.)
From Boston, late in the day (not ideal) through Miami, to Managua.  Return leaves Managua very early in the morning (not ideal) to Boston.
$591 plus $20 fee (plus we would have to organize a separate transport to get us to and from Boston which could be close to $100 per person)

3.)
I asked her to keep looking for dates in August but I haven't heard back yet.  It is hard to find travel for ~30 people to a place like Nicaragua 8-9 months in advance.  Hopefully I'll have something by 12/12.


These are a little more expensive than I thought they would be, but they are on par with what we've paid the past two years.

I'd really like to lock in a block of seats for our trips as soon as possible so I'm going to definitely need a more accurate number.  Please consider whether these earlier July dates will work for you or not and contact me if you have an issue.
When I lock the flights in with Pioneer Valley Travel, the payments for the flight will be made out to "Pioneer Valley Travel" and not to Amped.

Don't forget to bring your $350 deposit to our meeting on 12/12 at Frontier in my room at 7pm!  I've already collected 1!  We are on our way!

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!

New Frontier Video!!

Check out this new video of our trip from this past summer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUOgG3FYY8w

Exciting announcements coming up very soon.  I am starting to promote another trip to Nicaragua for this summer, August 2015.

Stay tuned!

Finished Products!!

Hey everyone!

Now that we have a week of school under our belts, I've been doing some reflecting on our experience in Nicaragua this summer.  I know that some of you that I've seen in the halls have been as well.  I'm motivated to continue working with the community in El Pantanal by helping to coordinate a "sister school" program here at Frontier.  That way, we can stay in touch with the communities that we've visited year round.  More details to follow!

Amped wanted me to share some recent videos and photos of the learning center that we helped to build. 

Storage shed.

View from the road.

Much bigger than I thought it would be. 


And here are some short youtube clips of the finished project and a thank you from Amped:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BlC37zwOUQ  (finished product)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk_HlEGz9gA   (thank you to all summer volunteers)