Youth Trip of a Lifetime
Donation protected
Boozhoo (or 'hello')!
We are the youth of Lac La Croix First Nation, a small Anishinaabe community located in northern Ontario, in between Thunder Bay and Fort Frances. We are a group of fifteen dedicated students that are planning a trip of a lifetime.
FAST FACTS:
Who we are: Lac La Croix Youth Dream Team, comprised of fifteen students with a dream to go on the trip of a lifetime to British Columbia for a week. The majority of us have never left Ontario, been on a plane, or seen the ocean. We want to prove to ourselves and our community that with hard work, commitment, and teamwork we can make our dreams a reality.
What the money is for: A trip to Vancouver, British Columbia and surrounding area at the end of February (February 29 to March 5).
How money will be used: Money will go directly toward our trip and be put toward transportation, accommodation, museum tickets, gallery tickets, and experiential opportunities (like visiting Cathedral Grove).
Why we need money: Although we are working hard to fundraise by shovelling snow, running events, hosting polar dips, and cooking for the community, jobs for youth are not readily available in our community. As a result, most of us do not have part-time jobs. Many of our community members struggle financially, so fundraising initiatives can only go so far. Furthermore, our community has less than 400 people in it, so we need to look to external sources to help.
Why it means so much: This will be the experience of a lifetime for us. We can learn about coastal indigenous communities first-hand through the exchange of culture and customs. We can see art and museums at a scale unavailable to us in northern Ontario. We can be inspired by exploring a major city and perhaps create new future aspirations. We can visit the ocean and old growth forests, allowing us to apply classroom theories with hands-on experience. We want to prove to ourselves and our community that dreams can become a reality if you work hard. We are so very grateful that you are considering funding our initiative.
FULL STORY:
Supported by our teachers, families, and band, we hope to raise enough money to travel to Vancouver, British Columbia for a week at the end of February. We picked Vancouver because it is unlike any place that we have been. Many of us have never been on a plane, seen the ocean, or experienced a major city. Vancouver and coastal BC will offer us learning and experiential opportunities that are not available in our small northern Ontario community.
In order to have the trip of a lifetime, we need to raise over $34,000 in less than two months. We know that our goal is ambitious, but we are up for the challenge and we are working hard to raise the money! We have already approached some businesses that work near our community and we plan to raise money through fundraising events, shovelling snow, polar plunges, fifty-fifty draws and cooking community meals.
Money raised will go toward airfare, hotel accommodation, excursions, and admission fees to art galleries and museums. We are very excited at the prospect of visiting coastal First Nations communities and exchanging cultural practices. We are also looking forward to visiting universities and colleges to learn about postsecondary opportunities. We recently visited schools in Thunder Bay and we are now interested in seeing what other options are available. Many of us are entering a time of transition as we get close to graduation. Visiting BC will help us develop future aspirations and introduce us to opportunities that we may presently be unaware of. The BC trip will also be an excellent education opportunity and act as a mechanism to bridge classroom studies with hands on experiences. Our teachers are working with us to align curriculum with elements of the trip. Even the planning phase can be linked with our studies. Math class has been linked to our budgeting, English class has been linked to our proposal letters, and many components can be linked to Business, a class that is not formally available at our small school.
We are holding weekly planning meetings after school. At the meetings we focus on commitment, leadership, and teamwork. These are lifelong skills that we can apply to future dreams, including future community development. As the youth of the Lac La Croix First Nation community, we understand the value of gaining skills, education, and life experience to bring back to the community.
We sincerely thank you for considering our cause, and we hope that you donate! We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, and we truly appreciate your help. If you know of anybody that may be able to help fund us, please pass our message/link along! We also love suggestions—if you know of any coastal BC experiences that we shouldn’t miss, feel free to comment!
Chii Miigwetch!
The Lac la Croix Youth Dream Team
We are the youth of Lac La Croix First Nation, a small Anishinaabe community located in northern Ontario, in between Thunder Bay and Fort Frances. We are a group of fifteen dedicated students that are planning a trip of a lifetime.
FAST FACTS:
Who we are: Lac La Croix Youth Dream Team, comprised of fifteen students with a dream to go on the trip of a lifetime to British Columbia for a week. The majority of us have never left Ontario, been on a plane, or seen the ocean. We want to prove to ourselves and our community that with hard work, commitment, and teamwork we can make our dreams a reality.
What the money is for: A trip to Vancouver, British Columbia and surrounding area at the end of February (February 29 to March 5).
How money will be used: Money will go directly toward our trip and be put toward transportation, accommodation, museum tickets, gallery tickets, and experiential opportunities (like visiting Cathedral Grove).
Why we need money: Although we are working hard to fundraise by shovelling snow, running events, hosting polar dips, and cooking for the community, jobs for youth are not readily available in our community. As a result, most of us do not have part-time jobs. Many of our community members struggle financially, so fundraising initiatives can only go so far. Furthermore, our community has less than 400 people in it, so we need to look to external sources to help.
Why it means so much: This will be the experience of a lifetime for us. We can learn about coastal indigenous communities first-hand through the exchange of culture and customs. We can see art and museums at a scale unavailable to us in northern Ontario. We can be inspired by exploring a major city and perhaps create new future aspirations. We can visit the ocean and old growth forests, allowing us to apply classroom theories with hands-on experience. We want to prove to ourselves and our community that dreams can become a reality if you work hard. We are so very grateful that you are considering funding our initiative.
FULL STORY:
Supported by our teachers, families, and band, we hope to raise enough money to travel to Vancouver, British Columbia for a week at the end of February. We picked Vancouver because it is unlike any place that we have been. Many of us have never been on a plane, seen the ocean, or experienced a major city. Vancouver and coastal BC will offer us learning and experiential opportunities that are not available in our small northern Ontario community.
In order to have the trip of a lifetime, we need to raise over $34,000 in less than two months. We know that our goal is ambitious, but we are up for the challenge and we are working hard to raise the money! We have already approached some businesses that work near our community and we plan to raise money through fundraising events, shovelling snow, polar plunges, fifty-fifty draws and cooking community meals.
Money raised will go toward airfare, hotel accommodation, excursions, and admission fees to art galleries and museums. We are very excited at the prospect of visiting coastal First Nations communities and exchanging cultural practices. We are also looking forward to visiting universities and colleges to learn about postsecondary opportunities. We recently visited schools in Thunder Bay and we are now interested in seeing what other options are available. Many of us are entering a time of transition as we get close to graduation. Visiting BC will help us develop future aspirations and introduce us to opportunities that we may presently be unaware of. The BC trip will also be an excellent education opportunity and act as a mechanism to bridge classroom studies with hands on experiences. Our teachers are working with us to align curriculum with elements of the trip. Even the planning phase can be linked with our studies. Math class has been linked to our budgeting, English class has been linked to our proposal letters, and many components can be linked to Business, a class that is not formally available at our small school.
We are holding weekly planning meetings after school. At the meetings we focus on commitment, leadership, and teamwork. These are lifelong skills that we can apply to future dreams, including future community development. As the youth of the Lac La Croix First Nation community, we understand the value of gaining skills, education, and life experience to bring back to the community.
We sincerely thank you for considering our cause, and we hope that you donate! We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, and we truly appreciate your help. If you know of anybody that may be able to help fund us, please pass our message/link along! We also love suggestions—if you know of any coastal BC experiences that we shouldn’t miss, feel free to comment!
Chii Miigwetch!
The Lac la Croix Youth Dream Team
Organizer
Lac La Croix Dream Team
Organizer
Fort Frances, ON
