Get Juicy to camp

The 2019-2020 season has been my first year in debate and one of the best of my life. At the beginning of the year I decided to do LD or Lincoln-Douglass debate and have been fairly successful. After winning one of the tournaments in the novice division I moved into the open division and just recently came out of the state qualifying tournament with 4 wins and 1 loss, ultimately leaving me with what could possibly become a spot at state in debate and a definite spot in extemporaneous speaking. I have plans to move to Policy debate next year, a feat that should be accompanied with a large amount of education - an education I can realistically only get at debate camp, or GDI (Gonzaga Debate Institute). GDI is a summer program that runs for 5 weeks where students endure hours of lectures and practice debates to try and do as best they can in the coming season. There's a large problem though: GDI has an entry fee at [$2000] (see the update below). My family simply doesn't have the money to provide for myself and my brother while enrolling me in camp, which leaves me with only the option of asking, though I will give incentive.

There are several reasons why I believe it would be beneficial for me to participate in this program:

1. I have incredible work ethic. Throughout the school year I would spend around three hours every night working on debate-related activities outside of school. Fostering such a work ethic could turn out to be beneficial not only for my career in debate but also my career post-graduation.
2. I really enjoy debate. It's one of the few activities that has held my attention for more than a year and something that I genuinely want to be good at.
3. A large part of my social life is predicated off of my existence in debate - it allows me to socialize with people with similar mindsets and that's something that is super important.

***This has been rewritten because of changes due to COVID-19 and my own experience. If you would like to see the original you can click this link: [Old Story ]

UPDATE:

IMPORTANT: First is COVID. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, GDI (Gonzaga Debate Institute) is now taking place online. This drastically reduced the price and means that rather than paying $3000 total it will amount to $2000. This is incredible news, however it does mean that funds are being allocated differently. Here's what the donations will be used for now:

1. The entry fees
2. The education
3. Hiring judges and coaches to run the program
4. Funding next years activities

The drastic reduction in cost means not only am I much, much closer to the goal set out. As of writing this, we're about 25% of the way there. I really can't express how grateful I am for every individual contribution.

Second is updates on experience. Over the course of the lockdown, I've been signed up for four different tournaments and participated in two. I've grown a lot as a debater and have only even further solidified my love for the competition. I participated in the Strake Jesuit All Star Online Invitational of which I came out of with a really bad record but a more defined idea of how debate operated at higher levels. The next and last tournament I participated in was the Quarantined Tournament where I went to semifinals with a 4-1 (W/L) record in preliminary rounds.

Third (and final) is scholarships. Currently, I have received one scholarship and have another pending.  There will be more information on this later.