Help Gigi Reach Nationals in Iowa

My name is Gigi Parra; I am a senior at Pentucket Regional Middle High School in northern Massachusetts. In my sophomore year, my love for speech and debate led me to start the speech and debate team at my school. Since then, I have competed in various tournaments all over MA alongside my teammates. This past February, I was the first from my school to qualify for nationals—one of the largest academic tournaments in the world.

The tournament itself is a week-long competition in Des Moines, Iowa. Unfortunately, as much as my school provides a lot of emotional support, they are unable to provide financial support. It is just my mother and I, and she barely makes enough to make ends meet.

I am starting this GoFundMe to help pay for a week of accommodation, plane fares, meals, and transportation inside the city. If I don’t raise the funds needed, I won’t be able to attend. No contribution is too small—everything helps!

That is why I’m asking you for your support. I started speech and debate my freshman year, and it has been a dream since then to be able to go to nationals—this is my last chance to do it. Speech and debate has helped me overcome my fear of public speaking and it has given me the confidence I never knew I had.

Thank you for your support and being able to donate toward this dream of mine. I really appreciate it!