Peru Teen Travel Scholarships

Donations of any size, great or small, are so appreciated!


The Cause
Traveling abroad has the power to open students' minds in a way that cultivates the empathy and global-thinking that is critical for our community. For the past 5 years Kim Tilton, a Santa Barbara public high school science teacher, has been leading educational travel programs in her community. Unfortunately, the costs of these programs continue to rise and there are always students and families that simply cannot afford the costs of their travel. We are asking the community for support in providing scholarships for student programs  ; programs that are well-rounded and are designed to include elements of scientific, historical and cultural learning paired with community service and outreach.
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62thaiTOi-I


Teaming Up Locally
This year we have teamed up with a local non-profit organization called Just Communities to create a fund that will be used to award travel scholarships for underprivileged students in our local community. In addition this partnership allows supporters to make tax deductible donations. 

Candidates
Recipients for the scholarships will be chosen based on their financial need, involvement in school, community service and personal commitment to fundraising for their trip. Each family has committed to personally funding 1/3 of their total trip cost, and in addition each student has committed to participating in several local fundraisers to raise money for a rural village school they will be working with while abroad.

The Trip
Our trip this year will be taking us to Peru, the ancient city of Cusco and the awe-inspiring ruins of Machu Picchu where we will spend 10 days learning about the Ancient Incas, Spanish colonialism and visiting local communities and villages to interact with the vibrant and diverse Peruvian culture.

Request for Donation
Please consider donating to our scholarship fund. All donations are tax deductible and any scholarship funds that are not used within this year will be saved and put towards the next year's cohort. Our fundraising goal of $10,000 would allow 5 students with financial need to join our trip this summer!

Just Communities
Just Communities works to provide multiple programs that are focused on social justice, diversity and equity work to ensure all members of our Santa Barbara community have a voice and are valued.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration of our cause.

Take a look at some of our pictures from previous year's adventures!
Lauren and Jess enjoying a laugh in the mist of a Poas Volcano National Park
Doing our part to restore San Juan - La Selva Biolological Corridor in Costa Rica. 
School visit, a little shy but they warmed up to us when we met them out on soccer field!
Ms. Tilton learns to milk a cow at a local family owned dairy in the hills of Monteverde.
Supporting a local indigenuous family that is still producing chocolate using ancient traditional methods. 
Playing in the Topiary Tunnel of Zarcero, Costa Rica
On the edge of the very active Poas Volcano and learning about the unique geography of Costa Rica. Learning about the traditional oxe cart methods of bringing coffee down from the highlands.