Trip of a Lifetime Blog

Trip of a Lifetime is a 501(c)3 not-profit organization that empowers underprivileged high school students through summer travel experiences. Follow this blog for a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of our organization

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Happy Meme Monday! 

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Trip of a Lifetime Student Scholarship Essay!

I would like to start off with a massive thank you, and a big hug. When I heard that I received the scholarship through Trip of a Lifetime, I was so excited to participate. Even though the journey wasn’t very far, it was worth it. I’d never heard of Finding the Fabulous so going was a new experience for me.

I knew from the start that I would feel comfortable staying there for the weekend. Right when my friend and I called for help from the train it was like, “No problem we will pick you up.” That statement for me was a big deal. I’m not usually comfortable staying around other people unless I know them, but hearing that was like, “ It’s okay, we will protect you.” When we arrived, they came in 5 minutes to pick us up which was cool. Checking in I met a girl named Tiffany, who was super friendly. We collected our gift bags which were like a welcome home gift bag, “I’m happy you’re here.” I was a bit nervous because I wanted to dorm with my best friend, but their objective was for us to branch out and come out of our comfort zone, so I knew that we weren’t rooming together. My dorm mate was very quiet and I was very talkative compared to her, which made it weird at first. I felt nervous to speak, but she told me she loved listening to me speak.

Going to the conference in the first place, I knew that I would have to overcome most of my fears. Eating in front of people is one of my biggest fears, because I battle with an eating disorder so being judged is always implanted in my head. Since we were put into groups with people I didn’t know, I was always on the edge with anxiety. I did eat and I wasn’t stared at, or judged. For the first time I felt like I shouldn’t worry so much about my image. The first night there was so much fun, I actually fit in. The games that we played were a whole bunch of interacting and teamwork. In my group, I spoke up about one thing and then my counselor, Sarah, said “Great, you’re the leader.” This was fine to me because I’m used to being a leader. It was super fun bonding with the girls.

The next day there was a panel of a few women who have either struggled with confidence or faced many battles in their lives that put them where they are today. There was one woman in particular that stuck out to me. Her name was Erika Hval. She went through an eating disorder as well because she had it in her mind that to be beautiful and confident you need to be skinny. I related her so much, which was a relief. I know now that I’m not the only one, but that’s what it felt like until she said she was struggling with it also. What I learned from the panel is that if you feel confident, then be confident; not cocky, confident.

        The trip was fabulous. I really hope to go back. A reunion for a week, or another weekend would be super fun. I miss all the girls there already. My counselor Sarah was just like me, I miss her. This was amazing!

Love: 芥屋\

Ny’Keya Howell

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Trip of a Lifetime Kickoff!

Trip of a Lifetime (TOAL), a non-profit organization that empowers students to become catalysts for change in their communities through summer travel experiences, held their annual kickoff event last weekend. There were many people that were present at the events such as Trip of a Lifetime board members, founder Stan Rosenberg, interns, trip providers, accepted students and parents.

Stan Rosenberg began the kickoff event started with a speech that welcomed students and parents. He also informed the people who were in attendance to start the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag “#TripofaLifetimeKickoff” in their posts.

Succeeding that, there was an Everyday Ambassador Workshop with author Kate Otto. The author used her experiences from when she travelled to provide advice to students travelling with Trip of a Lifetime this summer. She also encouraged the students to use four words to help empower students to have the best trip the possible could.

Later on in the day, there was a presentation that featured the TOAL trip provider and Rein teen tours. Carol and Norm Rein answered any questions that the students and parents had about the trip.

An overwhelming majority of the students and parents felt that the event was a success. The event increased the excitement that the students have about the upcoming trip.

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A sneak peek of some of the amazing pictures that will be displayed at the Stern Art Gallery

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10 Reasons you should seek summer travel opportunities (Said by our own alumni)

1.      “If I had to sum up my experience with one word, it would be unforgettable. Growing up in the city, opportunities like these aren’t very common, so when an opportunity to take a “Trip of a Lifetime” presented itself, I immediately applied for it.”- Byron Acosta, Summer 2012 Trip of a Lifetime participant

As Byron put it, when summer travel opportunity presents itself you can’t afford to miss out on an unforgettable experience.

2.      “All I’m saying is after this trip I have a better view of life. A better view of what I going to do with myself. Now that I have seen places I can be with hard work, there is nothing or no one stopping me.”- Alphonso Hicklin, Summer 2011 Trip of a Lifetime participant

As Alphonso put it travel brings about a new perception of life.

3.       “This trip taught me many important things like always having confidence in yourself, learning how to help others, and learning how to take care of your community. Thank you for the unforgettable experience.”- Carolina Rosario, Summer 2011 Trip of a Lifetime participant

As Carolina experienced travel helps transform you into a catalyst for change.

4.      “Through my teen tour experience I’ve learned that there are more things in life to see, and if I want to experience something like that on my own, I will have to work hard for it. Also giving people changes it’s important, and leaving people you learned to care for it’s hard.”- Monica Duque, Carolina Rosario, Summer 2010 Trip of a Lifetime participant

 As Monica experienced, Travel opens your eyes to the rest of the world.

5.      “This trip gave me the confidence to really be a big impact my community in the coming years and the rest of my life.     I’ve always wanted to help out in my community but was never motivated enough. This trip was the motivation I needed.”- Maria Suarez, Summer 2010 Trip of a Lifetime participant

 As Maria experienced travel can evoke motivation to explore your impact in this world.

As said by our Trip of a Lifetime alumni, travel changes you. Don’t turn down or pass up a chance for Travel. Like us on Facebook.com/projecttoal Visit our website: http://www.projecttoal.org/home http://www.projecttoal.org/student

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4 Nonprofits helping youth become the leaders of tomorrow

 The mission of the "I Have a Dream" program is to motivate and empower children from low-income communities to reach their education and career goals by providing a long-term intervention program of mentoring, tutoring, and cultural enrichment. Upon graduation from high school, each Dreamer is eligible to receive a last-dollar, four-year tuition-assistance scholarship for college or vocational school.

Interact gives students ages 12-18 the chance to make a real difference while having fun. Every Interact club carries out two service projects a year: one that helps their school or community and one that promotes international understanding.

The mission of Urban Upbound is to provide residents of public housing neighborhoods the tools and resources needed to achieve economic mobility and self-sufficiency, and to break cycles of poverty.

City Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization, based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA that partners with high need public schools to provide full-time targeted student interventions.

These four nonprofits are really changing New York City by helping our youth volunteer, get opportunities for college and ultimately succeed in life.

Discover what your community is already doing, lend a helping hand and bring about change.

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Spring Break Ideas all in New York City

This Spring Break, think beyond bikinis and beaches 

Post made by: Raul Vargas When you hear the word spring break you may think wild teens, beach, bikinis and a week of fun in the sun but to many people this kind of fun is either unsuitable or out of reach for some. Traveling doesn’t always mean getting on a plane and going somewhere, sometimes traveling just means grabbing a backpack and going to a street you have never stepped foot on. This spring break, think outside the box with these ideas all in New York City: • Grab your appetite and head over to Canal Street for some culture, novelty items and most importantly exotic colorful food and cheap eats from all around the world. • If you haven’t had enough excitement for one day, visit the largest park in east New York City, Flushing Meadow Park. Enjoy an afternoon of sports all while staring at a Unisphere. http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/flushing-meadows-corona-park

Finish your first day of activities with a trip to Bryant Park for ice skating. Rent a pair of affordable ice skates for night on the town

• Get inexpensive tickets to see the famous Rockettes, at the Radio City Music Hall. Enjoy the radio City Music Halls’ spring spectacular! The New York Spring Spectacular presented by Chase, starring the Rockettes opens at Radio City Music Hall March 2015. This limited seven-week engagement begins previews Thursday, March 12, 2015, opens on Thursday, March 26 and runs through Sunday, May 3, 2015.

These are merely a few things to do in New York to help you enjoy your spring break. New York is full of things to do. I haven’t even mentioned the wonders of central Park, shopping centers of 42cnd Street, activities and events at Rockefeller center, the sights of the Museum of Natural History and so many more. So before you think of piling on the sunscreen think about what New York City already has to offer and indulge in the activities.

Why travel far when adventure waits in the city in which you live in!

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Rethinking Your Education - By Jennifer C, Trip of a Lifetime Intern

“Are you Chinese?” “What’s Vietnam?” “Do you know the show Ni Hao Kai Lan?” were just some of the microaggression-filled questions I was asked when I first entered my high school in the fall of 2012. I quickly noticed many of my classmates looked different than me, and that many of them did not share the same values as I did. Going through days and weeks of seeing my teachers being yelled at, my classmates skipping their classes, and receiving racist comments myself, I felt hopeless and inferior as a minority. However, I had joined The Future Project, an organization at my school aimed at helping students find their passions and build projects out of them. I found that my passion was education and global studies. 

My passion became particularly strong as the year progressed because of two reasons. It is not uncommon for people to mistake me as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, when really I am Vietnamese. It was frustrating because it felt like people were making assumptions about me instead of asking me about who I am. Because I saw that my classmates were unaware of different cultures, I felt that it was my responsibility to help them become curious and excited about learning about the world. Secondly, I used to get frustrated when students did not take their education seriously. It was not until my sophomore year that I realized everyone has a different relationship to their education. Maybe some people weren’t raised in a household where education was a core value. Maybe some people had other things that they needed to make a priority, like their family or health. When I realized this, I decided it might be helpful and inspiring to learn and share how schools worked in other countries - so that we can have some perspective on our own schools and educational system.

On the afternoon of March 12th, about 50 students, teachers, and supporters gathered at Richard R. Green High school of Teaching’s small, but cozy library to hear these stories. My event, “Rethink Your Education: Be Aware. Be Grateful. Be Educated.” consisted of presentations and a panel of discussion about global education. My speakers ranged from freshmen college students to teachers who have been in the classroom for over 20 years. They came from all parts of the world, such as Scotland, Bangladesh, Korea, Italy, and South Africa. Speakers also got a chance to share a part of their culture with the audience, whether that was in the form of a song, food, dance, or video. I wanted my audience to leave having learned something about themselves, their education, and the world around them. But most of all, I wanted them to walk away with a sense gratitude and inspiration.

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Meet Jennifer Chiao, our newest intern!

My name is Jennifer Chiao and I am currently a junior at the Richard R. Green High School of Teaching. I have a passion for education, travel, and life. One day - I would love to do teaching abroad programs to combine my passions. I also love to learn about new cultures, watch theater plays around the city, and Mexican food. I am currently a part of an organization called The Future Project - where students get to build projects out of what they are passionate about. Two years ago, I created an event - ImagiNATION, a education conference where I got speakers from NYU to come talk about the educational systems in their home countries and to also share a part of their culture with my peers. I am currently in the process of creating another one, set to take place March 12th.    

 I first heard of Trip of a Lifetime through a teacher at my school. I thought TOAL only had traveling programs for high school students, until I looked around the website myself and saw that there were internship opportunities as well. I decided to become an intern because I love TOAL’s idea of giving underprivileged students the opportunity to travel. As someone who is surrounded by school peers and friends who consider themselves underprivileged, I believe the effect of traveling for them would be great. Traveling would broaden their horizons on the different types of people and the different ways people live outside their communities. Being an intern would put me behind the scenes of an organization that helps students like myself.    

 Being a TOAL intern and just being apart of the organization, I know I would learn a lot. This is my first internship so I hope to gain skills that I do not have yet - such as writing proposals, video editing, and fundraising. I am excited to meet the other interns and learn from them. Additionally, I am also excited to meet the board and staff, who work everyday to carry out TOAL's mission statement. I also hope to discipline myself more with the tasks - since this is a virtual internship and it is my responsibility to complete the tasks on time. Lastly, I hope Trip of a Lifetime can help me learn more about the teens we are serving and the reasons why they would like to travel and what they would do with their experience once they come back.

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Behind the scenes photos from Trip of a Lifetime's school visit at TEP Charter on February 6, 2015.

Photo Credit: Samantha Wise

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How has travel changed you? Submit your best travel photo on Instagram for your chance to win a prize pack worth over $100. Here's how to enter:

1) Post your favorite travel photo on Instagram

2) Tag @projecttoal and use the hashtag #travelchangesyou

3) The picture that gets the most likes by February 15th will win a Trip of a Lifetime Prize Pack.

Good luck!

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A Better Way To Fundraise!

This post is by Zairia C, a Summer 2014 alumnus and current Trip of a Lifetime intern.

The year 2015 is a new and exciting year for everyone. But with everything new, comes changes. Today, more people are using the internet than ever before. Internet shopping and searching the web are about as a common as a person with two legs. In this age of technology fundraising is also changing we’ve found more effective and less time consuming ways to help out Trip of a Lifetime. Goodsearch and its products are a good example of this.

Introducing Goodsearch the fundraising technology of the future; Goodsearch is a search engine that donates a penny to Trip of a Lifetime each time that you use it. This search engine is great for the everyday person because they can help Trip of a Lifetime without disturbing their day to day activities.

 In addition to Goodsearch, there's also an equally as great online shopping website that allows you to shop your favorite stores online and give back. GoodShop is a product of Goodsearch. The way it works is like this: you shop online with GoodShop at your favorite stores; you get coupons and deals using GoodShop you save money on the things you purchase and a percentage of what you pay gets donated to Trip of a Lifetime. That's GoodShop; you shop. You save. We give. GoodShop works with more than 5,000 stores giving you the best deals and coupons. GoodShop offers exclusive deals coupons and promo codes for all your favorite stores. The top stores even donate up to 20% of your purchase to Trip of a Lifetime. GoodShop puts fundraising at your fingertips with their GoodShop mobile app. With this app you can shop thousands of stores, still get great deals and coupons and donate a percentage of your purchase to Trip of a Lifetime. Download the free GoodShop app for iPhone or iPad to get the best deals and coupons for your favorite online stores, whenever you want to shop. Every time you shop, we’ll donate a percentage of your purchase to the cause of your choice - at no extra cost to you! The GoodShop To-Go Button and Goodsearch Plug-in install in less than 30 seconds and help you to earn donations for your favorite cause when you shop and search even when you don’t visit Goodsearch first! With over 5,000 stores and endless search outcomes, it’s no wonder over $11 million has already been raised for other causes.

Trip of a Lifetime will use the money raised to fund a summer travel experience that will unlock the true potential in underprivileged students, enabling them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Join the future of fundraising. Visit http://www.goodsearch.com/goodshop.aspx and start helping Trip of a Lifetime today!

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Meet Raul Vargas - A New Intern For 2015!

    Hi my name is Raul Vargas, I am a high school student living in Astoria queens. I've always loved the experience of travel and I'm really excited to have become a Trip of a Lifetime intern. I think that travel is one of the most important things to help a person see new perspectives. I can only imagine if I had only seen the neighborhood that I am in. I'd think that New York was the center of the universe.

     My favorite place that I have visited would have to be Puerto Rico. I love the warm weather,the rich culture and all the family I have in Puerto Rico. My first time going there it opened my eyes ,showing be me that there was more to the world than just new York.

     I'm really excited to become a Trip of a Lifetime intern. Ever since my girlfriend Zairia (who is also as intern with trip of a lifetime). 

told me about her trip to California, I've been interested in the organization and decided to check it out for myself. I can't wait to start helping and contributing ideas to this amazing nonprofit.

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Meet Samantha Wise, our newest intern

  About Me

My name is Sam Wise and I am a senior at NYU, where I am double-majoring in Economics and Psychology. Over the past four years, I have had the opportunity to intern in several industries, including technology, finance, real estate, and journalism. These experiences have inspired my appreciation for solving complex, important problems through innovation and collaboration. They have also motivated my decision to work in Finance in Business Analytics at AppNexus, a technology start-up in New York City, upon graduation. I currently work as a Resident Assistant at NYU, a position that indulges my passion for sharing exciting, free experiences (and food) with truly incredible people. Other extracurricular interests of mine include performing arts, exercise, writing, and foreign language. One of my long-term goals is, somewhat fittingly, to gain more travel experience.

  Why I’m excited to be TOAL Intern

After a stressful semester of prospecting full-time career opportunities, I wanted to start redirecting my energy into social impact.  I joined the Social Impact Council at NYU, through which I met my friend and now, fellow TOAL intern, Samir Goel. He advised me to check out TOAL, conveying sincere passion and enthusiasm for the project, and I felt immediately excited to get involved. Most of my community service experience thus far has involved access to education, and TOAL provides a new way for me to help empower students. The TOAL motto, ‘Travel Changes You” resonates strongly with me, and I hope to spread this sentiment among young leaders. I also look forward to working with talented individuals who share my interest in social impact and from whom I can learn about how to grow a start-up non-profit.

  My Favorite Trip

When I was twelve, I had the privilege of traveling to the Dominican Republic with my family and a few of our neighbors. While in hindsight, our itinerary was very tourist-oriented, I look back so fondly upon this trip because it inspired my passion for foreign language. We spent each day doing outdoor activities with other travelers who spoke only French. I had just begun to study the language in school, and this was my first opportunity to apply what I had been learning. I remember how uninhibited I was in trying to communicate in French, stringing simple phrases together in clumsy attempts to make friends. My trip taught me how fulfilling this challenge could be. Today, I aspire not only to improve upon my French skills (which still need a lot of work!), but also to learn to communicate in other languages. Without the travel experience I had, I may never have developed this interest.

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Support Trip of a Lifetime on GoodShop this Holiday Season!

This post is by Zairia Carey, a summer 2014 alumnus and current Trip of a Lifetime intern.

Imagine if there was a way to raise money for Trip of a Lifetime at no expense to you! Now there is, with the help of Goodsearch a person can continue about their daily activities of searching the web and be able to raise money for Trip of a lifetime. Goodsearch makes fundraising a no hassle ordeal. It allows you to search an array of searches and for each search you make a penny is donated to Trip of a Lifetime. Join Goodsearch in support of Trip of a Lifetime where fundraising is just a search away.

A product of Goodsearch, Goodshop is another amazing way to give back to Trip of a Lifetime without steering away from your daily routine. Shopping online is a breeze when you shop using Goodshop.  With over 30,000 stores participating, Goodshop allows you to shop online at your favorite stores and give back to Trip of a Lifetime. Here’s how it works: when you shop online using Goodshop a percentage of what you pay is donated to Trip of a Lifetime at no extra cost to you! An added bonus to shopping with Goodshop is that Goodshop offers dozens of coupons and deals when you shop at your favorite stores. So not only does Goodshop make it easy to give back to Trip of a Lifetime but it helps you save money on your purchases. Use www.Goodshop.com where you shop, you save and we give back to Trip of a Lifetime.

Goodsearch doesn’t stop with Goodshop to give you ways to fundraise, there are also six other products of Goodsearch that can help you raise money for Trip of a Lifetime. With Goodgames a gamer can have fun playing a wide variety of games while earning money for Trip of a Lifetime. A penny is donated to Trip of a Lifetime for every three games that you play. You can play these games using the website www.Goodsearch.com/goodgames. Another amazing product of Goodsearch is Gooddining where you can earn a percentage donation when dine out at participating restaurants. See www.gooddining.com for more details. You can earn even more shopping online at over 50,000 stores, when you register your card at ww.Goodswipe.com. Goodsearch and its products make fundraising simple and good for all.

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Support the Trip of a Lifetime Holiday Fundraising Drive!

This post is by Monica Duque, a Summer 2010 alumnus and current Trip of a Lifetime intern. If you feel compelled to support our campaign, please visit www.bit.ly/TOALHolidayDrive

Not everyone is lucky enough to experience traveling. For those who have, they know what difference it can make in their lives. Traveling is important not only because we get to visit beautiful places and get a taste of different cultures, but because it teaches us to look at the world from a different perspective. During that moment we forget about our lives back home because we try to adjust to the new life we are a part during that moment. In the beginning of our trip, we have no idea how others live, as time goes on we learn to adjust, and at the end of our journey we leave with a different mindset. Trip of a Lifetime is a non-profit organization that provides summer travel experience to deserving students who want to make a difference in their community. We believe everyone should experience the outside world because most of us are on our way to make a difference in the world. Every summer we award students who have shown interest in being leaders, who have a passion for traveling, and who want to make a difference in the world.

For this holiday season we have a goal of raising $5,000. All the money raised is to cover a full scholarship for one of our lucky students.  For every donation that is given to us we give the donors something in return as a perk. For every $1 donated the donors will be personally thanked on our Facebook and Twitter account. For every $5, one of our trip alumni will send the donors a personal thank you card. For every $10, donors will receive three Trip of a Lifetime wristbands along with three stickers to show off and also a personal thank you card. For every $25, donors will receive a Trip of a Lifetime T-shirt and a personal thank you card. For every $50 donated, donors will receive a Trip of a Lifetime hoodie with a personal thank you card. For every $100, they’ll receive a holiday gift basket that is personalized by one of our own alumni. The basket will have items such as sweet treats, apparel, accessories, and books. Think Birchbox but for travel. Each gift box will also include a Trip of a Lifetime sweatshirt for those brisk winter days. For every $250, instead of one holiday basket you will get three. For every $2,500 donated, the donors spend an action-packed day in New York City this spring with four Field Level Yankees Tickets (for a mutually agreed upon date), dinner at any EMM Restaurant, and a private tour of the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum. You will also receive a holiday gift basket, two Trip of a Lifetime t-shirts and hoodies, and two sheets of Trip of a Lifetime stickers. And lastly for a donation is $5,000, as a thank you for funding an entire student's scholarship, you will receive every perk above and the opportunity to spend a day in New York City with Trip of a Lifetime's founder, Stan Rosenberg, and students from the trip.

We encourage everyone, whether you are making a donation or not to share this link (bit.ly/TOALHolidayDrive) with all your friends and family. We are not asking for much, but any donation can make a difference. So please take the time to help out our wonderful organization.

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Holiday Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Travel Addict

Are you struggling with gift ideas this holiday season? Do you have a travel addict in your life? Here are some awesome, easy gift ideas for that travel addict...or even for you if your that person!! 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/laureningram/23-christmas-gifts-for-the-travel-addict-in-your-l-gvdh