Graduation Trip

Why don't you have her look into a student exchange for a semester in college? She'd be over there longer and be able to get college credit for it.

My suggestion is to include a gentle (witty) note in the graduation invitations/announcements describing the plan for a trip abroad. Anybody who was planning to send a gift should get the idea that a monetary donation would be more appropriate. And, most friends & family give money gifts anyways, so I don't think it would be rude (like you're asking for money). As for fundraising--does she have a job? She can do her part to contribute to the trip by babysitting, doing yardwork, pet/house sitting, etc. If you have any family members who tend to be generous, you can ask if they'd be willing to help you with a "we'll match it" offer for her. So, whatever money she makes (by working), you'll match with an equal amount?
Good luck! That sounds like a wonderful graduation gift!!

You want a fundraiser to send your child on a nice trip? I am sorry but if you cannot afford it she needs to know that she can't go right now. Hence... delayed gratification. Do NOT go into debt.

You're actually thinking of asking for donations for a personal trip, OR is this one of those trips which is school sponsored?

My daughter wants to go to Italy for her graduation in 2013 and she is going....( with me) ON OUR $$$ mostly and a portion of her earnings.

We would NEVER dream to solicit donations.
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Teach your daughter financial responsibility and how to raise money. Let her get a job, sell things you no longer want/need online, etc.

Teaching her to fundraise and solicit money for a trip that she wants (not Needs) is not teaching her financial responsibility. She'll appreciate it much more if she earns at least part of it.

assuming this is a college graduation trip (can't imagine that being appropriate for a HS grad gift), I would obviously make her pay for part of the trip herself. you work for the nice things in life... they aren't given to you...

M.:

Sorry - but a high school graduation - in my opinion - is NOT a European trip. Even if she graduated Cum Laude or Valedictorian. That would be a college or university trip.

As to a fundraiser? Sorry - that's not something I would contribute to. If you want to raise money for the trip - sell collectibles and other items in your home - and I really don't think it's "charity" so having a business allow you on their property to gain money for a trip? I don't think so. When I say this - i mean things like a bake sale, a car wash, etc. This is a trip that - in MY opinion - is PURELY your responsibility.

So start selling stuff that you don't need anymore, collectibles and put the money in a savings account.

GOOD LUCK!

Do you mean by herself? Or with a school group? Or with you?

I would not send her by herself. She is too young. (And I say this as a world traveler and having lived overseas.) If you want to take her, that's great. You two could enjoy London together.

Look for deals online with travel agencies. Research this. You can share a hotel room. You can fly coach. You can tell her that if she can raise "x" amount of money working a job on weekends, you can work this out.

I will tell you that school trips usually cost an arm and a leg, and it's a labor of love to send a kid on a school sponsored overseas trip. (I did that for my graduating senior this past summer when his choir went to Europe.) My entire 4 person FAMILY paid the same money for us to go to the same country and two out of the three cities earlier in the year.

The other thing you can consider is not to wait until graduation. The timing is important. If you go the last week of low tourist time, you save a lot of money. Going at peak times (like June) will cost more money.

There is nothing wrong with asking your daughter to help finance this. No matter how much she deserves a trip to England, doesn't mean that you have to pay for it all by yourself. Talk to her after you have done your research.

Oh, and btw, the Tower of London is fabulous!

Good luck!
Dawn

Maybe encourage her to get a job to earn her 1/2 and you will pay your 1/2 and go as a mom & me trip. Great bonding!

A trip overseas is not a high school graduation gift, that is a college graduation gift. Plus that will give you four years to save up. :)

So far as fundraisers do you really think it will fly. Say you are selling candy bars so your daughter can go to London. Do you think anyone who hasn't been out of this country, who maybe hasn't been on vacation in forever is going to care that your daughter deserves a trip to London? You are going to find it isn't a reason many people can get behind.

Really I am telling ya, save it for college, she has four years to save and so do you. If it is really her dream she will find a way to save herself. Perhaps an idea would be to pay her airfare and she pay the rest. Believe it or not that cost more than the stay. I want to say Italy last year was 1,700 a person round trip, London was around 400 a person more.

I must second Dawn B.'s suggestion of not letting her go by herself. She wouldn't even be prepared to be in a foreign country unsupervised let alone supervised. It's a big world out there and while she speaks American English, British English is very different.

Aside from that you may consider doing something like a fish fry or selling chicken dinners if you are a good and organized cook. More than a few friends of mine do things like that to generate healthy sums of extra cash but they are excellent cooks and the entire family pitches in. Meaning taking the orders, cooking, assembling the meals, driving and dropping them off and collecting the cash.

What things can you do to generate more money? There are tons of ideas. I have a neice that paints jeans with really funky designs. She does tee shirts too. Her customers bring their clothes drop off a deposit and in 3-7 days they have a unique original piece of art on their clothes.

Cinderella cheese cakes, or Little Ceasars Pizza and/or cookies are both fund raisers I have participated in for others.

I really think you should seriously consider joining her one this trip. It is not a trip she should be taking alone. I went to Europe as a teen with a tour group and I was thankful I was with them for many reasons. Too many to post here though.

Well, with it being a personal trip, fundraising can be tricky. You could see if your church would allow you to do fundraiser/dinner. Another option is a yard sale or side jobs (maybe for church members or others in the community).

I think that's a nice idea. A friend of mine wanted to send her daughter on a cheerleading trip. One of the best fundraisers they did was a dinner/dance. They networked within the family. Got one person to donate the use of a hall. somebody else donated time as a dj. somebody donated tables and chairs, and on and on. all the older ladies cooked - they are Bahamian, so it was Carribean food and music. A flyer was made up all the whole family advertised on thier facebook pages and told thier friends at school and at work. It was $10 a head to get in $15 to eat. I think kids were free to get in and $8 to eat. After cost was deducted, they made over $2,000.

Another friend of mine made homemade salsa and tamales and took orders from friends, coworkers, school contacts. He daughter was trying to go to Cairo with the school choir. She made enough to go.

You don't say if she is graduating HS or college. Big difference.

What you COULD do is pay for her passport. That alone will be around $100.
If you don't have money to send her, then get creative... I would NOT ask other non-family members to contribute. It would also be odd to hold a fundraiser.

You could set up a little USA based trip based on French cities
- Paris Tx or Tennessee
- New Orleans, LA
- St. Louis, MO
- Montpelier, VT
- Saint Paul, MN

I would never....in this day and age...let my child go overseas without me. How do you think it would go if a bunch of teenagers went? I can tell you...we were all young once. Besides...she can be the most responsible 18yo....and some creep be lurking in the shadows waiting. No way....and for sure no way would I try and get someone to donate to the cause of a personal vacation. Live within your means. Just cause some of the other kids are going...doesn't mean yours has to.

I was able to go to London my Senior year with a group of friends. It was a cheerleading thing, but my parents helped support me (as we were not allowed to request sponsorship - a school rule) and I helped pay with my babysitting funds.
Europe CAN be a high school trip if you can afford it. I don't have any fundraising ideas as no one I know would contribute to another child's european vacation - LOL:)
I'd talk to some travel agents, though, and see if they have group trips planned that you and your daughter can be a part of, maybe even a multi-booking discount. OR if you have friends/family who do personal selling (pampered chef, arbonne, etc) and would host a party where a % of sales goes to support this trip.
Start saving now. This will be 100% your and your daughter's responsibility.
Have fun - a great experience and a good way to have your eyes opened before heading off to college.

OK, I went to an American boarding school just outside of London. I was there 10th-12th grade. London is a very easy city to get around. I would regularly go into London on weekends with my friends, especially my 11th and 12th grade years. We would go shopping, go out to eat, and be back at school by curfew. My senior year, we were allowed an overnight trip to London. (with parent permission) We researched hotels and split it between my group of friends. I know that the media regularly talks about problems happening overseas, but if your child is responsible, I don't see why she couldn't go. Granted, I know that my example isn't the norm. I grew up overseas because of my dad's job. However, I was in the states 5th-9th grade. I hadn't ever lived in London before boarding school and my parents were in the middle east- so not close by at all. I def learned a lot and became more independent. It really prepared me for college. If your child is going to college, assuming she is out of town, she is going to have to figure out how to get around and do things wherever she is. She can't live in a bubble- educate and prepare her. Research transit, hotels, and tourist stuff. London is very tourist friendly, but it's really expensive. Does she have a cousin or best friend that you know well and trust that could maybe go with her? Perhaps it could be a mother/daughter trip- or even better, mother/daughter and a friend. Then, you are there to help her handle the trip, but you can give her some independent outings where she's got to figure it out. Nowadays, she'll have a cell phone. They didn't have cell phones back in my HS days. I personally think people are overreacting about saying she couldn't go- safety reasons. Now, don't send her off to Mexico- that's where there having lots of crime and kidnappings. If it's a money issue, what about having her getting a weekend or summer job to earn $$? Perhaps she can earn 1/2 the amount.

You asked about how to fundraise for this trip. If you can't afford to send her or if this is going to cut into her available funds for college, then I would not send her for a high school graduation trip. If family members want to contribute to a "big trip" that would be acceptable, but I would not be likely to make a donation for a trip. I usually give cash or a check for a graduation present and leave it for the grad to decide how to use the money.

You might check into EF tours which puts together tours for students to visit foreign countries. Most of these are organized by schools (with teachers as chaperones), but perhaps your daughter might join up with a group that is going to London. You might be able to sign up as a chaperone. My kids both went on these trips their Senior year of high school (one on spring break, the other during the summer). The costs for what they got was very reasonable. All the travel arrangements and the tour arrangements were made. They did have some free time and some options for extra tours. They were with a school group of people they knew and supervised by the teachers so I felt comfortable with them traveling alone (without me). I would have never had let them travel on their own to a foreign country in high school or as a high school grad.