Fun and Sun!

Well, I've made it to Spring Break, which officially starts right... now! I'm so glad for the rest from school and work and I cannot wait to be back in Phoenix for a week.

Fundraising efforts however will not halt, because I am so close to my goal, and yet need to reach just a little further. As of today, I still need $800 for my flight. So, this post is a call to anyone who may have fundraising ideas, as I'm running a bit low. Please fell free to email at: mikaylapreston@gmail.com
Any and all ideas are welcome and appreciated.

As for other updates, I have sent in almost all my documents to be verified by EDventure and will be going on Monday to get final vaccinations (hopefully they won't hurt too much).

Things are all starting to fall into place, and I am so grateful and excited to be going on this trip in roughly 54 days.

Here we go!

A Big Chunk of Change

This week is going to be super busy, so I've got to keep this post short and sweet. 

I'm very happy to report that so far, we've raised $450 dollars toward my flight! This means there's only another $950 until I can purchase the ticket and officially be all set (financially anyway) to head off to Cambodia this May. 

I am SO EXCITED!!!!!  

Finally, I am happy to add another name to the list of honored sponsors. 

A big thank you to:

 Ron Macinnis and the Macinnis Company

Look for more updates soon! 

   - Mikayla 

Almost There

Come close readers, for I am about to tell you something very exciting. 

Closer....

closer....

As of 10:12 am, on this the 27th of February, 2014 my EDventure tuition is PAID IN FULL!!!!!! 

With the help of friends, family, and friends of family, we have raised a total of $3,100 toward my trip to Cambodia this May. Looking at how far not only I, but we, have come since October I am truly amazed. Honestly, there's no way that I could have done it without the generous support of every one of you, and I am so grateful to each individual, family, and company that has helped me along this process so far. 

Also, this past weekend I found- through EDventure- a greatly reduced travel insurance policy designed specifically for international volunteers. If you plan on traveling abroad to volunteer sometime soon, you can check them out here:  Volunteer Card

Do you know what this means? Do you? It means that now, only the cost of a flight (currently $1,400) and give or take 67 days, 11 hours, 50 minutes and one tearful goodbye from my mother remain between me and Cambodia. Between me and smiling faces and new adventures. 

Now more than ever, I want to thank all of you for your dedication to this cause, and urge you to help me continue to network and find that remaining $1,400, because as stated in this post's title, we are almost there!

Some More Information

I've been gathering more information from EDventure lately on some details of the trip. For example, here's a link to a rough itinerary of what we'll be doing each day:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7NhOly8LVG_c3NoNkhBVzN2c28/edit?pli=1

A place where you can read a little more about some of the work we will be doing:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.480904678661227.1073741830.108402282578137&type=3

And in case you haven't visited the EDventure website already, here's a link to check that out too:

http://www.edventureintl.com/


Also, I was informed that the link to my gogetfunding page was not working properly. So, I'll include it in this post as well in the hopes that more traffic will flow that way.

GoGetFunding link: http://gogetfunding.com/project/cambodia-edventure

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

I Get By With a Little Help from My Friends (and Family, and Lately Quite a Few Strangers)

      I guess I shouldn't say that the kindness of others surprises me, but it certainly does amaze me.  I started this fundraising project in late October, and in the 3 short months that it has been running we have come such a long way from the start. In total, friends, family, and even generous strangers have helped me to raise $2,000 toward my trip! I find that absolutely amazing!!

For all of those who have supported me financially or otherwise, especially those of you who've watched this blog, please click this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XiflmIDHCo

Also, a great many thanks to recent sponsors:

Lindie & Jeff Honsberger

Diana White

Craig, Diane, and Kathy at CD Technologies

James Hanchett


       The final running total is now: $300- EDventure tuition (DUE MARCH 5th) , $1,600- flight, $200- traveler's insurance

A lot of exciting things are going on, so be sure to check back soon for more updates!

Reaching Out

It's time for another update!

In the past few weeks I have been spending time working in  my university dining hall and - of course- being very studious. Unfortunately, this also means that I have been devoting less time to my fundraising campaign. Luckily my mother has been hard at work on the home front, planning a friends and family yard sale for the second weekend in February. 

If you're an Arizona reader who would like to know more about her efforts, you can contact my mother through email at this address: kgoldrush@aol.com 

For my part, I will be looking into a few more potential business sponsors and getting in touch with other people in Colorado whom will be going to Cambodia this May as well. 

So, currently we have raised $1,700 dollars towards my tuition for Cambodia. 

The remaining cost for EDventure is now $900, the final payment for which must be deposited by March 5th. 

After that, it's only about another $1,600 to $2,000 dollars for traveler's insurance and flight.

I finally set up the link to my gogetfunding page, so now donating to my trip can be as simple as clicking the link!

All of the help that I have received so far has been absolutely amazing, but I am still looking for a few more sponsors, so if you know someone, or perhaps a few people who would be willing to help out, please do not hesitate to pass on the knowledge of this blog. 

Feel free to email me anytime at: mikaylapreston@gmail.com 

Thank you, and stay tuned for more updates soon. 

Getting Closer!

I have some exciting news!

   With the help of family and friends who attended my recent Casino Night Fundraiser, I have earned another $300 toward my EDventure Tuition! We are getting closer and closer to fully funding this trip, and I can not be more excited and grateful to everyone who has helped me get this far.

Something else that I recently started was an account on the site gogetfunding.com, which will provide an easier way for sponsors to donate money, in which the money will be deposited directly to my paypal account without sponsors needing to set up an account of their own through paypal.

I am also starting back to school this week, and am officially a 2nd semester freshman. So far all of my classes have been going well, and hopefully will continue to do so as we get further into the semester and closer to my departure date for this Cambodian adventure!!

While I try to get a link set up in the side bar, I will also post a link to my gogetfunding page in this post for convenience.

http://gogetfunding.com/project/cambodia-edventure