Yesterday, I had the honor to attend the Wall Street Journal Donor of the Day Gala at the Whitney Museum. The gala, which was sponsored by Oscar De La Renta and Harry Winston, celebrated the philanthropic commitment of people (like myself) profiled in the Donor of The Day section of the Wall Street Journal. If you don’t read the column, I highly recommend you do. Each profile is only a few paragraphs long but they all show the amazing breadth of causes readers of the paper are tackling every day, from eating disorders to boxing style competitions on Wall Street that raise money for cancer. The column profiles everyone from athletes and celebrities such as Susan Sarandon and Mark Teixeira (Sarandon was in attendance last night) to ordinary people of all ages, from 12 to 80.

Stan posing next to his picture on the Donor Wall.

What I appreciated the most about last night’s event was how the spotlight was on the donors and their causes; the purpose of the event didn’t get lost in the glitz and glamour. In addition to a great dinner (and an amazing chocolate mousse desert), the gala featured speeches by renowned artist Jeff Koons and Ernie Allen, director of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), and a private acoustic performance by Brandi Carlisle. See more pictures from the event here

Even though I work on Trip of a Lifetime for the recognition or honor, it is always nice to be recognized. Thanks to the Wall Street Journal for making last night possible and giving this amazing organization the press it truly deserves.

Me and my lovely guest/mother - Helene Kuker Rosenberg

After six weeks and countless hours, the time has finally come. We are happy to announce that Trip of a Lifetime has selected ten students to send on trips this summer. All of the ten students we selected stood out to us for their academic achievement, numerous activities, and most importantly their desire to become a catalyst for change in their communities. Each student has their own distinctive story, and we hope their narratives truly shine this spring and summer.

Unfortunately, we received more applications than we had spots available and had to make some very tough decisions. We can honestly say that every application we received stood out and wish we could extend this opportunity to more students. Every year, we have been expanding this organization and hope to send even more students on trips in 2013 and beyond.

On behalf of everyone at Trip of a Lifetime, we would like to thank all of the schools who have helped us identify applicants: Validus Prep, Cristo Rey, the High School for Language and Diplomacy, Harlem Village Academies, and White Plains High School. Without their help, we wouldn’t have received our strongest applicant pool ever. In addition, we would like to thank our teen tour partners - American Trails West and Rein Teen Tours – for allowing us to provide amazing trips to these students. Both companies have been supporters of Trip of a Lifetime since its inception and have provided us with invaluable guidance and support.

We are excited to get to know our accepted students better in the coming weeks. Hearing their stories is what makes working with Trip of a Lifetime worthwhile every year. Thanks again for your continuous support.

Summer Is Less Than Two Months Away! 

- Stan

Although reading all of the applications has consumed a lot of our time at Trip of a Lifetime, we have also been working on two other programs behind the scenes. 

Looking Back - Looking Back is part of our Trip Ambassador Program. After their trips, all students have the opportunity to volunteer as trip ambassadors; their role is to promote Trip of a Lifetime in their communities and act as a liason for incoming students. This month, we had every trip ambassador send us three tips they would give to new students about Trip of a Lifetime. Since Trip of a Lifetime can seem daunting at first,we wanted our past students to share insights, tips, and ways to get over first day jitters. Below are some of the amazing tips we received from our students

“The most important thing to do during the trip is to definitely make friends with everyone, this makes the trip a lot more memorable rather than being boring. They will be your family for the next month so it will be better to get along” - Monica D.

“Focus on fun! This organization is not called Trip of a LIFETIME for nothing! It is truly an experience that you will never forget. Even though my trip was 2 summers back, I can still vividly remember the sites I was, the amazing memories I made with friends whom I still have contact with. Make the most of your experience! Pull pranks on the tents, bring card and have card game tournaments on the bus! Dare someone to jump into the icy river while rafting! If all done with safety, these can create pleasant memories that you will carry forever.” - Maria S.

“Inhale all the air you want because it will never be the same again.” - Alphonso H.

Looking Ahead - Our second program, which we have nicknamed Looking Ahead, is a pre-trip kickoff celebration we are planning for all selected students in Early June. At this meeting, students will be able to meet each other, ask past students about the experience, have their questions answered by Trip of a Lifetime staff and receive their trip packages. In addition, Norman Rein, the President of Rein Teen Tours, will be on hand to answer trip specific questions and welcome the students. Like every Trip of a Lifetime event, we will document the experience on our website, blog, and Facebook Page. 

Without a doubt, it will be an exciting few months for Trip of a Lifetime. We can almost feel the hot summer sun and the cool ocean breeze.

Madelyn G. on her trip. Thanks to Norman Rein for the picture

Move over New Years. March 15th has taken your place as one of the happiest and most exciting times of the year. Not only is it the NCAA Tournament, arguably the best sports championship in the world, but it is also the application deadline for Trip of a Lifetime. All three of these events signify a beginning of an exciting, yet unpredictable future.

By the time the last few applications trickle in, we are expecting to exceed our projections for this summer. With this many applications, our selection process will be harder than ever yet this is a challenge we are excited to take on. To ensure our program selects the best students possible, every application is read by multiple co-founders and board members. In addition, all finalists are interviewed, adding another dimension to each selection. Our goal is to select between 10-12 of these students by the middle of April. 

There will be our fair share of disagreements but this is all part of the process. By challenging each other, we are able to develop multiple perspectives and make a more holistic decision. In an ideal world, every student would be selected but we have to do our best given the financial constraints. 

In the next month, we hope to offer this life-changing opportunity to deserving students while keeping our brackets intact. This isn’t a perfect world but we can still hope and dream.

- Stan

It has been way too long since my last blog post. I guess I have just been caught up with midterms, my job, and applying to internship. All of us are busy with our own personal lives yet we still have immense passion and dedication to the work we do for Trip of a Lifetime.

In less than three weeks, the application deadline will be over. Every year, I can’t believe how quickly March 15th comes on the calendar, no matter how much preparation we do. This year should be our strongest applicant pool yet, a testament to the enormous progress the charity has made in the last twelve months (who would have ever guessed Trip of a Lifetime would have a corporate partnership with a Blue Chip corporation and be featured in one of the most famous newspapers in the world). I can’t wait to read the stories of our applicants and see firsthand the amazing students we will be sending on life-changing trips. 

This year, we will be sending a select few students on Community Service Trips from Rein Teen Tours instead on a traditional trip. Rein’s Community Service Trips allow students to pursue a service project during the week with a group of students and travel during the afternoons and weekends, as they would on a traditional teen tour. Of course, we will get the student’s permission before placing them on one of these trips but from our initial conversations, students are excited to try out this dynamic program. 

While browsing online, I found this article about an organization called DoSomething.org and their use of technology. It led me to DoSomething.org’s website says their goal is “Using the power of online to get teens to do good stuff offline.” This interested me because I realized this is a very large part of what Trip of a Lifetime does. While not nearly all of our work is done online, we do a lot of our communication and spread our mission online through social media. Through posting about TOAL and other fantastic organizations on Facebook, Twitter, and this very blog, we try to inspire people to travel and/or bring positive change to the world by taking action on their own or applying for our scholarships. 

Here is the article I found on DoSomething.org: http://mashable.com/2012/02/07/texting-teens/

And their website: www.dosomething.org

~Dustin

Hello again everybody!

Today, I’d like to give students who are applying for a grant from Trip of a Lifetime some advice for filling out your applications. Here are a few tips for how to improve your application:

1. In your long responses, we want to hear about YOU. In describing a person who has influenced you or a significant event in your life, make sure you described how you have been influenced. We want to hear about the important people and experiences in your life but the most important thing to convey is how these events shaped you or reflect who you are.
2. Take advantage of the “Additional Information” section. This is a section that often goes unused in many applications. If you feel that there is something important about yourself that you were unable to convey through the rest of the application, please fill in this section or attach your additional information to a separate page if you feel that you do not have sufficient space.
3. Make sure your application is sent in by the deadline. The application is due on March 15. Extensions will not be granted except in extenuating circumstances that you have discussed with us. If you are submitting the application by mail, be sure to give a few extra days to make sure we received it. Also, consider working on your application sooner than later so that it is not left until the last minute.
4. Most importantly, BE YOURSELF! We want to learn more about you! The components of the application in which we learn about you as a person are your opportunity to show why you would benefit from our scholarship.

~Dustin