Huntsville High School’s ME to WE Legacy
Huntsville High School has travelled on six ME to WE Trips over the years. Each time, they go home more inspired than ever to keep making a difference in their local and global community. Read our interview with Huntsville High School educators below to find out what keeps them coming back!
ME to WE: Where has your school travelled with ME to WE?
Huntsville High School: Ecuador, India, Arizona, East Africa, rural China, Nicaragua and Ghana!
M2W: We understand you do a lot of fundraising for your trips. Do you set out a specific goal at the beginning?
HHS: We never set a specific dollar target. We coach the kids through three different types of fundraisers: individual, small group with three or four kids in the community, and large group where everybody participates. For example, we’ve run a car wash over the summer. Really, the fundraising depends on what that particular group wants to do. And each individual student may have their own target. There are some kids that need to raise the whole trip amount.
M2W: What benefit do you think fundraising has on the group?
HHS: It certainly makes a difference once you’re there on the trip—you’re appreciating all the hard work put in and seeing the payout at the other end. One of the spin-off benefits of group fundraisers is that they also turn into team-building activities. The centrepiece of our large-group fundraising is an auction we do in the fall every year. The kids network in the community and they get donations from businesses. The event includes a live and silent auction, and a dinner as well. Pulling off a large event like that is a pretty good team-building exercise.
We’ve found that because we have several months to prep the kids and turn them into a team, it really enhances their experience on the ground, because they experience so much on a ME to WE Trip.
M2W: When the students come home, how do their experiences translate to their everyday lives?
HHS: A lot of them volunteer a ton in our own community, and they continue to be a part of different community groups and organizations, that they may not necessarily have seen before, but they’ll seek it out when they come home.
M2W: At the end of the trip, what difference do you see in the students?
HHS: They still talk about their trips—it’s changed who they are, they’re different people now. They’re totally different individuals, they’re more mature, more grounded and more in touch with who they want to be in this world.
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