Tap Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 If you were willing to contribute to a person's trip abroad, how would you want them to ask? Letter, email, phone call, facebook? (These aren't really specific questions, just random thoughts.) Would you only contribute if it was with a mission focus? Only contribute it if were a secular program? Only contribute for education? How does the parent's/student's contribution to the trip factor into it? Would you never contribute to such a luxury? Would you only do it for kids who you feel deserve it/ would benefit most from it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 In person would be my first choice. I'd be more at ease supporting a mission trip than a personal vacation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I would contribute something to any trip of any child of my close friends and family. Of course, it would have to be a one-off, I'm not saying I'd pay towards their annual holiday forever after :lol:. I'd also expect it to be of at least some vague charitable or educational value. I would always prefer the request to be made via a letter, an e-mail seems a bit tacky. Cassy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I wouldn't contribute if the person was just out there asking for money. If he was working to earn money, I would likely hire him. (However, if I knew he was a sloppy worker and I didn't quite trust him to do a good job, there's no way I would give him money to do a poor job either in my home or overseas.) If it were a special charity case, I would want to hear about it from someone else and then privately weigh my decision. I don't just hand over money because someone puts me on the spot by asking for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I wouldn't contribute if the person was just out there asking for money. If he was working to earn money, I would likely hire him.. This. I'd rather hire someone to do something than give them money. In cases where I live far away and this is not possible: In one case I gave money to the child of a special friend who asked me for the money specifically (sent a letter with a stamp to me. Didn't have his mother ask me or anything like that). It was a nice letter. Computer typed but obviously directed toward me and not completely a form letter. With an explanation of what he expected to get out of the experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I would not like to be asked to contribute in any way. That is just plain tacky. I would be happy to hire a friend's (hardworking) teenager to help to pay for the trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Coming back to add: My sister went abroad two years in high school. This colors my answers. Once was a trip to see our aunt and uncle with the military in Germany. the other was a trip with the choir to france (both in HS) She worked for Walmart and earned much of the money herself. She saved all birthday, etc. gifts. She walked around to businesses and asked for sponsors (and then wrote them an essay afterwards saying thank you and all the things she learned on her experience). My parents helped a little but our family could not afford it. I don't know if she asked extended family or not. I don't think so because generally my dad would not allow that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I would be most likely to help a family member, depending on why the individual is traveling abroad. For a missions trip I would have to agree with the organization's mission - help build a school or access clean water, yes; evangelize, no. For a stranger I would possibly help via a fundraiser or if the individual was offering a service that I was willing to pay for. Ex: lawn service at a reasonable price, mother's helper, house cleaning, etc. I was turned off in the past at finding a flyer on my door asking for donations for a missions trip. I probably would not appreciate someone going door to door asking for money for a trip abroad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I would not like to be asked to contribute in any way. That is just plain tacky. I would be happy to hire a friend's (hardworking) teenager to help to pay for the trip. :iagree: It's beyond tacky, it's flat out rude to ask for money. Especially via a mass email to friends. I would happily support a hardworking teen *earning* money for his college experience, at home or abroad. I give generously to friends and strangers that I perceive to be in *need* -- medical bills, groceries, Christmas gifts for the children when dad is unemployed. For children in my own family (children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews), I would be happy to contribute to a goal or trip they were working toward if I felt it was a worthy goal/trip/opportunity. I would not be psyched about a mass email asking everyone they know for money for a personal want. I would be utterly mortified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 i prefer a letter or an email. i would prefer the letter to be more generic in the sense that although it's specific to what they want, it isn't necessarily specific to just me (if that makes sense). this way i don't feel weird if i don't send any money. if it is mission focused, i like when the letter lists a few ways you can offer support through financial giving, or prayer, or items collected that they are bringing, etc. if it was for education abroad or humanitarian focused, i would still probably contribute. even though we never give a lot, i figure every bit counts and i certainly spend our money on dumb stuff all of the time. so for us, giving toward a cause that's important to someone else is no big deal imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I don't mind contributing to missions, although I find most teen type mission trips more of a benefit to the teen than to the mission itself, but I hope that that benefit might be future missions, so I do give if I know the person well and can. I don't mind letters if the person lives far away. Facebook seems odd as does casual email. I want a letter outlining exactly WHY they believe my money should be spent in this way and what they will be doing, etc.... I don't quite get these sponsored trips.....my cousin, about 20 years ago or more now, asked for sponsorship to go to some race car driving camp. His parents are the wealthiest in the family (lived in a $1M house in the 70s and the kids all went to very elite private schools.) I thought that was a bit odd. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Unless it were a family member, I wouldn't want to be asked to contribute at all. I went on study abroad trips, and a couple of older relatives gave me a card with money to use on the trip, but I never dreamed of asking them for help. If I knew of a student who was working hard to pay for such a trip, I would probably do the same thing- give them a card with best wishes and a bit of cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 That way I could think about it and I wouldn't have them looking at me. :D i agree!!! i hate when people sell girl scout cookies and are staring right at me! i'd rather get an informal e-mail, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 :iagree: There seem to be so people many expecting money lately. I would not like to be asked to contribute in any way. That is just plain tacky. I would be happy to hire a friend's (hardworking) teenager to help to pay for the trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I don't want any kind of communication whatsoever simply asking for a handout to an able bodied young person (ie, able to earn money). Even for missions, I believe in tentmaker evangelists - those who work to meet their own personal expenses in order to preserve their ability to maintain the integrity of their message. If a kid wants to have a creative fundraiser or do some physical labor/service to earn money, I would like the option of helping with that, let me know. But I'd like to see some evidence that the traveller is willing to roll up his sleeves (and IMO that does not include elbow grease in licking envelopes of handout letters, kwim?). When our kids have opportunities for educational and enrichment travel, we either can afford it or we can't. They always have the option of using their own gift money or earnings to pay for what dh and I can't squeeze out of the budget. For a missions trip, we expect the goer to work to earn at least 30% of the cost personally and individually, and have supported their creative group fundraising efforts (car washes, pancake dinners, game nights with snacks, etc). I have pretty strong negative feelings about gimme letters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 The ONLY way I would contribute to something like that is if it was phrased in such a way that the person was looking for odd jobs or anything they could do to earn money for that experience. If they wanted to work for it and didn't expect a hand-out, I'd find something for them to do, and probably pay them more than what the job was actually worth. I have a problem with people begging for luxuries and feeling like they're owed something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Some churches require teens to have a certain number of sponsors for mission trips. The parents can't just pay. They have to ask. I give. Not much, because they just need to get a certain number of sponsors to go, then their parents can pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Not donate, but possibly he could come and do some projects to earn money for his trip. Yard work, painting...things like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I am happy to support the young people of my community and within my family whenever they are broadening their horizons. I have done this is a variety of ways. We have known 4-H teams traveling to national competitions that have thrown car washes, yard sales, etc. I hired a young man headed for a national competition as a garage cleaner and also found additional work for him on the street. As I stated in another thread, the daughter of a friend is currently in France. I sent her $50 (unsolicited) because she is like a niece to me. If she were in France for the semester, I would have given $100. When one of my nieces was involved with a non-profit project in a poor African country, she sent a letter to family asking for assistance--less for herself than for the project which required equipment. We gladly contributed. My neighbor's daughter did one of those nationally known high school travel programs that has the kids send out letters asking friends and family for funds. That one irked me because the script on the form letter suggested that the company was a non-profit--it was not. But because of my close relationship with the girl, I made a contribution. The next year, the girl went on a "missions" trip to Costa Rica during which the kids surfed, toured a butterfly farm, etc. There was a small project in the plan but her Dad refused to have her solicit funds. He was disgusted that the trip was even called a missions trip. The kids did raise money at car washes, etc., but he decided to pony up for his kid's fun trip. I was a poor student so perhaps I demonstrate more support (financial, cookies in the mail, etc.) to friends and family in their student days. No one sent checks my way when I was student. This is the reason stated by some adults who don't open their wallets today--they did it on their own and expect the same from the next generation. My reaction is the opposite. I am in a position to help and I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I am happy to support the young people of my community and within my family whenever they are broadening their horizons. I have done this is a variety of ways. We have known 4-H teams traveling to national competitions that have thrown car washes, yard sales, etc. I hired a young man headed for a national competition as a garage cleaner and also found additional work for him on the street. As I stated in another thread, the daughter of a friend is currently in France. I sent her $50 (unsolicited) because she is like a niece to me. If she were in France for the semester, I would have given $100. When one of my nieces was involved with a non-profit project in a poor African country, she sent a letter to family asking for assistance--less for herself than for the project which required equipment. We gladly contributed. My neighbor's daughter did one of those nationally known high school travel programs that has the kids send out letters asking friends and family for funds. That one irked me because the script on the form letter suggested that the company was a non-profit--it was not. But because of my close relationship with the girl, I made a contribution. The next year, the girl went on a "missions" trip to Costa Rica during which the kids surfed, toured a butterfly farm, etc. There was a small project in the plan but her Dad refused to have her solicit funds. He was disgusted that the trip was even called a missions trip. The kids did raise money at car washes, etc., but he decided to pony up for his kid's fun trip. I was a poor student so perhaps I demonstrate more support (financial, cookies in the mail, etc.) to friends and family in their student days. No one sent checks my way when I was student. This is the reason stated by some adults who don't open their wallets today--they did it on their own and expect the same from the next generation. My reaction is the opposite. I am in a position to help and I do. :iagree: I'm not going to help cover a ski trip, but if there is a purpose beyond entertainment I want to help if I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I will contribute for a cause, but if the cause is just so someone can travel (valuable though that my be) I won't make a straight donation. I would hire the kid for something, but unless it's a niece or nephew, and this is a one shot deal, I'm not handing out checks. I will donate to the extra offering at church that is taken for . . .well . . .just about anything. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I would contribute for a family member or close friend's child. In that case, I would expect the topic to come up naturally in conversation, because I am in contact with them anyway. (My niece is planning an extended stay abroad and I will definitely help with that.) I would not contribute to indiviuals who are strangers, no matter through which medium they beg. I find the notion that somebody else should fund a young person's activities weird. If a teen was offering a service for hire and I needed the service, I would hire. But I would not pay for a "service" that is not needed (I don't need my car washed poorly by a bunch of teens) I would happily donate to an organization. I donate to the local choral arts society and the local public school support organization (even though we homeschool); funds are used for trips and enrichment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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