A local Grade 12 student from Central Collegiate by the name of Austin Kretsch has taken the initiative to raise funds for an upcoming educational field trip organized by Education First (EF) Tours. The purpose of the trip is for students to learn more about tolerance, other perspectives, and about themselves, all while exploring the world in an immersive experience.
“From what I’ve heard from different people, people who go on these trips remember it for their entire lives. It really shapes them,” Kretsch said.
Planned for spring break from March 28 to April 7, each student will be accompanied by a chaperone and will visit four countries – Spain, Italy, France, and Switzerland – over an eleven-day period.
The initial cost for the trip was $4,500, but over the past year the rate increased to $5,200 per student. After learning of this new price point, a friend who initially planned to go had to drop the idea.
Kretsch was able to pay $2,000 of the new total amount, but this meant he was now in the position to come up with the $3,200 difference by himself. Without knowing who else was going from the other high schools in town, he knew he had to take initiative and find a way to raise the funds.
EF Tours does not assist students with fundraising, so Kretsch decided to reach out to the community and began collecting cans and bottles on Jan. 5.
“I’ve collected a bunch (of cans) Friday (Jan. 5), and I’ve collected a bunch Monday (Jan. 8),” he said. “My dad went and took about half of them to SARCAN yesterday when I was at school and made about $420 from them.”
Kretsch first learned about the trip last year at a meeting held at Central Collegiate. The meeting included around 10 to 16 students from other high schools, and over the past few months, further details were given via school announcements by the wife of Colin Belsher, a teacher at Central.
When asked what he was looking forward to most, Kretsch said it was the opportunity to travel and experience different food and cultures. He said he always wanted to travel but so far has only been able to visit the United States a few times. An exact itinerary for the trip has not been discussed yet, but he remains optimistic about the educational aspect.
Kretsch said support from the community has been strong. “A lot of people… when they’ve seen my post (on the ‘MJ Talks!’ Facebook page), they have really been good for donating and wanting to help me get on this trip.”
The best way to help is by donating your cans and bottles for recycling.
“There has been the odd person that said that they have some type of, say, yard work or snow removal (to earn money). I’m not necessarily against that idea, but being in school full time, I also have a part-time job and play hockey, so doing physical work is possible – it’s just a lot harder to do over donations,” he explained, noting that he often has only around one hour available on most days.
“It (shovelling snow) is also something that I am not against doing,” he clarified.
Any money Kretsch raises above his target will be donated back to the community. For ideas on where to make these donations, he plans to speak with Ray Rawlyk, a teacher at Central who frequently organizes charitable donations including SCRAPS Moose Jaw.
“If I have extra money, I will donate a huge portion of it (to separate charities). As the community gave it to me, I can then give it back out to the community,” he said.
“I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has helped me and will be helping me… I really don’t think that going on this trip would have been possible without everyone’s help.”
To help Kretsch reach his goal, you can direct message him on Facebook under ‘Austin Kretsch,’ or text his cell at 306-630-6593.
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