Meeting Minutes:
September 15, 2013
Last night, we had our first breakout session where we discussed our plans for this year, recent brigades we have been on, and answered any questions that you had. This year is looking to be promising, and we are very excited for what is to come! Here is an update of news that was shared:
1. Trips
This year, we will be traveling on two brigades, both going to Ghana. Our first trip will take place over winter break and the second will be in May. Exact dates are in the works and should be announced in the near future. For more information on the brigades in Ghana, please see the GB page here.
2. Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be this coming Sunday, September 22nd at 7pm, in 102 Thomas and we will be watching a great document that largely relates to the interests of Global Brigades.
3. Next Social Event
This Sunday, we will, in conjunction with the documentary, be hiking Mt. Nittany at 4pm. Please sign up here if you are interested in attending.
4. Fundraising
As part of our fundraising efforts, we are organizing three canning trips during this semester. All money collected will be split evenly among those who attend and will go towards future trip costs. Please click the dates below to sign up for any that you are interested in attending.Canning Weekend 1 (October 4-6)Canning Weekend 2 (October 25-27)Canning Weekend 3 (December 6-8)
5. The New Setup of Global Brigades
In the past, Global Water Brigades has functioned quite separately from every other chapter at Penn State. However, this year is organized in a new and more holistic manner. Rather than having separate meetings for each chapter, we are a united front and work in a very cooperative manner; therefore, the overall meetings are also Global Water Brigades meetingsand are how we will be sharing information with all of you, so please join us for these!
6. Office Hours
The office hours for Global Water Brigades are held every Friday from noon to 1pm in 319 HUB. Come say hello to introduce yourselves or ask any questions that you may have! You can also check out our website at http://psuwaterbrigades.weebly.com/. A new website is in the works and will be coming shortly!
We look forward to getting to know all of you better and to get this year on a roll!
Sincerely, your GWB Exec team,
Deirdre Carlson, Co-President | [email protected]
Kieran Carlisle, Co-President | [email protected]
Arianna Gianakopolous, Secretary/Fundraising Chair | [email protected]
Kelsey Czyzyk, Recruitment Chair/Webmaster | [email protected]
1. Trips
This year, we will be traveling on two brigades, both going to Ghana. Our first trip will take place over winter break and the second will be in May. Exact dates are in the works and should be announced in the near future. For more information on the brigades in Ghana, please see the GB page here.
2. Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be this coming Sunday, September 22nd at 7pm, in 102 Thomas and we will be watching a great document that largely relates to the interests of Global Brigades.
3. Next Social Event
This Sunday, we will, in conjunction with the documentary, be hiking Mt. Nittany at 4pm. Please sign up here if you are interested in attending.
4. Fundraising
As part of our fundraising efforts, we are organizing three canning trips during this semester. All money collected will be split evenly among those who attend and will go towards future trip costs. Please click the dates below to sign up for any that you are interested in attending.Canning Weekend 1 (October 4-6)Canning Weekend 2 (October 25-27)Canning Weekend 3 (December 6-8)
5. The New Setup of Global Brigades
In the past, Global Water Brigades has functioned quite separately from every other chapter at Penn State. However, this year is organized in a new and more holistic manner. Rather than having separate meetings for each chapter, we are a united front and work in a very cooperative manner; therefore, the overall meetings are also Global Water Brigades meetingsand are how we will be sharing information with all of you, so please join us for these!
6. Office Hours
The office hours for Global Water Brigades are held every Friday from noon to 1pm in 319 HUB. Come say hello to introduce yourselves or ask any questions that you may have! You can also check out our website at http://psuwaterbrigades.weebly.com/. A new website is in the works and will be coming shortly!
We look forward to getting to know all of you better and to get this year on a roll!
Sincerely, your GWB Exec team,
Deirdre Carlson, Co-President | [email protected]
Kieran Carlisle, Co-President | [email protected]
Arianna Gianakopolous, Secretary/Fundraising Chair | [email protected]
Kelsey Czyzyk, Recruitment Chair/Webmaster | [email protected]
January 23, 2012
Hey Water Brigades,
Here's a summary of the meeting last night in detail. If you have any questions after reading the email, contact Ricco or Mike
SUMMARY
We started the meeting off by having the Ghana Brigaders give their power point presentation. You can download that powerpoint
Dr. Dempsey (our club advisor) dropped by. He is retiring from the University this year and this is his last semester as club adviser. Thanks Doc!
We are in the process of setting up a web page with the University, which means we will look more legitimate to employers. Mike asked people within the HUB what is something that employers look for, or what is a way to stand out. They suggested having a blog of all your extracurriculars especially if you are in a club like this where there is travel involved. Pictures and entries on the trip can be incredible boosters when companies do background checks. More information on how and where to set up a blog will be forthcoming. Stay tuned.
We want everyone to join our facebook page. We also encourage everyone to look at our website for email archives and photos of past brigades in case you want some information or are looking for some pictures to show friends and families/ get excited for your upcoming brigade.
We are having officer elections when we get back from Honduras. Start thinking about getting involved if you haven’t done so already. The exec board is happy to welcome aboard passionate and dedicated people to our team.
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THINGS FOR YOU TO DO/REMEMBER:
1) Book travel clinics.
2) Get money into empowered accounts.
Ghana:
Relax and smile. WE DID IT!
Honduras:
As of Sunday everyone who is going should have $800 dollars on their empowered accounts. Mike will be updating the donation amounts on empowered over the next couple of days
Everyone who is going to Honduras should make appointments with UHS travel clinics. You need to fill out and bring a copy of this form. You bring this to the front desk of UHS. The receptionist will then have you schedule your appointment. It is urgent that you do this as soon as possible because we are not the only people who will be going out of the country over spring break. There are other brigades, classes, clubs, and students traveling who are all looking to have a travel clinic. UHS does not have travel clinics everyday, so its imperative you get yours done sooner rather than later.
As of right now we will be leaving the first Friday night of spring break. We will be parking at Ricco’s house (which will save a lot of money) and take a shuttle to the airport. We get back the following Thursday and classes aren’t till Monday. An idea is that we might get rooms at a beach and spend a few days before break ends at the beach. Or, Ricco’s family has beach house. If we get clearance for that we can use it. If we do this we understand not everyone will want to stay so we will have cars going back to school or home if that is what people want.
SECURITY UPDATE: this is a security update made by Global Brigades on the security of Honduras. Please read and/or send to family if there is any concerns.
Social:
This Thursday Jan 26th starting at 9 is an inter-brigade social. It's at 712B West Beaver-- which is near the Collegiate Arms. BYOB, but come even if you don't or can't get alcohol.
Side Notes:
Penn State Global Brigades is the largest brigades chapter in the world right now in terms of participation and active members. Our Water brigades is the largest chapter in the Country. As a result, we will be planning and hosting a
Mid-Atlantic Global Brigades conference this upcoming April. It will be the weekend of the 14th and 15th. Orion Haas the Global Brigades program Coordinator for Ghana will be a guest amongst us. We will be diligently beginning to plan this event. More information will be forthcoming and when the time comes help will be appreciated.
That's all for now.
Cheers,
David.
November 11, 2011
THINGS FOR YOU TO DO/REMEMBER:
1. Reminders for Ghana Brigadiers
2. Collecting donations through Empowered
3. Update for Honduras Brigadiers
4. Fundraising
5. Fundraising Stats
6. Upcoming Fundraisers
7. Socials
8. Internship Opportunity
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QUICK SUMMARY
In today's meeting we gave a run down of events to come, we discussed our fundraising successes as well as future endeavors and also mapped out some social events.
1. Reminders for Ghana Brigadiers:
- $250 is due today in your account on empowered.org. To do this, you need to click on your name and then deposit using a credit card. Did we say this yet?
- Coming up soon, probably on Sunday, October 16, we will have a workshop to apply for visas together.
- To prepare for this, make sure you have two passport pictures taken (in town, this can be done at CVS or Grasshopper gifts)
- GET YOUR PASSPORT IF YOU HAVEN'T
2. Collecting donations through Empowered:
- Everyone should have made their Empowered account, if you haven't already, its very simple and the website walks you through it.
- Once you register you can search Penn State Water Brigades and sign up for the appropriate trip.
- Remember to keep donation receipts for your tax returns!
3. Update for Honduras Brigadiers :
- Right know there is nothing too much going on, just keep coming to meetings or look for our emails with updates.
- Also please come join social events so we can get to know each other.
- Sign-ups should be out in the next couple weeks.
4. Fundraising:
- Everyone should check with their respective colleges and departments for travel grants and keep their eyes peeled for opportunities through Penn State:
- There are trip grants through the Honors College and that application deadline is November 1st.
- We have a corporate letter attached below for people to send out to any connections they have.
- Also attached is a letter for members to send out to family members and friends to make donations toward the trip.
- If you send them to this link http://www.empowered.org/Water-Brigades-at-Penn-State and tell them to find either Honduras or Ghana, they can donate under your name.
- You can also send out to all your friends on facebook to donate 2 or 5 bucks toward your trip.
5. Fundraising stats
- Five Guys fundraiser we made them $655 and profited from that $131.
- This money will most likely be used to pay for the trip t-shirts, as splitting it up amongst all trip goers will only be a few dollars each.
- Rita’s fundraiser made $265 and got a profit of about $100 that was handed out to the 4 members who participated.
6. Upcoming Fundraisers
- October 15th (homecoming weekend), we will be having a bake sale starting at 9:00pm and this will be outside Irving's.
- We need bakers and people to man the stand during the night. Please contact Nicole Aspros [email protected] or Elicia Abella [email protected] to either offer baked goods or work the table.
- Our first scheduled canning weekend is Oct 21-23.
- We will not be planning canning trips during THON canning weekends, nor on home game weekends.
- If you are interested in coming, then fill out THIS FORM.
- If you can host (preferably living within like 2.5 hours), make sure to offer up!
- Any other fundraising suggestions are greatly appreciated and we ask that you send them to our fundraising chairs Elicia Abella at [email protected] and Nicole Aspros [email protected].
7. Socials:
- Thursday Oct 6th: LaserTag at 11pm. Sign up! It'll be $10 with a pregame at Mike's place at 10pm
- Thursday Oct 13th we have a hayride trip that is $20. If you haven't taken part in this PSU tradition yet, it is an absolute must. To hand in your money, if you didn't during the meeting, GB presidents (not just Mike and Ricco) will have office hours in the HUB. Check the bottom of the email for that.
- Also we will be having a showing of A Day in a Life, a Nat Geo documentary that had filmmakers go out on 7/24/11 and film the day to day experiences of everyday people all around the world. Penn State Brigades teamed up with Nat Geo to have a showing of the film, sometime in early November. Look for that in an upcoming email.
8. Internship
- A new opportunity has arisen for our members. The overall financial chair for Global Brigades lives in Lewisburg, PA and she is looking for an assistant. She would like someone with a business background, but any eager help is welcome (you should definitely be able to use Microsoft Excel). You will be compensated by having a great internship experience, special consideration for GB internship after graduation, letter of recommendation, in country trip costs covered, food while working, and lodging should the weather not permit you to travel back to State College. You may also be able to carry out the meetings on campus if necessary. The job would entail 6-8 hours bi-weekly. Contact Mike ASAP at [email protected] if you are interested.
September 19th, 2011
THINGS FOR YOU TO DO/REMEMBER:
1. Look for a BIG email from me on what to do to get ready for the Ghana Trip.
2. Tax deductions lets the government pay for 30% of your trip cost (see below)
3. BBQ Social on Sunday (see below for address and more details) Sign up here if you wanna go!
4. Five Guys Fundraiser on Wednesday 5-8pm fb event (see below)
5. Sign up if you want to go canning/host HERE on October 21-23.
6. Join our Facebook Group!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quick Summary:
If you couldn't make the meeting tonight, we started off with a little summary of Mike and my trip to the Global Brigade National conference in
Seattle, Washington. As an organization, Global Water Brigades is different from many others in that it strives to have a holistic model
of community development. That means there is a sense of solidarity as we brigadiers work alongside the people and help teach them to be
self-sufficient. The philosophy is that "charity is vertical, solidarity is horizontal." We strive for solidarity, not charity, with our communities.
Donations through Empowered
Empowered.org is an website that will be our fundraising engine, and everyone needs to make an account there. There mission is to empower
groups to be able to fundraise effectively. Through Empowered.org, when people donate they will receive a receipt that can be used in
filing tax returns. We are a 501C3 tax deductible organization, so in filing for tax returns, the government essentially pays for 30% of your
trip. Additionally empowered is the helpful go-between for us as the club and the Global Brigades as a whole. It allows GB to see a roster
of people going and with their current payment situation. All your trip money must be put on the Empowered account; this is how the GB accesses
the money. We never directly write checks or mail cash to the organization. I will send out details soon on how to sign up on Empowered through my Ghana email.
Ghana
To people going to Ghana, I will be sending an email out about trip details. Right now individuals going, need to start getting an idea of
where the money is going to come from. As much as we will be fundraising, you should have backup funding if you do not make as much
as expected. It is a rather difficult (possibly impossible) process to get money back once the initial deposits are made
Additionally,
Ghana is weird with their visa process, we have to apply before we go to the country. We will be having a workshop when we will all be
applying for visas together
Fundraising:
Fundraising to pay for these trips will be a large part of what we do. We want to emphasize with our fundraising philosophy that we fundraise for
third-world development, not for a personal trip, or just as a group collecting donations for a project we may never see. We work alongside
community members, funded with our capital, to complete these water projects.
This year we are focusing on establishing fundraising traditions that can be used by our club in the long term. Any suggestions are greatly
appreciated and we ask that you send them to our fundraising chairs Elicia Abella at [email protected]and Nicole Aspros [email protected].
Individuals can look for trip grants through the Honors College (if you are a member); that deadline is November 1st. For non-honor
students you can also ask your department to see if they have travel grants/scholarships.
We also have a letter for members to send out to family members and friends to make donations toward the trip, which we will send out to
everyone soon. The better way might be just to send them a link to your empowered.org page, since its easy for most people with basic computer knowledge.
(**You will need to sign up for Empowered.org and create an account before you can accept donations through the website.) Last year several
members paid for their trips almost exclusively doing this. You can also send out to all your friends on facebook to donate 2 or 5 bucks toward your trip.
Rita’s fundraiser is still going on until October. Email Elicia if you have any questions, or want to get in on it.
FIVEGUYS IS THIS WED 5-8!!! Mention GWB with your order. If you have time to stay around and advertise with us outside the restaurant, definitely
send us an email, we could use your help!
We also have a corporate letter to send out, and which you will see as an attachment- if you have any connections please spread it!
During the Alabama game, we raised $200 among 9 people in just one hour. We will be canning more during the football games and this time with the
appropriate permits (oops!).
Our first scheduled canning weekend is Oct 21-23. We will be planning canning trips not during THON canning weekends and out not on home game
weekends. If you are interested in coming, then fill out THIS FORM.
Social:
This weekend we have a Global Brigades BBQ, Sunday 12-3pm. 1005 N. Atherton St, its only a 10 min walk from the library. If you can
bring some chips or drinks or food of some sort if they can. There will be a trampoline, big backyard, four grills, and lots of fun (at least that’s
how it was before it got postponed due to rain). Its gonna be epic. SIGN UP HERE IF YOU WANNA COME!
Oct 1st is going to be a dry social event involving hiking or laser tag.
Thursday Oct 13th we have a hayride trip that is $20. If you haven't taken part in this PSU tradition yet, it is an absolute must.
Side Notes
We will be getting group t-shirts. If you want to try your hand at designing a t-shirt for one of our trips, we would love that!
We are also trying to work with Brigades on a new Research Internship-type of program. The aim of this would be developing novel strategies in
certain communities with unique barriers to obtaining water. This could potentially result in publications, theses, etc. If you are interested,
contact us and we can get you in touch with the right people.
And if you are going to Honduras over Spring Break instead of Ghana, don't feel left out! Soon enough the trip preparations for that will begin.
1. Look for a BIG email from me on what to do to get ready for the Ghana Trip.
2. Tax deductions lets the government pay for 30% of your trip cost (see below)
3. BBQ Social on Sunday (see below for address and more details) Sign up here if you wanna go!
4. Five Guys Fundraiser on Wednesday 5-8pm fb event (see below)
5. Sign up if you want to go canning/host HERE on October 21-23.
6. Join our Facebook Group!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quick Summary:
If you couldn't make the meeting tonight, we started off with a little summary of Mike and my trip to the Global Brigade National conference in
Seattle, Washington. As an organization, Global Water Brigades is different from many others in that it strives to have a holistic model
of community development. That means there is a sense of solidarity as we brigadiers work alongside the people and help teach them to be
self-sufficient. The philosophy is that "charity is vertical, solidarity is horizontal." We strive for solidarity, not charity, with our communities.
Donations through Empowered
Empowered.org is an website that will be our fundraising engine, and everyone needs to make an account there. There mission is to empower
groups to be able to fundraise effectively. Through Empowered.org, when people donate they will receive a receipt that can be used in
filing tax returns. We are a 501C3 tax deductible organization, so in filing for tax returns, the government essentially pays for 30% of your
trip. Additionally empowered is the helpful go-between for us as the club and the Global Brigades as a whole. It allows GB to see a roster
of people going and with their current payment situation. All your trip money must be put on the Empowered account; this is how the GB accesses
the money. We never directly write checks or mail cash to the organization. I will send out details soon on how to sign up on Empowered through my Ghana email.
Ghana
To people going to Ghana, I will be sending an email out about trip details. Right now individuals going, need to start getting an idea of
where the money is going to come from. As much as we will be fundraising, you should have backup funding if you do not make as much
as expected. It is a rather difficult (possibly impossible) process to get money back once the initial deposits are made
Additionally,
Ghana is weird with their visa process, we have to apply before we go to the country. We will be having a workshop when we will all be
applying for visas together
Fundraising:
Fundraising to pay for these trips will be a large part of what we do. We want to emphasize with our fundraising philosophy that we fundraise for
third-world development, not for a personal trip, or just as a group collecting donations for a project we may never see. We work alongside
community members, funded with our capital, to complete these water projects.
This year we are focusing on establishing fundraising traditions that can be used by our club in the long term. Any suggestions are greatly
appreciated and we ask that you send them to our fundraising chairs Elicia Abella at [email protected]and Nicole Aspros [email protected].
Individuals can look for trip grants through the Honors College (if you are a member); that deadline is November 1st. For non-honor
students you can also ask your department to see if they have travel grants/scholarships.
We also have a letter for members to send out to family members and friends to make donations toward the trip, which we will send out to
everyone soon. The better way might be just to send them a link to your empowered.org page, since its easy for most people with basic computer knowledge.
(**You will need to sign up for Empowered.org and create an account before you can accept donations through the website.) Last year several
members paid for their trips almost exclusively doing this. You can also send out to all your friends on facebook to donate 2 or 5 bucks toward your trip.
Rita’s fundraiser is still going on until October. Email Elicia if you have any questions, or want to get in on it.
FIVEGUYS IS THIS WED 5-8!!! Mention GWB with your order. If you have time to stay around and advertise with us outside the restaurant, definitely
send us an email, we could use your help!
We also have a corporate letter to send out, and which you will see as an attachment- if you have any connections please spread it!
During the Alabama game, we raised $200 among 9 people in just one hour. We will be canning more during the football games and this time with the
appropriate permits (oops!).
Our first scheduled canning weekend is Oct 21-23. We will be planning canning trips not during THON canning weekends and out not on home game
weekends. If you are interested in coming, then fill out THIS FORM.
Social:
This weekend we have a Global Brigades BBQ, Sunday 12-3pm. 1005 N. Atherton St, its only a 10 min walk from the library. If you can
bring some chips or drinks or food of some sort if they can. There will be a trampoline, big backyard, four grills, and lots of fun (at least that’s
how it was before it got postponed due to rain). Its gonna be epic. SIGN UP HERE IF YOU WANNA COME!
Oct 1st is going to be a dry social event involving hiking or laser tag.
Thursday Oct 13th we have a hayride trip that is $20. If you haven't taken part in this PSU tradition yet, it is an absolute must.
Side Notes
We will be getting group t-shirts. If you want to try your hand at designing a t-shirt for one of our trips, we would love that!
We are also trying to work with Brigades on a new Research Internship-type of program. The aim of this would be developing novel strategies in
certain communities with unique barriers to obtaining water. This could potentially result in publications, theses, etc. If you are interested,
contact us and we can get you in touch with the right people.
And if you are going to Honduras over Spring Break instead of Ghana, don't feel left out! Soon enough the trip preparations for that will begin.
September 6th, 2011
Hey everyone,
Last night was a big success! So happy everyone who could come, came, and those who couldn't, here is everything you missed. As long as this email, its pretty basic; more details will be covered later.
First of all, some things that require your immediate response:
-We will be canning before the Alabama game (11-2). Medical Brigades was really successful last week, and we hope to follow in their footsteps! Sign up here ASAP, by noon Friday at the latest. You'll still have plenty of time before the game to "get ready" with your friends. 90% of what you make will go toward the trip (we keep 10% to buy school supplies and other goodies for the kids in the villages we work in)
-Elicia arranged us a really sweet fundraiser with Rita's. The information is attached. Contact her ASAP if you are interested and she'll hook you up with the materials. [email protected]
-Sign up here for what trip you are interested in going on. This isn't a committment, just to get an idea of who is on board for what.
So we started the meeting off by introducing all the officers.
Our presidents: Michael Henry and Anthony Ricco
Secretary: David Martino
Treasurer: Deja Chavarria
Recruitment Chairs: Jen Ryan and Kate Ortbal
Fundraising Chairs: Elicia Abella and Nicole Aspros
Social/"So-Chill" Chair: Kianna Walker
We discussed the reasoning behind the club, and some of the facts we threw out were: a child dies every 20s as a result of not having safe drinking water and also over 1 billion people don't have access to clean water. By participating in Water Brigades you help cut that number down and as we continue on through the years, those numbers will continue to decrease. The point of our club is also to give students an opportunity they wouldn't generally have to see the conditions firsthand in underprivileged countries.
We recapped our trip last year, and said what is to be expected on future trips:
Upon arrival, we were introduced to our trip leader and were able to settle in at the compound in addition to doing several team-building activities. The second day was the day we learned about the project specifics: what the water source was, the history of the project, how the town water council plans on sustaining the project post-trip, and so on. The following several days we actually got our hands dirty and physically dug and laid pipe for the water project, working alongside community members. On the final full day, we had education sessions with children of the nearby villages to teach about water conservation and hygiene. We also got the chance to get thoroughly embarrassed by playing soccer against them. There was also a cultural night with traditional dances and actors, and the last night we had a fiesta with all of the Brigades from other universities. Both trips this year will be a similar mix of work, fun, and cultural exchange.
Trip details : Every aspect of the trip once you arrive will be taken care of by Global Brigades. The lodging is clean and comfortable; the food is outstanding. We also discussed safety; it is very safe. The group does always have guards along, though they have never been necessary. For any safety questions check out http://globalbrigades.wikidot.com/safety:safety. Transportation is also provided from the time of arrival to departure.
Money Matters: Ghana will be $880 in the country cost and 1500 for airfare. The trip will be Winter Break, Dec 27-Jan6
Honduras will be 750 for in country cost and 800 for airfare. The trip will be over Spring Break
**The airfare is variable and those airfare prices are very conservative estimates; last year we actually got airfare for 500. The in country cost goes toward clean drinking water, translators, accommodations and meals, airport pickup/drop off, program follow up and project materials. The project materials cost is the capital investment in this project; even though we help work on the pipeline, this continues beyond our departure. To help defer costs, we will be fundraising as a club, so look out for dates, starting as soon as this weekend.
Socials:
We will have a number of socials this year. We try to mix it up: Mt. Nittany hikes, the hayride, laser tag, and some good ol' parties. Hopefully by time you embark on your journey, you'll already be best friends with all of the other trip-goers.
Fundraising:
Sept 21st from 5-8 is our 5Guys fundraiser. It works like this: tell people to go to 5Guys for dinner and when they order they have to mention that they are there for the GWB fundraiser. 20% of the money from the order goes to our club. So tell everyone to go and mention GWB! Check out the event on our facebook page for this. We will have other partnerships with businesses like this. See the attachment for details on the Ritas fundraiser.
Also, to fundraise, we will be canning both at football games and on weekend trips. The first weekend trip is Oct 22-23. The first football weekend is this weekend (see the signup at the top of the email)
Finally, a bit of fundraising will fall on individuals. We will make letters to send to family, friends, and hometown businesses. Last year, some members got their entire trips paid for in this way. Keep in mind that GB is a 501c3 non-profit, so all donations are tax deductible. Fundraising is done through a website (we will go into this next meeting) that issues receipts for record-keeping.
Final Notes:
Join our facebook page, check out our first event and invite your friends
Check out our website for more information, and cool pictures from last year's trip
If you have any questions, email one of us! Ricco and I will also meet up with you if you have any specifics concerns or questions about the trip or the club.
Finally, everyone needs to get passports! If you passport expires within 6 months of your trip, you must reapply for a new passport. Also for any international student you are absolutely allowed to participate, Here is a link to the Student Resource Site, which talks about the visa process (http://globalbrigades.wikidot.com/travel:policies#toc1). For US residents, we will only need to apply for visas if you are going to Ghana.
Got it all?? Thanks for hanging in there!
Love, Mike and the GWB crew
Last night was a big success! So happy everyone who could come, came, and those who couldn't, here is everything you missed. As long as this email, its pretty basic; more details will be covered later.
First of all, some things that require your immediate response:
-We will be canning before the Alabama game (11-2). Medical Brigades was really successful last week, and we hope to follow in their footsteps! Sign up here ASAP, by noon Friday at the latest. You'll still have plenty of time before the game to "get ready" with your friends. 90% of what you make will go toward the trip (we keep 10% to buy school supplies and other goodies for the kids in the villages we work in)
-Elicia arranged us a really sweet fundraiser with Rita's. The information is attached. Contact her ASAP if you are interested and she'll hook you up with the materials. [email protected]
-Sign up here for what trip you are interested in going on. This isn't a committment, just to get an idea of who is on board for what.
So we started the meeting off by introducing all the officers.
Our presidents: Michael Henry and Anthony Ricco
Secretary: David Martino
Treasurer: Deja Chavarria
Recruitment Chairs: Jen Ryan and Kate Ortbal
Fundraising Chairs: Elicia Abella and Nicole Aspros
Social/"So-Chill" Chair: Kianna Walker
We discussed the reasoning behind the club, and some of the facts we threw out were: a child dies every 20s as a result of not having safe drinking water and also over 1 billion people don't have access to clean water. By participating in Water Brigades you help cut that number down and as we continue on through the years, those numbers will continue to decrease. The point of our club is also to give students an opportunity they wouldn't generally have to see the conditions firsthand in underprivileged countries.
We recapped our trip last year, and said what is to be expected on future trips:
Upon arrival, we were introduced to our trip leader and were able to settle in at the compound in addition to doing several team-building activities. The second day was the day we learned about the project specifics: what the water source was, the history of the project, how the town water council plans on sustaining the project post-trip, and so on. The following several days we actually got our hands dirty and physically dug and laid pipe for the water project, working alongside community members. On the final full day, we had education sessions with children of the nearby villages to teach about water conservation and hygiene. We also got the chance to get thoroughly embarrassed by playing soccer against them. There was also a cultural night with traditional dances and actors, and the last night we had a fiesta with all of the Brigades from other universities. Both trips this year will be a similar mix of work, fun, and cultural exchange.
Trip details : Every aspect of the trip once you arrive will be taken care of by Global Brigades. The lodging is clean and comfortable; the food is outstanding. We also discussed safety; it is very safe. The group does always have guards along, though they have never been necessary. For any safety questions check out http://globalbrigades.wikidot.com/safety:safety. Transportation is also provided from the time of arrival to departure.
Money Matters: Ghana will be $880 in the country cost and 1500 for airfare. The trip will be Winter Break, Dec 27-Jan6
Honduras will be 750 for in country cost and 800 for airfare. The trip will be over Spring Break
**The airfare is variable and those airfare prices are very conservative estimates; last year we actually got airfare for 500. The in country cost goes toward clean drinking water, translators, accommodations and meals, airport pickup/drop off, program follow up and project materials. The project materials cost is the capital investment in this project; even though we help work on the pipeline, this continues beyond our departure. To help defer costs, we will be fundraising as a club, so look out for dates, starting as soon as this weekend.
Socials:
We will have a number of socials this year. We try to mix it up: Mt. Nittany hikes, the hayride, laser tag, and some good ol' parties. Hopefully by time you embark on your journey, you'll already be best friends with all of the other trip-goers.
Fundraising:
Sept 21st from 5-8 is our 5Guys fundraiser. It works like this: tell people to go to 5Guys for dinner and when they order they have to mention that they are there for the GWB fundraiser. 20% of the money from the order goes to our club. So tell everyone to go and mention GWB! Check out the event on our facebook page for this. We will have other partnerships with businesses like this. See the attachment for details on the Ritas fundraiser.
Also, to fundraise, we will be canning both at football games and on weekend trips. The first weekend trip is Oct 22-23. The first football weekend is this weekend (see the signup at the top of the email)
Finally, a bit of fundraising will fall on individuals. We will make letters to send to family, friends, and hometown businesses. Last year, some members got their entire trips paid for in this way. Keep in mind that GB is a 501c3 non-profit, so all donations are tax deductible. Fundraising is done through a website (we will go into this next meeting) that issues receipts for record-keeping.
Final Notes:
Join our facebook page, check out our first event and invite your friends
Check out our website for more information, and cool pictures from last year's trip
If you have any questions, email one of us! Ricco and I will also meet up with you if you have any specifics concerns or questions about the trip or the club.
Finally, everyone needs to get passports! If you passport expires within 6 months of your trip, you must reapply for a new passport. Also for any international student you are absolutely allowed to participate, Here is a link to the Student Resource Site, which talks about the visa process (http://globalbrigades.wikidot.com/travel:policies#toc1). For US residents, we will only need to apply for visas if you are going to Ghana.
Got it all?? Thanks for hanging in there!
Love, Mike and the GWB crew