Ahoy there! My name is Sarah, and I love to sail. I'm 17 years old and entering my senior year in highschool. It’s been my dream to become a traditional tall ship sailor for a couple years now, and as one might imagine, there are no opportunites to learn to sail in a land locked public school in "need of improvement". But after some hard work I finally have a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn how to sail….and go to school at the same time! So how will I manage this feat?

The Project:

I was recently accepted into the Discovery Semester for the spring of 2013 with Ocean Classroom Foundation, a non-profit sail training organization (link here if you want to learn more about their programs straight from the source: http://www.oceanclassroom.org/). The semester is four months long, starting in St. Thomas. I will visit the Islands of the Caribbean, the tip of South America and then I will sail up the Atlantic coast home. All the while I will be emerged in many different cultures, be taking 5 different classes and learning how to sail a 128-foot schooner! Did I mention I'll be in the Carribean for school? You have to admit, this is the semester of a lifetime. Not only do I have the opportunity to get a really valuable education for myself,  but I will be able to help teach the elementary school children in my town all about sailing and the places I visit. I will be sending them letters and postcards, and once I am back from my trip I will come to the school for a day to talk with them and answer questions. I hope to broaden their horizons and improve their atitudes about education. I want show them that if they put their minds to it, they can learn some incredible things and go on adventures they've never even imagined were possible. This is an extremely important aspect of my semester because I really want to spread the idea that there are many more opportunities out there than meet the eye, and that those opportunities are reachable if you work for them. If I could inspire just one kid to pursue their dreams, and nothing more came of this, I would be content.

The Price:

Of course, this all comes at a cost. The tuition itself is $19,500…which is a lot. Fortunately, Ocean Classroom was able to give me a very generous scholarship of just over $11,000 dollars. Also, organizations and members of my community have been lowering my tuition cost to around $5,500 with their donations, which is a much more manageable number, but not one that I can pay out of pocket as I come from a low income family (My father is disabled by Parkinson's Disease and my mother is unable to get full-time work becuase he can't be left alone.) The money I’ll make at my summer jobs will go directly to paying for air fare, insurance, a passport, supplies and other expenses. So I’m hoping  we can all work together and come up with $3,000 here to help make the ends meet.

The Perks:

Any donation or help, no matter how small, will receive my sincere thanks. Also, you will know that you were able to help send one girl on an amazing adventure as well as to inspire my young elementary school friends. Oh, and I'll also send you some pretty cool stuff (desription in the doobly-doo over there on the side).

   Have no money to give? That’s okay!

You can help by spreading the word on your Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, on your Blog, or among your friends and community members.

Thank you so much for your time and support. I hope to keep you posted on my progress, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me in the comments section. I wish you sucess in all your endeavors, and on that note, I'd like to leave you with a little quote that has inspired me on countless occasions.

    "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain