Traveling from Hawaii is expensive. Traveling from Hawaii to Florida is really expensive. But that didn’t stop Meagan Olsen’s island-based theatre group from competing in the National Performing Arts Festival at Walt Disney World® Resort. We spoke with her about how she made it possible for her students to participate in this event. Here’s some of what she had to say:
Fundraise, Fundraise and Fundraise Some More
To make the trip more affordable, Meagan’s group did a ton of fundraisers. But they made sure their fundraisers called on support from all different community members. They set-up restaurant nights with local chains, created a partnership with a local airline and hosted activity-filled booths at major events.
Not a One-Man Job
“Our group does not have one leader,” says Meagan, “every parent is a leader, we all work together.” She explains that she met very frequently with parents during student rehearsals, and that they communicated over a private Facebook page. By constantly being in touch with parents, Meagan knew exactly what they wanted out of the trip and what their resources were.
Working With Brightspark
Prior to her trip to the National Performing Arts Festival, Meagan had traveled with students without the help of a student travel company. “Working with Brightspark basically took a lot of the headaches out of trip planning.”
