Gap Years

   Several of my friends decided to take a gap year or a year out instead of starting university this September, and I really respect them for that. Not everybody is ready to start university at the same time, and for some people university just isn't for them. However, despite this, it can still be very daunting approaching your parents and friends and telling them that you're not going to be going the following September. Most people's biggest worry tends to be that they'll be "left behind", trust me, you will not. Plus, if your friends do stop talking to you because you're not going through university life at the same time as them then they really weren't your friends to begin with! Therefore, I thought I'd dedicate this post to fundraising. Despite the fact the majority of my friends who have stayed are going into full time work for a year or two before going to university, some are planning to go travelling after Christmas, and for that you need to save a lot of money.

   In the summer of 2013 I went to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands on a school expedition and it's safe to say it was the most unbelievable experience of my life and I would highly recommend it to anybody who's considering a trip there! In order to go I needed to raise £4,300, which is exactly where fundraising came in. So, whether you're planning a gap year next year, or you're lucky enough to go to a school like mine that offers an expedition, here are my top tips for fundraising.

• Part/Full time job - obvious as it sounds, getting a job is a fab source of income! I didn't do this during my fundraising, and although I did raise the money, this definitely would have removed some stress! 
• Bag packing - bag packing is actually great fun, you get to meet some really lovely people and have a few laughs with customers, as well as talk about your expedition to them which makes it even more exciting for yourself. Obviously you can't just turn up at a supermarket and ask to bag pack, you have to ask them in advance and arrange a date and  time with them. I definitely recommend asking Waitrose, as a higher end supermarket the donations are fab and the customers are so lovely!
• Quiz nights - I only held one quiz night whilst fundraising, but if I could go back I'd definitely host more as it went down so well with everyone involved. Everyone loves a good quiz, so advertise well, get some teams together, tell them to bring their own drink and provide some nibbles and it'll go down a treat!
• Baby sitting - again, I know this is an obvious one, but it's an easy one for your friends and neighbours to help out with and so long as the children are nice it's never too much hassle!
• Dog walking - you might not like the rain or mud, but if you save your neighbour walking the dog in it then they're definitely going to reward you!
• Car washing - let's be honest, we're all too lazy to do it ourselves and you can save your neighbour the petrol money of having to drive to the local garage to get it done, plus it's quite fun in summer!
• Selling old things - there are loads of selling pages and apps such as Depop around to help make this easy and painless. There's no point hoarding all your old things, so if you don't need them any more then get it uploaded or down to your local car boot, because not only will you get the money you so urgently need, but you'll have a cleaner room as well!
• Bake cakes/make jewellery - these two always go down ridiculously well in schools, because just about everyone loves jewellery and cake. I'd recommend speaking to teachers running any school events and asking if you can have a stand at the back of the hall, as events such as parents evening and dance shows always get big audiences and therefore a reasonable amount of money.
• Set up a Facebook event - this isn't something I did, but it's definitely something I'd recommend. It'll take 5 minutes to set up and inform people of what you're fundraising for, then invite all your friends and get them to invite theirs and share it and so on. It's such an easy way to keep people up to date with what you're doing when and what events you have coming up, so that if they're interested they don't have to contact you directly for details and you'll get a lot more interest in events than if you just told your family and friends to come along!
• Leaflets - I sent leaflets out to my neighbours stating what I was fundraising for and what I'd be willing to help out with. This actually got me quite a few little jobs, so if you're close to your neighbours/live in a close community then I definitely recommend it.
• Grant letters - despite the fact none of us particularly like spending hours trawling through huge books in the library, this is the one time I recommend it. Go to your local library and ask for the book containing all the educational grants. It does take a while to trawl through but pick out all the gap year or school expedition companies whose criteria you fit and write them a letter stating where you're going and what you're doing. I got around £500 through writing to companies which really helped me out! I recommend sending the letters in September and April.
• Sponsored event - be creative! Sponsored events tend to be tedious and hard, but be creative and do something funny and I'm sure you'll enjoy it, alongside raising money.
• Busking - busking was by far the funnest thing I did to fundraise! My friend Tilly plays guitar and Beth and I both sing, so we just went into the town centre and sang and played a compilation to apply to as large a demographic as possible. It was December at the time, so it was absolutely freezing and we didn't tend to stay out any longer than an hour and a half, but over the three afternoons that we did it we raised £150 each and it was such a great laugh!

   In my opinion, fundraising for Ecuador was so much fun, and it made the whole expedition so much more rewarding. Therefore, if you're planning on taking a gap year or going on a school expedition, make sure you fundraise! Getting a job and a stable income will benefit you immensely, but it's so enjoyable being creative and being able to talk to people about your trip. I definitely recommend fundraising!