"Twenty, twenty, twenty-four hours to go..."

The word has been sent out...

Welcome to the what will soon be the most popular site in central New Hampshire (South African-related division) ... We are ready for South Africa.

Passports, fundraising, tickets, parents' worries, fundraising, permission, South African connections/friends, packing, and fundraising have all been handled and done. Whew.

24 hours until we have to be at Logan--we are very excited. This trip has been the result of many, many hours of hard work by Key Club and our supporters.

I have almost started packing--Ms. Leavitt-Carlson is threatening to go to South Africa without me if I don't start soon.

A little bit of background:

Ms. Leavitt-Carlson and I spent two years in SA in the Peace Corps and wanted to find a way for others to have at least a small taste of our amazing experiences. However, photos and stories can only go so far. Rather than try to bring Africa to Laconia, we proposed bringing our Key Clubbers to Africa.

With the great support of Superintendent Champlin, the School Board, Principal Beals, and the Laconia High School Community, this is now a reality. None of this would have been possible, though, without the tremendous support that we have received from the Greater Laconia community. We were able to raise $24,000 from the wonderful donations of parents, friends, strangers, businesses and organizations, in particular our parent organization, the Kiwanis Club of Laconia. It is encouraging to see a community, in difficult economic times, still come together to help give their children a chance to for an amazing learning opportunity.

Students going on the trip: Ashley Witham, Amanda Bridge, Kyle Beetle, Brenna Cass, Erica Cross, Vince Denaris, Mackenzie Duquette, Jocelyn Morin.

Staff: Ivy Leavitt-Carlson, Seth Leavitt-Carlson, Bonnie Ashworth, Scott Davis

Thank you so much. Please feel free to post comments and ask questions. We would love to hear from you and share our experiences.