Attempt #2

There's only so much hope in the world before you realize that you're not getting a response.

It has officially been a month since I appealed to the local businesses of Charles County and abroad for small donations to go toward my conference tuition, and not a single one has replied as to whether or not they would be able to contribute.

What's strange to me is that if this were a college acceptance I was waiting on, at least I'd be guaranteed to get some kind of message. But nothing.

Registration for the conference officially opened 5 days ago, and due to the fact that a full payment of tuition is due upon making the final decision, my chances of getting in are slimming down. I have yet to actually contact any DC businesses though, and hopefully I'll be able to have some luck with them.

Basically, it's about $285 holding me back from the experience of a lifetime. I say this because ever since I got the letter in the mail from George Mason, I've found out just how supportive my family is. They're willing to go above and beyond to help me out, but the reason I'm appealing to all these businesses is because I wish they didn't have to give so much.

If I could get a few major sponsors, not only would I be able to register sooner, but it'd be less of a burden on the ones I care about.

I have until the 30th of March, and I will be sending more letters. A lot more. I'll be posting more blogs. I'll record more videos (even if the original ones were horrible). Somehow, I'm making it to this conference, and I'll continue to use this blog as a way to keep everyone posted. Right now, its just proving to be a little more challenging than I expected.



Thanks for reading,
Leena

Crash

No one ever wants to see their beloved computer eaten up by an evil nasty virus. However, that was exactly the way I rang in my new year, with a newly restored laptop that I had come to depend on almost exclusively for document retention. My poor stories, saved only by the fact that I'd copied most of them onto my trusty flashdrive.

As for fundraising, the thing is that I know the corporations I have actually sent letters to have recieved them. According to the Post Office, they would have arrived at their destinations by the 14th of December. It's the third day of January, though after the holiday break, I admit that it's also the first day of getting mail. Still though, the 14th?

After walking to my mailbox every day with a look of expectation, I'm not as disappointed to see that the only mail addressed to me comes from colleges. I do hope that these businesses are able to sponsor me - truly. It would mean so much stress being lifted from my family. So I will be patient, and continue to wait while I gather another list of potential sponsors. I hope to get in contact with more by this weekend, and so far am very glad to still have a solid opportunity like this.

Saying that I know I'll be going to George Mason this summer makes my classes so much more tolerable, knowing that all the hard work I'm putting in is paying off in the best way.

Welcome back to work/school,
Leena

Pre-New Year Update

It's been at least 2 weeks, and I have yet to hear from ANY of my potential sponsors that I sent letters and press kits to via my local post office. This is kind of discouraging, but I'm going to keep trying and hope that at least one business pulls through and decides to help me out.

In other news, I continue to get excited more and more each day about the conference. Just having the opportunity to meet new people in itself is amazing. I'll be keeping a day by day account here on the Mason Expedition, and also plan to keep you all posted on the events proceeding  the conference.

I'm sorry I don't have much else to share, but I hope that everyone had great memories this holiday season, and I wish you all the best,

Leena

Letters, Letters, Letters Everywhere!

Today is the day, even though it's almost 11pm and I'm wide awake.

Today, I wrote and prepared my letters. Being a resident of "Chuck County", a little more than half of them aren't going any farther than La Plata or Waldorf. But I am also sending my little packets out to the lands of NYC and Tennessee, just to see if I will have any luck with finding sponsors.

So far, I have contacted the following people/businesses:

• American Legion
• Steve Harvey
• Tom Joyner
• Elk's Lodge
• Charles County Woman's Club (Until last year, I wasn't even aware that we had one)
• Ken Dixon Automotives
• Board of Ed
• NBC News/Studios
• WUSA 9
• Kane of Hot 99.5 FM Radio
• The Maryland Independent
• Fox 5
• The Washington Post
• Dollar General
• Safeway
• Shoppers Food & Pharmacy
• Hot Topic Inc.

I also plan on doing some research in regards to retail stores, and possibly some local restaurants. Tomorrow I will be taking a trip to the post office to drop off the 10 letters that I currently have ready to go, and I will be also trying to figure out how to complete my Master's Research project in Photography that's either going to require me having access to some rowhouses or interesting looking subjects.

Looks like it's going to be a busy day, but I can't wait to get started!

Quick Update

Hello,

So far, I've discovered that this blog thing is harder than I thought it would be. See, this isn't my first time starting one. In fact, I've had about 2 already - I just didn't expect anyone to read them. With this one though, the intent was to connect with others and possibly get the attention of future sponsors. I did contemplate deleting my latest and first video, and am still debating it right now.

The thing is...I could. But if I decide to go "Forget it, it doesn't matter", what am I learning? The whole reason I wanted to attend this conference is to learn something and get to the point where I can make business contacts after I graduate from college.

This blog isn't amazing or anything, but it is in its early stages, and I'm sure that even the more popular ones weren't the best from their first posts. My videos will eventually get better, even if I've discovered that my webcam has a pretty poor quality when it comes down to it. I do take part of the blame but again, I'm pretty nervous knowing that someone will be able to watch them pretty soon.

As far as where I'm at now, I am very close to securing all of the money for my tuition for the conference.

I'd like to thank my parents, my grandma as well as all of my aunts and uncles who have donated way more than I ever expected.
Today I'm making efforts to get letters to not only corporations but local businesses and even my school board. Not everyone is answering my calls, but hopefully having a solid letter in front of them will inspire something. Before I jump into my homework for the day, I'll be looking up addresses and printing out cover letters in order to have these things out by the weekend.

Still working on things,
Leena