New Ames nonprofit wants to provide 4 low-income students free travel to Costa Rica
A new nonprofit organization wants to give Ames students who may not be able to afford it the experience of international travel.
Janelle Gapp, of Ames, first traveled outside the U.S. while she studied animal science at Iowa State University. It was a 10-day trip to Belize a decade ago, but she said it changed her life.
In the years since, Gapp has been working to start the nonprofit Travel Sparq. It became certified in May 2022 and operational in October.
Her first goal is to take students to the sea turtle conservation project in Costa Rica next year, a place she recently visited.
"There's no way that someone else doesn't need to experience this," she said of a magical moment watching sea turtles lay their eggs on a beach lit only by bioluminescent algae and a night sky full of stars.
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It's near the mouth of the Pacuare River on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, where the conservation organization Latin American Sea Turtles Association works to protect and restore coastal and marine ecosystems and wildlife.
As of mid-January, Travel Sparq reported on its website it raised about $3,000 of the estimated $14,000 it will cost to take four students to Costa Rica in July 2024. At no charge to students, the costs include transportation to and from the Des Moines International Airport, airfare, lodging, food, excursions, passports and travel insurance.
"This isn't some beach vacation," the Travel Sparq website says. "You will be volunteering and creating a better physical world, while reflecting on your daily experiences and how those can translate back home."
Travel Sparq likely will take students who are sophomores, juniors or seniors on the first trip. Students from families who earn less than $50,000 a year would qualify. They don't have to be from Ames, but they do need to attend mandatory evening classes in the weeks ahead of the trip.
Students do not need to know Spanish but do need to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
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Gapp will hold an informational meeting at the end of August and applications will open in September. Accepted students would then apply to get passports.
Gapp said she would eventually like to offer similar trips to students across Iowa and to different sites around the world.
More information on Travel Sparq and how to donate is available online at travelsparq.org.
Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: New Ames nonprofit wants to provide students free travel to Costa Rica
