Financial Aid at Rite of Passage Journeys

A story from Journeys’ Executive Director, Darcy Ottey:  “I was a scholarship participant with Journeys, when I was 13.  I remember reading a flier about the program and thinking, “’I just have to do this!’ But it was way beyond the current financial means of my family.  After Journeys helped me create a financial aid plan, I received a significant scholarship, and I babysat, cleaned houses, asked family and friends to sponsor me, and generally cobbled together the $750 not covered by the scholarship in order to make it happen.  I remember holding the money in my hands, and taking it on the first day of the program to pay the costs, and feeling so proud of what I’d accomplished, and this is before the trip even began!”

Journeys is strongly committed to making our programs available to everyone, regardless of their financial situation.

Our approach to providing scholarships to help make our programs possible is unique.  We work closely with families and individuals seeking financial assistance to determine what is within their means, and develop a comprehensive tuition plan.  Depending on the unique situation of the family or individual, this plan usually includes:

• We ask families or individuals to stretch financially to make the program possible, because we recognize that people value things more if they have to pay for them., and because we operate on a tight budget and want to ensure that those we provide financial assistance to share in the stretch.   A stretch might be 75% of the cost, or it might be a small contribution.  We also support payment plans, where a family may pay tuition over a period of months beyond the completion of the program.
• For local individuals and families we provide “workship” opportunities where we provide partial scholarship in exchange for project work preparing for or cleaning up from the trip.  We’ve found that this can be a great way for participants to learn more about the program, spend more time thinking about what they’re hoping to gain from it, and consequently have a more meaningful experience.
• We provide support for families and individuals who raise tuition funds in their home communities, either through pledges, babysitting, mowing lawns, etc.  We find that this can be a great way to rally a whole community around what a young boy or girl is doing, investing them in the program and providing them with a whole group of folks who are interested and invested in the stories upon their return.
• Last, we offer scholarships to supplement the remainder of the program tuition.  On average, the purely scholarship portion of the tuition cost is about half of the tuition; sometimes it will be just a small supplement.  Sometimes the scholarships cover almost the whole cost, with a little bit in workship or community funds. 

 To apply for financial assistance, please submit a letter to Darcy that includes a detailed financial picture of the individual or family:  income, expenses, unique challenges, and a specific request for what sort of assistance is needed.  Upon receipt of the letter, we will review the request and make contact to develop a plan to make program participation possible.