This winter break, a number of students will have the opportunity to escape the dreary Syracuse snow and, instead, spend two weeks enjoying the warmer summer climate of Ecuador, provided that they raise enough money in the coming weeks.

Monday, students hoping to travel to Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador, this December and January held their first fundraising event, a bake sale, in the basement of Hendricks Chapel. Approximately 22 students from Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, plan to travel to South America as part of the Global Student Embassy program. This small, grassroots environmental organization, founded in 2008, is dedicated to restoring environments and creating and promoting more sustainable practices in Nicaragua and Ecuador.

When Tessa Janicke visited Ecuador last winter, she worked in the local community, planting trees and building farms, which she will now return to and work on this year.

“Last year was so inspiring, and I want to see how much the trees I planted last year have grown and see the kids in the city and how they have grown up,” Janicke said.

This year, the student travelers will do similar volunteer work along the coast of Ecuador. Janicke said projects will include working on reforestation and sustainable agriculture in an area that has been devastated by global climate change and El Niños — climate patterns that affect surface temperatures and the strength of ocean currents.

While Janicke has made the trip before and knows a bit of what to expect, others will be making the journey for the first time. Robert Sweeney, a sophomore sustainable energy management major at ESF, spent his last winter break sitting at home, not doing much of anything. So this year, he plans to get involved and give back.

“I just want to make a difference,” Sweeney said. “I have done other mission-type stuff before, but not in a couple of years. So I felt like this trip was definitely worth pursuing.”

The trip departs Dec. 27 and returns Jan. 9 and costs about $2,300 per person. To go on this trip, many will rely on fundraising. The bake sale, which featured everything from brownies and cookies to chocolate-covered peanut butter balls and chocolate-covered strawberries priced at about $1 per item, was just one of several events to reach their goal.

Sean Coyne, a junior environmental resources engineering major at ESF, even picked up a job in Hendricks Chapel to help fund the cost of his trip. Costs include airfare, food, lodging, health insurance, transportation and a small contribution to the service work that the students will complete.

“I don’t think selling cupcakes and everything is going to be enough for me to raise the money, so I am going to have to ask family members,” Coyne said. “Basically anyone who will give me money.”

The students have a number of other fundraising events planned, including an autumn-themed, pumpkin-inspired bake sale in the next few weeks and a “spaghetti feed” in Hendricks Chapel sometime in November. Apart from these fundraising efforts, though, the students have a few other outlets they can utilize to raise the large sum of money.

“We still have a lot of planning to do for that,” said Janicke, the SU and ESF Ecuador trip leader. “But that’s going to be successful as well, I think.”

This Friday, the Global Student Embassy members will host an event at Yogurtland, where 15 percent of all purchases made between 4 and 7 p.m. will be donated to the group’s trip. However, a GSE flier must be shown at the time of purchase for the money to be donated.

The following Friday, Boba Suite Tea House will be helping the students spend their break abroad by donating 30 percent of all purchases, with a flier, to the trip expenses. Fliers will be available at Boba Suite on the day of the event.

Students have also been raising money online at empowered.org. Similar to sites like Kickstarter, Empowered provides an online outlet for students to bring in extra donations. So far, only $2,415 of the $35,250 goal has been donated — about 7 percent — and the deadline is in 66 days.

And although there are still a number of spots to fill and a large sum of money to raise, the group has not given up hope and continues to raise as much money and awareness as they can.

Said Coyne: “I think it’s really cool to see Syracuse and ESF teaming up and doing good for the environment. I think we should feed off that energy and everyone should support us.”

Published on October 22, 2013 at 12:26 am

Contact Katie: kjrichar@syr.edu | @ktjrichards