People to People Ambassador program??

[jodim]

My 15yo son just came back from a P2P trip to France, Italy and Greece....and all I can say is we are sooo glad we allowed him to go.

The trip was expensive, with the insurance and additional airfare it cost us $7139, and if we could afford to send him again next year, he would be going.

Once you receive a letter (and you can actually tell by the return address on the envelope if it's from a teacher/coach or just a referral because my 13yo just got the same one. She received 2, 1 from her brother filling it out as a referral and the other from a teacher we know- and both envelopes are different) you go to an informational meeting and if you are interested you sign up online and pay a deposit.

You will then have to "apply", your child will be required to supply 2 letters of reference from teachers and/or coaches, as well as a letter of reference from someone outside your family. (My son had his teacher (he went to a catholic school and only had 1 teacher), his principle and his basketball coach all write him letters)

You have an interview and then they let you know if you're approved or not. We live in a small town, and I personally know 2 kids who were not approved. So they do weed them out.

After they are accepted to the program they go to monthly meetings where they will learn about the countries they will visit and do team building exercises for their group. My son even had to take his suitcase packed and they ran through obstacle courses at a meeting. Good thing too, because on their way from Greece to London their flight was delayed and they had to run to the gate.

We got to know the kids in his group pretty well, and I will say P2P chose the best of the best. They were all great kids, most were above average students and did outside volunteer work.

My son's group travelled with another group and they met up and had a picnic and team building day together before going.

He went during the fighting in Greece, we were emailed numerous times from P2P as well as his Leaders on events, and they had in 2 back-up plans in case they could not travel to Greece (it was the last stop they made, and luckily he was able to go) - we were very pleased with P2P's response to a situation.

I know you hear a lot of negative, and it is expensive, but if you can do it - I highly recommend you send your child.

My son, along with 2 other local teens fundraised for a portion of their tuition. I actually thought it was a good thing for them. They sold Butter Braids and cookie dough, we put on a concert (our priest is in a band and they offered to play for us) and the kids did a balloon drop and sold food, and they did odd jobs.

They weren't begging or asking for donations, but moving a product or service.

I have tons of pictures of his trip, but thought I would share 2 I have on my computer at work.

Athens, Greece

Mt. Pseuvius in the backround

 

[GatorMama]

1) On the fundraising front: I think it depends on what you consider "fundraising." In HS, I took a trip to Egypt. We did two fundraisers that were NOT asking people for money. We sold candy bars at school and at functions and we sold 20 oz bottled coca-colas in the mall (that was OK with the mall) on the weekends. We made a killing on those drinks because we were in the ATL area and all the food court places sold Pepsi products at the time.

2) I know several friends from college that were leaders on P2P tours (in Washington D.C.) . One of the professors at my college has a tie to the program so she always recruited future teachers to go on the trips. They don't choose the leaders at random, MANY apply to go and only a few are selected. Just like students need referrals, so do the leaders. Students that are on the trips aren't JUST having fun. It's almost just a touring school. They're learning AMAZING amounts of information about the places they're visiting and then getting to see it first hand and THEN writing essays on it all. They're working hard... it's not a normal vacation at all.

 

[mafibisha]

OP,
It is legitmate in the respect that you pay your money and your child gets a nice trip to wherever. But you should realize it is in no way a special academic honor to get an "invitation". People have posted numerous times on who they know who have received invitations and they were not high achieving scholars.
The company at one time was associated with Dwight Eisenhower and promoting cultural exchange and education, but now it is just a travel agency. The letters are just how they advertise.

This pretty much sums it up for us. I wouldn't call it a scam - I think they deliver what they say they will - but it is basically a for-profit student-centered travel agency. Nothing wrong with that, but you should know what you are getting into.

We know people who have gone on some of the trips, and they have had a great time. DD has gotten the letters for a few years, but I am not sending her to Europe without a parent (or trusted friend or teacher that we know personally) at 12 years old.

It can be a great experience for kids who are ready to be away from home for that long, but I do have some concerns about the level of chaperoning. For our family, we have chosen to take both kids to Europe when DD8 is a little older. The Austria trip would be about $6500 for just DD12.

One word of caution - friends have told us that the info meeting is pretty high pressure - they show DVDs of all the great experiences before any costs are discussed, so the kids are very excited about the trip before their parents know the bottom line.

ITA with these two posts. Be veryyyy aware and careful. Two of ours were *recommended* so far; they didn't go, nor will our others. Very few in our suburb have either since they travel often with their families.

Our family is all about travel but for the amount they charge, we can ALL take a really nice trip together as a family. And we have .

They'll have lots of time to travel without us when they're grown up.

 

[melancholywings]

We got a letter too for my 10 year old. I can see sending an older teenager on a trip like that, but a 10 year old is way to young to be by themselves in another country.

 

[brymolmom]

I went in 10th grade to Australia with it and LOVED it!!! It was an amazing experience. Of course that was a long time ago, it was $3000 then, plus my air travel to LA from PA. My mom sewed and she made these big stuffed bunnies and sold them to cover the cost for myself. We also went to the local Kiwanis and they donated a small amount to my trip. When I came back I did a presentation type thing to them about it. I personally don't see what's so bad about fundraising for it. Kids do it to go on senior trips around here all the time. If he's willing to work for it, great for him! It's a great experience and I'm so glad I did it!

It's when they aren't actually working just asking for handouts that most of us take issue. Fundraising as in actually doing WORK to EARN your way for something you want to do is a lesson that all kids/teens could stand to learn. I know a bunch who have a cell phone plus data plan but who 'can't afford' their own car insurance??!!

But many of these campaigns encourage kids not to earn it, but to instead just send out letters, etc. simply asking others to contribute to your big trip. It really is obnoxious and luckily I haven't been asked often. If you want to go on a big trip - Fine, start earning your money and save. No way would I want to teach my kid to just take handouts when there is something you want to do (and I am sure that many of the people you're asking for $$ likely have never been to Europe themselves - perhaps you should also help THEM pay for their 'trip of a lifetime').

That's the sticky part. And the company KNOWS most of the families can't truly afford it themselves which is why they encourage asking others to contribute for you.

 

[NVDisMom]

My eldest DD was accepted into their program to go to Australia a couple of years ago. We thought it would be a great experience for her. As we got further into the program, they started changing the itinerary. The charity work they were supposed to do while traveling, the family stays in the outback, the meet and greet opportunities with dignitaries all disappeared. Each of them had "scheduling conflicts" and were replaced with "beach days". We were not happy and chose to remove her from the program. We had to fight to get our money that we had paid to date refunded even though they admitted we had a legitimate reason for pulling out. Just be aware that what they originally say your child will be doing may not be the reality. The other part that bothered me was their insistence that we limit contact with our child during travel. They said it was so that they wouldn't get homesick, which makes sense, I guess, but it felt more like they didn't want us to keep too close of tabs on the group.

Something else...the high school my daughter now attends does take these trips into consideration if they applying for special educational programs through the school, like a semester exchange and their World Education program that includes multiple languages and international studies.

HTH

 

[Colleen27]

ITA with these two posts. Be veryyyy aware and careful. Two of ours were *recommended* so far; they didn't go, nor will our others. Very few in our suburb have either since they travel often with their families.

Our family is all about travel but for the amount they charge, we can ALL take a really nice trip together as a family. And we have .

They'll have lots of time to travel without us when they're grown up.

That's my take on it too. I had friends who participated when I was a kid/teen and I went through a period of being very angry at my mother for making that the moment she drew the line about the cost of an activity I was interested in (after 15 years of pretty much funding every interest I had), but in hindsight she was right. The cost back then, mid-90s, was ~$5000 plus airfare and although my friends' stories about their trips sounded like a lot of fun to me as a teen, as a parent is quite another story...

We got an "invitation" for our 10yo this summer and it went into the trash without any discussion. She'll have time and opportunity for solo travel and to study abroad as she gets older. Until then, we'll do our traveling as a family.