Fund MacKenzie's Scouting Goals & Senior Trip!

Hi, my name is MacKenzie Sanford, and I am from Laurinburg, NC. This fundraiser is two fold:

First, I am a 16 year old Life, soon-to-be Eagle Scout in BSA Troop 1447. Our troop was chartered in 2019; the first year prospective female scouters could join as members of Scouts BSA. As I continue on my scouting journey and achieve my Eagle Scout Rank, will hike with the 2024 Cape Fear Philmont Contingent this summer to explore the trails of the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. This once in a lifetime experience will be a culmination of the skills learned throughout my time in BSA, and an opportunity to visit the same trails my father hiked on almost 40 years ago. The hiking will be difficult, but the views, fellowship, and the chance to spend two weeks in the backcountry is the once-in-a-lifetime event I simply could not refuse. I am raising funds for this trek, with an end goal of $3,500 due to the four shakedowns, travel costs for the plane, food, and Philmont itself. I have funded most of this through outside scholarships, but am looking for additional funds to complete my goal. Once that goal is completed, all funds will then be allocated towards the following senior trip. While at my high school of North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, I am not allowed to work while living in Durham. Therefore, the majority of these adventures must be fundraised.

Next year, I will have the incredible opportunity to go on a two-week school led senior trip: Cityscapes & Minds: Journeying Through London, Paris, and Rome! On this adventure during January of 2025, we will be merging photography, history, and psychology within the context of travel. I will see everything from Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Versailles to the catacombs of Paris.

The story of the two-dollar flip-flops was one I heard around my dinner table for as long as I can remember. My mom was sixteen when she had the opportunity to travel to Europe with her youth group, but the only shoes she deemed necessary were an inexpensive, yet surprisingly durable, pair of black grocery store flip-flops. Just like the long-lasting nature of these sandals, I found her description of her adventures ceaselessly fascinating. As I continued to imagine myself one day in her shoes, or maybe a slightly stronger pair, I began to explore the history of the western continent through questions to my father about our Scot-Irish ancestry, novels, and endless TED-ED history videos.

My excitement to pursue this traveling opportunity is not only due to my vivacity for exploring the same architectural wonders that influenced the trajectory of entire civilizations, but also to understand how these cities impacted the interchanging of cultural ideas and our modern lives. To illustrate, if Al-Andalus didn’t exist as a region of intersectionality between Muslims and Christians, Western Europe would not know the base ten numerical systems, and I wouldn’t be taking Calculus. I hope to bring my curiosity and interest into this opportunity to push the boundaries of my historical and psychological understanding of our lives and experience the incredible landscapes from my childhood dreams. For this adventure, I will need to raise $4,985.

If you generously provide a donation to my cause, I will send iced sugar cookies upon request. I have made these many times for local bakers, at church events, and community programs. Please contact me using the information below if you wish for me to make and deliver cookies made to your preference.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

MacKenzie Sanford

[email redacted]