Give Brandon the Chance to Swim with Manatees

Our son Brandon is in the 6th grade at a local middle school in Myrtle Beach, SC. Brandon is 11 years old but not like your typical 11-year-old boy. Most kids, when you ask them if they could be famous for one thing, what would it be, their response is typically something to do with sports or something else. With him, his answer is, 'I just want to be famous for being a good person.' He is a brilliant young man, from competing and placing in the district tech fair for the past 2 years for digital game design (now a part of the robotics club), to being a straight-A student on the honor roll since the 3rd grade, in which now he is in honors classes. He has also been awarded every year since he was 4 years old for citizenship in school. Last year, he was voted by all his peers the nicest 5th-grade boy in the whole school. This school year, he has even stepped up and is a part of the Unified Sports Club (helping with the Special Olympics). Brandon also does a lot of community work and giveaways to people in need in his area at such a young age. (He volunteers for trash pickup, feeds the homeless, passes out turkeys around Thanksgiving, and toys to children near Christmas.)

He is now a part of his school's science club where they do great things for their school, community, and give great opportunities to the kids that are a part of the club. In January 2025, the science club will be taking a big trip to Florida for 3 days. The purpose of this trip is to give the kids a wonderful opportunity to swim with manatees in their native habitat. They will also visit Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park and take part in several educational programs. For my son, this is a big opportunity and probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The problem lies financially for us. My husband nor I come from very wealthy families, and we are doing our very best to provide and trying give our four boys the best lifestyle possible. My husband does all he can with the business he built up on his own. Although he owns his own business, we do not have the funds to be able to give our son this opportunity and still maintain our other responsibilities. The total cost is $654 for this trip. Our son will have to have a chaperone with him, and that also is $654. Everything has to be paid in full by December 1st, and that is with the payment plan. The $2,000 we are asking help to raise is to cover the cost of this trip, things they would need for the trip, and also for spending money so that the trip could be comfortable for them and they can get the most out of this experience. All money raised will go directly to that.

We would like to thank anyone who took the time out to read this. any and all donations are greatly appreciated. To give our son this great opportunity, which we know he deserves to have, we hope with the help of the community and others, we will be able to make this possible. God bless.