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Holly Irons hasn't added a story.
Hello! You may already know me
(for friends and family), but for those I have not had the chance to
meet: My name is Holly, and I am trying to reach the goal for a
lifelong dream:
Visiting Israel
In my upbringing with separated parents, I only felt whole in my religious journey when I was researching Judaism. I would spend my Saturdays at my dad's Messianic church during my summer visits and would latch onto the information I obtained over those 6-9 weeks. This has led me to have my heart leaning towards traveling to Israel, with a fire burning in my gut to gain as much knowledge as possible in my adventure.
As a bat mitzvah gift, my childhood best friend was able to go visit Israel with family and others from our congregation. I never got the chance to go, what with living in small towns, my family making barely enough to send me a state over to see my Father (cost of siblings and whatnot). I never really had that experience of connection with my culture, but would appreciate it from afar through cuisine, music, dance and studies.
In September, I was accepted to go on a Birthright trip and was absolutely ecstatic! It is a guided trip for Jewish folk age 18-26 where they show you the culture and have you experience Israel. It is a trip where the international flight ticket is paid for by the company, all you have to do is secure insurance as well as “spending money” (read: food money and tips for the drivers, predominately).
I have worked diligently in getting my passport (including the fact that the state of Oregon originally screwed up on my license info) as well as jumping through all of the medical hoops possible. However, I had a huge snafu started on October 2nd. For the last 4 months, I have had a migraine, the same migraine continuously, which led to an inability to work for 3 months due to side effects. My savings was obliterated and friends and family put in so much effort just to make sure I wouldn’t be negatively impacted any further financially. For that, I thank my friends!
Frankly, I tried pushing back my trip as much as possible, and thus it was rescheduled to March 11-22, flying out from NYC. I had originally been told that I could postpone it further, but upon discussion with the organization, I will technically reach the age limit prior to the Summer trips and will be unable to postpone further.
The last day I could cancel and not be charged for the international plane ticket was January 5th, and with my going back to work that week and just jumping back into the swing of overtime, I truly thought I would be able to make the funds for the trip. Just in case, I also applied for weekend jobs.
Then… the flu hit my office. And my being immune-compromised meant I was hit with the flu and hit *hard*. As of this week, I am finally able to stomach all foods I have tried, but am still eating predominately bland foods just in case. This is *3 weeks after the initial flu*. Throughout this, I have been stumbling to make ends meet and have been unable to save anything. L Although I am back at work full time again, my migraine was fluctuating from the impact from being sick, which led to less than 40 hours a week the last couple weeks.
On top of that, all of the “strictly weekend” jobs I applied for requested hours that I could not do (overnight on Sunday, for example) or were requesting a weekday as well. With my current Monday through Friday job, I was unable to take any positions I received a call back on.
This has led to this huge issue: I am either able to go in a once in a lifetime trip… or I am paying the $2000 ticket for the once in a lifetime trip that I’m missing.
My goals by March 7th are:
Getting a plane ticket to NYC and back - $320-350
Getting the funds for the trip itself (food, driver tips, not including gifts) - $400-500
The estimated goal would be $1000 (peak), with a $100 buffer for costs and plane ticket.
I have just enough vacation and personal time at work to pay for half of the days I’ll be gone, so anything more than the goal will go to those missed workdays and compensating my normal paycheck.
But, I now have incentives for help!
Anyone who donates $50 or more gets a gift from Israel. Anyone who donates $100 or more will get to decide what gift they would like and can be specific! Because the goal won’t decipher what is to be used as a gift or not, I’ll ask that specific requests be sent to me via Facebook, so I can keep a list as well as update on the “real goal” amount. J
If I do not reach the goal and am unable to go to Israel, I will be giving the money back to the people who had donated. I feel that the ticket should be for me to pay alone if I cannot go.
If you would like to donate airline miles so I can make the trip to NYC, that would be greatly appreciated, as I had originally donated my airline miles to a friend in desperate need last year. That would then bring down the costs immensely! If you would like to donate airline miles, I have a membership with JetBlue, Alaska Air, Southwest, and can also create an account on any other airlines.
I will not be taking my service dog with me and have gotten approval from my doctor to travel without her. I am HONESTLY trying my damndest to make sure that this will happen and have gone through all hoops, I’m just stuck because of the finances.
Any and all help is appreciated! Like and share this so it can be spread, and please donate if you are able to!
Perks
- 3 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks! Taking the knowledge I have of your enjoyments and what you appreciate, I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that reminds me of you. The cost of the gift is $10-15, but will be wholly sentimental and appreciative. No airport gifts, unless you're like me and collect airport shot glasses. :P Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $30. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $50. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $60. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $80. This can easily be multiple gifts, it just has to be easy to travel with. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
- 4 remaining
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $100. This can easily be multiple gifts, it just has to be easy to travel with. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
Highlights
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Help Holly Make Her Big Trip to Israel! Community
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Copy- 3 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks! Taking the knowledge I have of your enjoyments and what you appreciate, I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that reminds me of you. The cost of the gift is $10-15, but will be wholly sentimental and appreciative. No airport gifts, unless you're like me and collect airport shot glasses. :P Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $30. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $50. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $60. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $80. This can easily be multiple gifts, it just has to be easy to travel with. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
- 0 claimed
- 4 remaining
You've given me the chance to make my dream come true, the least I can do is show my thanks and get you something you have always wanted! Maybe you have a specific thing you have always wanted, but didn't want to pay shipping for, from Israel or from NYC. Maybe you have religious sentiments for Israel and want something from the promise land, or your family is from NYC and you really want something from the Big Apple. I will get you a gift in Israel or NYC that you request. The cost of the gift should be around $100. This can easily be multiple gifts, it just has to be easy to travel with. Shipping is available for my out of town friends!
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