Trippin'
 Trips are just plain awesome, and they broaden the world view of all those involved. Whether it be a day trip to Boston, a weekend camping trip in the Green Mountains, or two weeks in California, culminating experiences and adventure trips are an important part of DREAM. They are pretty easy to plan too; but to make them even easier here is a trip planning guide along with a bunch of resources! Before starting, get your imagination rolling with this spreadsheet of fun destinations and costs for the DREAM Bus...(Click on your program to view your costs:  Champlain, UVM, Dartmouth, Castleton, St. Mikes, Norwich)
First Things First
- How long of a trip do you want to take (day, weekend, or more)?
- When do you want to take it?
- Are the other mentors on board with you and psyched to help?
- Is everyone going or just a certain age group?
- WHERE do you want to go?!?! (there are, of course, many more places to go than the examples below, click links to see some example details):
Raising the Moolah
Raising money for your trip is a cinch (check out the section on tried and true fundraisers)! If possible, get the kids involved – oftentimes setting and achieving goals that build up to the trip is more important for them than the trip itself! The DREAM Alumni Organization also awards grants for well thought out trip proposals. For example, it has funded $600 for a trip down to Boston (check out the photos & more details are also available on the Alumni Fund grant page)!
Remember that many of the places you want to visit will give great discounts if you explain what DREAM is all about (many even admit you for free), and at the very least they will have group rates!
Planning the Trip
Here are some resources for essential elements of your trip...
Transportation:
DREAM's Bus: Before worrying about affording transportation for your trip, reserve DREAM's bus by emailing or calling the Central Office! It’s a maximum capacity of 71 passengers, though that is one tight squeeze! Here is a list of fun places to go along with how much it costs (select your program) to get there with the DREAM Bus (feel free to send us additions)!
School Buses: If DREAM’s bus is already reserved, check with your school to see if they can provide vans or a bus for the event. If not, there are plenty of options. You can always take a fleet of personal vehicles if worst comes to worst, but if you can afford them, buses are a great way to go as you don’t have to worry about driving or parking. School buses are significantly cheaper than charter buses. Make sure to call early because many buses are reserved weeks in advance. And don’t forget to tip your driver at the end!
RSD School Bus Leasing / RSD Services offers discounted school buses for nonprofits. They're fantastic. Here's their contact info:
- 1-800-541-7343 White River Junction
- 1-802 229-4404 Montpelier
- 1-802-658-0021 Burlington
- 1-802-773-5768 Rutland
Charter Buses: Here are other bus resources (opens in new window) – charter buses tended to be much more expensive than school buses.
Vans: 15 or 12 Passenger Van rental from a local dealership is also an option for smaller groups. Most dealerships in the Burlington area require drivers to be 25 years old (we recommend asking your friendly DREAM Inc.er here at the office to drive if this is the case!), though some in the White River area rent to younger people. Thrifty in Burlington rents 12 passenger vans to non-profits for $109.99 a day with unlimited mileage:
Thrifty
1700 Williston Rd.
Burlington, VT 05401
802-863-5500
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Food:
While it’s fun to have one eat-out meal on your day trip, having to deal with more is time consuming and not-economical. Donated bagels, cream cheese and juice make a great breakfast on the bus ride. Make sure to bring lots of snacks (mentors can carry them in their packs) - important to keep the blood sugar level up or else you’ll get some irate children.
For camping out and extended trips where you will be cooking, here are some nutritious meal ideas.
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Packing List:
Packing is obviously significantly different for different lengths of trips. In general, it’s a pain in the butt to worry about kids' stuff all day long. Either asking the kids to leave their stuff in the car or to not bring anything except for appropriate clothing is a good way to go.
For day trips, mentors should bring backpacks with water, snacks, money, cameras, emergency cell phones, and potentially rain gear, extra warm clothing, and/or bathing suits. Kids should be asked to dress appropriately (good walking shoes, warm clothes, rain gear, and/or bathing suits depending on the event, but should not bring extra stuff!). For overnights and extended trips, here are sample two week High Adventure packing lists for  kids and mentors that can be tweeked to fit your particular needs (these are Microsoft Word documents, which you can download and modify).
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First Aid Kit:
It's important to bring some basic first aid kit supplies with you on any trip. If someone doesn’t already have a kit, here’s a list of the "essentials." We have a couple spare kits on hand at the Central Office as well, so give us a shout if you want one.
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Lost Cards:
These cards should be explained and given to the kids on the bus (they will need to be tweeked to fit your particular trip -- here's an example card, downloadable in Microsoft Word format). If they do become separated from the group during the day, they should go to the nearest restaurant or gas station and ask an employee to call the numbers on the card. They should then stay at the store until they are picked up.
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Letters and Head Lice Policy for Parents:
Parents should always be informed about big trips before the kids! Release waivers and a packing list can be included with a brief note describing the activity, date, and time-frame -- here is an example informational letter.
It is also important for parents to be familiar with your procedures for checking for head lice. Head lice can be a touchy issue and letting parents know ahead of time exactly how head lice will be checked for and dealt with will ease a lot of tension! Here is DREAM's Headlice Policy.
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Release Waivers:
Although all kids in DREAM have signed release waivers, it’s a good idea to have a trip separate release signed. If anything, it makes sure that everyone involved is on the same page. You will need to put in the activity description and dates of the trip on this sample release waiver (downloadable in Microsoft Word format).
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Risk Prevention:
There are a number of guidelines that will help ensure the saefety and well being of your trip:
- DREAM’s Boundaries: these are especially important for overnights, and should be considered in all DREAM activities.
- Trip Safety: general first aid guidelines that may be helpful for trips.
- Emergency Action Plan: this is most pertinent for High Adventure Trips, but provides general guidelines for all DREAM activities in the case of emergencies.
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Gear:
If you’re in need of camping gear for your trip, check out the gear we have in store and give us a holler!
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Camping Activities:
You’ll find all sorts of activity resources under each destination, but if you’re going camping, here are a bunch of great activity ideas!
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Car Games:
We all know how tough 20 minutes in a car with a bunch of crazy kids can be, let alone an hour or, crazyness, a whole day.
Luckily, the website MomsMinivan.com offers a ton of great games and activities for trips, so go check 'em out. Then get on the road!
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Trip Examples
Boston, MA
- Activities
- New England Aquarium
Location: Central Wharf
Phone: (617) 973-5200
- Museum of Science
Phone: (617) 723-2500
Details: make sure you say we're a non-profit (our tax ID# is 26-0030908), all exhibits and entrance to museum should be free, IMAX should be a combo rate of around $3 per person.
- Franklin Park Zoo
Phone: 617-542-LION
Winter Hours: October 1st-March 31st, open daily 10am-4pm
Summer: April 1st-September 30th, open weekdays 10am-5pm, weekends 10am- 6pm
- Swan Boats
Location: Boston Public Garden
Phone: 617-522-1966 - General Information
Phone: 617-591-1150 - Group Reservations
Opening Day: Saturday, April 17, 2004
Closing Day: Sunday, September 19, 2004
- Boston Commons
Lots of summer concerts and other fun stuff.
Phone: Boston Common Visitor's Information Center 617-426-3115
- John Hancock Observatory
60th floor of the John Hancock Tower
- Sky Walk Observatory
50th floor of the Pudential building
- Children's Museum
Location: 300 Congress St.
Phone: (617) 426-8855
Hours: September-June, Tuesday-Sunday 10-5, Friday 10-9
Hours: July-August: daily 10-5, Friday 10-9
Hours: Holidays: 10-5
Prices: Kids should get in for $5 each, and mentors (call them "chaperones") should be free. DREAM is in their databse, mention we've done this before for these prices.
- Bay State Cruise Company
Offers a 90-minute tour called an "Outer Harbor Cruise" for $7.
Location: Next to the Long Wharf Marriot
Phone: (617) 723-7800
Hours Boats leave hourly from 10 AM to 5 PM on weekends in good weather.
- Freedom Trail
- Red Sox Baseball
The ballpark opens an hour and a half before the first pitch, so that you can head down early, check out batting practice, and try to snare a few balls.
Or if you'd like to see Fenway Staduim from the inside out, call (617) 236-6666 to take an entertaining hour long tour of the stadium.
- Celtics Basketball
- Bruins Hockey
- Patriots Football
- New England Revolution Soccer
- Food
- Copley Square
Handily, Copley Sq. is the location of both observatories and has lots of foodcourts.
- Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market
Great places to eat, and during the summer the warmer months there are lots of street performers.
Phone: (617) 523-1300
Hours: Faneuil Hall is open on Sundays from noon to 6:00 PM and Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Quincy Market hours vary by store.
- Getting Around
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