Let’s Fund Gabrielle’s Foreign Exchange!

~Hello!~

My name is Gabrielle Teaford, and I am creating a fundraiser to get into the AFS Intercultural Programs! AFS centers around foreign exchange, giving students like me the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in another culture, and gain experiences from travel that will transform the lives of the student and the people they meet!

I have always been very interested in traveling. When I was younger, I thought that being able to travel while I was still in school was impossible, (I have never left the United States of America, nor been outside of Utah's surrounding states for that matter) or something I thought I would never be able to achieve on my own. However, I had learned through one of my friends who had previously traveled through AFS that it was possible. She had gone to Japan through AFS, and told me all about her experiences there. It made me very super excited, and so I decided to do some research for myself! That was back in Febuary, 2015.

I had already applied to AFS Intercultural Programs before my high school junior year ended. It took me most of the summer to meet the application requirements, such as getting my full medical history, pulling together my transcripts from schooling, getting my first passport (which was a grueling yet exciting wait, by the way,) getting a summer job to pull together some money for the expenses, writing multiple letters... I had actually been ahead! My application was fully completed and accepted a month before my senior year started. I was really happy about the fact that I had a secured spot for the March 2016 Departure to Japan!

However, by the time school had started again, I really had only raised $1,500 from my summer job. I struggled on into October, but found myself only a little above $2,000. Seeing that this would get me nowhere near the whopping tuition cost of $15,000, I decided to send in my two-week notice. I needed another way to get money that wasn't as time-consuming, yet got me the money I needed.

So, I tried a lot of things. I have some artistic abilities, so I attempted to try my hand at contests that websites such as Deviantart and Webtoons hosted. However, none of those efforts seemed to work out for me. I was also trying to do commissions over the internet, but ~save it for a few lovely friends that I know~ nobody seemed to want to commission me. A Kickstarter campaign for selling art wasn't an option for me, but only because I was under eighteen. (Curses!) I had written myself out for a lot of scholarship opportunities, and even considered getting a grant or even a -shudder- loan that I would have to pay back later. Looking around for companies that may sponsor me hasn't gone too well either.

I was lucky enough to receive a $2,000 dollar scholarship from AFS because my family is low-income.

That brings me to about $4,000 dollars for my trip. Against the $15,000 that is the total cost, I still need $11,000. So, in other words, I've come here to -very hopefully- raise the money I need to go on foreign exchange.

~However, I'm also offering something for your donations!~ I've decided to also include a fun little 'rewards panel' for anybody who is willing to donate a little more than usual. As mentioned before, I like to think of myself as an artist. I will be offering you to have an option to receive artwork from me if you donate anything over $25! The rewards tier will be shown elsewhere on the page, but I'll post some of my artwork as examples here. I mostly work with digital, but I also do traditional pieces as well-

Queen of Crows- Traditional- Pencils

Unsure (unfinished)- Digital -Manga studio

-Clear Skies (The Good Dinosaur)- Digital- Manga Studio

-OC Commissions (May and Gantabaar)- Digital -Manga Studio

-Sleeping- Digital - Manga Studio

Fight! (Blizzard Entertainment Showpiece) -Digital- Manga Studio

Sammy T. Clown (Commission) -Traditional and Digital- Ink, Prismacolor Markers, Photoshop tweaking.

~Thank you so much!~

Just as a reminder, I am not going to be offering traditional paintings, collages, photographs, prints, or any canvas work. In other words, the artwork will not be shipped to you in solid form. I only can email finished works at this time. Sorry! The artwork will remain closed-case, and will not show up on my devaintart, or facebook. When you have donated, be sure to email me about your request. If you do not email me by the time (or if) I reach my fundraising goal, then I will only take it that you wanted to donate, but didn't want art. When I receive the email, I will send you back an email showing that I had gotten your request.

If I do get requests, I will do them in the order of who requested first. Thanks!

[email protected]