Home
Donated Air Miles Can Help CHIC Students
CHICAGO, IL (November 1, 2005) - Organizers of CHIC 2006 are asking
individuals with accumulated airline frequent flyer miles to consider
donating some or all of them for use by high school students from Alaska
and Hawaii traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee, the site of next year's event.
Students from both states were able to attend in 2003, but higher travel
costs may make it nearly impossible for some of these students to afford
the trip next June, organizers fear. "I don't think we are planning on
going to CHIC this time," says youth pastor Anthony Vallejo-Sanderson of
Aiea, Hawaii. "Flights to the mainland have risen in price dramatically,
so we can't afford to go."
Byron Bruckner of Alaska says teenagers in the state are facing the same
problem. "First there is the cost of flying the youth from the villages
to Anchorage," he notes. "Then we still have to get to the Lower 48."
Students from Alaska have been coming to CHIC for years, and at CHIC 2003
even the new Covenant church in Hawaii sent students. "Not only was it an
incredible experience for those students, but they also shared their
culture with
the other youth," says Dale Lusk, who is coordinating the program, "Air
Miles for CHIC."
"At 'A Place Called Heaven,' which is a forum for students to share
their talents and cultural backgrounds at CHIC, the Alaskan youth
organized the first-ever CHIC Eskimo Games with wild challenges of
physical skill," Lusk recalls. "The Hawaiian youth taught an eager group
of youth and adults the hula. The people from the mainland were a sight
to see."
The opportunity to experience different backgrounds and cultures is one
of the strengths of CHIC, as students gain a better understanding of who
God is and how he works through those varied relationships, Lusk says.
The goal is 15 tickets for Hawaii and 50 for Alaska, says Lusk, who will
coordinate the flights. "Generally it takes 35,000 air miles for a free
ticket from Alaska or Hawaii to Tennessee." He added that miles from
just about any airline will work.
Knoxville is served by nine commercial airlines. Nashville and Atlanta
airports also are close enough to the university site to be used to
transport students, says Lusk.
Individuals who are interested in donating frequent flyer miles should
contact Lusk by email at dale@covmerge.org or by telephone 956-458-9568.
It is hoped that all donated miles can be received no later than January 9.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
