97.6% and 7 Days

97.6% with 7 days until I leave. I have raised $6,835. This is my current achievement. Our yard sale and bake sale raised $322 and I have a lot of people that want me to work on their old videos. My parents say that I have pretty much achieved my goal. Whatever I don't get done before I leave will be waiting for me when I get back.

I want to thank everyone again who supported me. I could not have done this without lots of support from family, friends and neighbors.


Flamingos
Now that I have nearly reached my goal and will be leaving soon, I have retired my flamingos. They deserve a break. They first landed in September and have been visiting many friends and neighbors ever since. They helped me raise almost $1,000.

Statistics
My dad is an engineer. He does a lot of math. He kept a spreadsheet tracking all my donations. He thought I should share some statistics about my fundraising.

I did win a $500 People to People scholarship for a video contest. I also received $154 in tips from my Applebee's breakfast fundraiser. Besides these, there were about 140 different persons, families or businesses that contributed. The average donated amount was $44.

My Trip
I leave next Friday and will be gone for 15 days. I will be visiting the Sydney Opera House, the Olympic Center, Parliament and the Great Barrier Reef. I will spend a few days on a cattle ranch. I will be learning from Aboriginal peoples.

I am very excited to share with you when I get back.

Gus