Help teachers to 60 National Parks via DIY Skoolie

Hello!

We are Rae and Paige (Nice to meet you!)
We are both teachers currently and are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Paige and I are in the process of converting a school bus into what will be our home for the next year and we need your help! We have 11 collective years of educational experience as well as two masters degrees, a lot of determination, one dream, and a partridge in a pear tree...I guess I should start at the beginning. 

Paige and I met in August of 2017 working at the same school. Sharing a love for teaching, being life long learners, travel and adventure, naturally we became best friends. After a year of deep friendship, we fell in love. Through that friendship and love we confided in each other our deepest dreams and fears and desires of wanting to travel the country. With the steadfast encouragement of family and friends, we have now cultivated a road map (literally and metaphorically) to an entire year on the road, seeing America the way it was meant to be experienced, hoofing it. 

Now that we have the dream, and the map, we need some wheels. What better form of transportation that a converted school bus. (insert all puns and teacher jokes here you want) But I find it ironically enjoyable that teachers are content to travel in the mode of transportation that brings their students to school. 

Now that you have the vision, here are the logistics. We teach in Arizona, one of the lowest paying states to be a teacher, and therefore this dream would be truly impossible without financial planning and support. We are both proud, strong-willed individuals and therefore humbling ourselves and asking for support from total strangers is a challenge within itself. And yet, relying on the goodwill of humanity will have to be a learned behavior for this next year to be a success. 

Here's the breakdown:
$8,000 for a safe and reliable school bus (already purchased and pictured above! We need help paying him off!)
$4,000 for interior remodeling 
$3,000 for exterior/mechanical repairs 

Throughout the year of travel we intend to work remotely as teachers as well as odd jobs and social networking but need a head start on the project. Experiences such as these will not only allow space for self discovery but will also transform our perspectives as teachers. Monetary support to this project will manifest as a school bus; however, the influence goes far beyond that, reaching into our future classrooms. 

Now that you know us, feel free to follow our journey on social media, just look for Teachers_Turned_Skoolies. Thanks in advance for any and all support!


Happy Traveling,
Rae and Paige