BLUEFIELD, Va. — College students are constantly facing the issue of “being broke.” Whether they need $300 to purchase a plane ticket, or a dollar to buy a sweet tea from Mickey D’s, scrounging up the change isn’t always easy.
Rachael Stairs, a freshman at Bluefield College from Beaverdam, Va., has come up with one creative way to raise money and pay for her expenses with the help of a friend.
Bluefield student Amber MacDonald bakes cookies to raise money
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“I started collecting cans out of recycling bins, and other people have been helping as well; I even have a collection at home,” said Stairs.
Stairs and her roommate, Wully Rojas, have been collecting aluminum cans to raise money for a study trip to China that Stairs is going on in May.
Stairs and three other Bluefield College students will be attending classes at the Jiangsu Institute as part of an exchange program with BC.
“At home you get 50 cents per pound and we have five trash bags full of cans right now,” said Stairs.
Stairs also sent over 250 letters to friends and family asking for their support.
“I received over $900 from 13 people in two and a half weeks,” said Stairs. “I definitely feel like this has been God’s plan for my life because after three weeks, 13 people and $900, my trip was pretty much paid for.”
Stairs leaves for China on May 7.
Another student at BC has been saving money for something she’s been waiting to do for years.
Amber MacDonald, a senior from Beckley, W.Va. is applying to Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Ariz. However, along with the application comes a $115 application fee. For a student who’s already struggling to make ends meet while in college, MacDonald couldn’t come up with the money to pay for the application herself so she got creative.
MacDonald has been baking cookies and selling them on campus to raise money. So far she has raised more than the amount needed for the application fee, but she’s still baking.
“The admissions counselor penciled me in for an interview at the end of March, but I have to do the interview in person,” said MacDonald.
While all of this is very exciting for MacDonald, it requires more money.
“I’m trying to raise at least $300 to pay for a plane ticket or a train ticket to get myself out there for an interview,” said MacDonald. “I really want to go because I think I have a really good shot of getting into
MacDonald charges $1 per cookie but she says the cookies are a good size.
“If I feel like they come out too small then I put two cookies in one bag and charge a $1 for two,” said MacDonald.
MacDonald said a lot of her customers have been buying a half a dozen cookies for $4 or a dozen cookies for $7.
“My cookies are really good, too,” said MacDonald. “I take pride in my cookies because it always makes me happy whenever I see that my customers are happy, and they tell me that the cookies are so good!”
MacDonald said she’s just having fun.
“The cookies are selling fast,” said MacDonald. “People love cookies and they’re not that expensive, and every dollar adds up!”
Other students on campus are raising money for trips including a spring break mission trip to New York City and a softball tournament in Australia.
Casey Palmer of Roanoke, Va., is a senior at Bluefield College. She writes for the student newspaper, The Rampage.