Germantown Lankenau High School students host fundraiser for trip to Costa Rica

Germantown Lankenau High School’s French Club is hosting a fundraiser this week though the Trolley Car Diner and Café to help finance their upcoming “Costa Rica: A Touch of the Tropics” trip. The March 30-April 7 voyage, which costs approximately $2,200 per student, supports the science curriculum at LHS, an environmental science magnet school.

As part of its Helping Hands Week fundraising program, Trolley Car establishments will donate 15 percent of the coupon-holding customer’s total bill to the effort.

Thomas Wolfinger, LHS’s French teacher, would like the experience to broaden horizons beyond the city limits and instill an appreciation for foreign travel.

“I am hoping that the students, as I do for every trip, will understand that life exists outside of their neighborhood and that there are other people in the world who live and are happy and successful who are not necessarily from Philadelphia,” he said.

During the trip, the students will visit an active volcano, hot springs and a broad range of flora and fauna and also interact with local animals such as sloths, toucans and howler monkeys in their natural habitat. They will also travel to Monteverde where they will plant trees at the Santa Elena Cloud Forest, visit a local school and participate in a canopy adventure.

There are currently 12 students signed up, which is a decline from previous trips to Montreal and France. Wolfinger suspects that is because of the students’ unfamiliarity with nature. To bridge that gap, the students are currently studying about volcanoes and Costa Rica’s environment along with learning helpful Spanish phrases through an after-school club since LHS does not have a Spanish curriculum.

“This will be a great way for the students to implement what has always been a picture in a textbook,” said Wolfinger from whom coupons can be requested by calling (267) 228-3433. Click here for information about Trolley Car Diner locations. “It becomes reality.”