Bay Port High School Seniors Launch Student-Built Fundraising Campaign for National Railroad Museum
Two local teens are turning donations into a journey around the world – one train stop at a time
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Two seniors at Bay Port High School are putting their tech skills to work for a museum that helped shape their childhoods. Dhruv Bidari and Teigan Wasilewski have spent months building Track Around the World, a student-led fundraising campaign to help close the remaining funding gap for the National Railroad Museum’s Fox River Expansion.
The idea started with one simple question: how could two high schoolers meaningfully assist a major capital campaign? Unable to make a large donation on their own, Bidari and Wasilewski turned to what they could offer – skills in technology, design, storytelling, and community outreach.
The result is an interactive fundraising experience: every donation moves a virtual train farther along a route that circles the globe. As the campaign reaches new destinations, donors can explore railroad history and artifacts from the Museum’s collection, with a new train introduced at each stop. Built almost entirely from scratch, the campaign’s website runs on nearly 130,000 lines of code, developed in close collaboration with museum staff. Track Around the World previewed at the Museum’s 70th Anniversary Celebration on July 18th, where the two students – once field trip visitors themselves – presented the project to Museum supporters and raised their first $2,000 in donations.
“Dhruv and Teigan’s project reflect the heart of the Museum’s mission: education. They worked one-on-one with several Museum staff members learning real-world business, marketing, customer cultivation, and financial management as they developed their community-focused DECA project. The money their project raises for the Museum will allow us to better serve the community as we continue to provide immersive exhibits, interactive educational programs, and preserve railroad collections in the public’s trust. We are impressed with their dedication, innovation, and commitment to the community – now and into the future.” – Jacqueline D. Frank, National Railroad Museum CEO
The campaign’s goal is to raise $500,000 and officially launches on Thursday, August 20th. Bidari and Wasilewski hope people across Northeast Wisconsin and beyond will follow the journey, share the campaign, and help move the train (and the Museum) forward, one mile at a time.
Learn more and follow the journey at http://track.nationalrrmuseum.org.
About the National Railroad Museum
Founded in 1956 and located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the National Railroad Museum inspires lifelong learning by providing dynamic educational opportunities through the preservation of railroad objects, engaging exhibits, and innovative programs.
Media Contact
Liz Van Pay
Marketing & Communications Director
National Railroad Museum
lvanpay@nationalrrmuseum.org
(920) 437-7623