The View from the Office.

I met up with Tucker Piner to talk about his charity, Tucks Travels, which helps low-income kids get passports.

Tucks Travels covers the cost of a first-time U.S. passport so students can apply and receive the document.

A first-time passport costs $179 per student. That includes $130 for the passport book, $35 for the acceptance agent appointment, and the remainder for the required photo.

Tucks Travels pays that full amount for every student it supports. The application is completed and sent directly to the State Department.

So far, the organization has funded 158 passports for students who otherwise would not have had one.

The organization recently partnered with the New York City mayor’s office and received a $20,000 grant to fund passports for 110 students.

The grant is helpful because the costs add up. Passports for 100 kids cost about $18,000. Most of the money goes toward government processing.

Families apply through tuckstravels.org or through a private Google Form shared by schools.

Students meet at a passport acceptance site, such as the Brooklyn Public Library, where applications are processed. Passports typically arrive in about four weeks.

Some of those students are now traveling internationally.

Tuck’s Travels is supporting a group of 12 students on their first trip abroad. The trip to Costa Rica will be education-focused and organized along with EF Tours.

Student selection is handled by the schools. Participants are 16 to 18 years old, drawn from both charter and public high schools. Two teacher chaperones will attend.

This group includes students from Uncommon Collegiate and School for Classics in Long Island City, which is part of the CUNY network.

Tucker has also been in Washington, D.C., meeting with congressional offices to build support for passport awareness events and additional funding. He’s exploring partnerships with the State Department.

Donations can be made through
tuckstravels.org, with options to pay with Stripe and Venmo.

You can connect with Tucker on LinkedIn or DM me for a warm intro.