Melanie Stoddard of Grand Marais is a busy young woman. She is finishing her senior year early so she can take part in a United Planet trip to Peru to work in an orphanage. She will travel to Peru in February 2015.
Cook County High School senior Melanie Stoddard is preparing for a United Planet quest to Cuzco, Peru in February 2015 where she will be working in an orphanage for three months. But first Melanie, who is graduating early in January 2015, must raise enough money to fund the trip. The community has the opportunity to help.
While in Peru, Melanie will work in Aldea Infantil, a facility that helps children ages 0-17 who are orphans or who come from families unable to afford education or a stable environment. The families place their children in orphanages like Aldea Infantil to give them a better future.
The goal of the orphanage is to create a safe environment where children can grow up away from their desperate situations. It is organized by “substitute mothers” who have houses which accommodate between six and 10 children each.
Melanie’s job in Aldea Infantil will be to assist the substitute mother in one of the houses, as well as possibly helping with homework, teaching language, and organizing games and creative activities.
In Peru, she will stay with a host family in Cuzco. She will be fully immersed in the culture while working and will have additional opportunities to improve her Spanish speaking skills while making day excursions. She hopes to find time to visit cultural landmarks such as Machu Picchu.
To take part in the United Planet trip, Melanie must raise funds to cover travel expenses, meals, lodging and program costs. A local fundraiser is planned on Sunday, December 7 from 8 a.m. to noon at Grand Marais Fusion in Grand Marais. The event includes a pancake breakfast for $5 per person and a Silent Auction with amazing items such as Grand Marais Playhouse tickets, meals at Naniboujou Lodge and Lutsen Resort, merchandise at Gunflint Mercantile and more.
To make the trip, Melanie must raise $7,000. If you would like to help her reach her goal to make this meaningful journey, donations can be mailed to her at: Melanie Stoddard, 1397 Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais, MN 55604.
Donations may also be made online at www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/mstoddardperu/fundraisingpage. Donations made directly to United Planet on Melanie’s fundraising page are tax-deductible. For more information, email Melanie at red.paint.11@gmail.com.
Leave a Reply