Help Guatemala Hear 2024 - Gift of Hearing!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about this fundraiser!

I am very passionate about helping others through service, and being able to share my passion with students makes it even more amazing. Since 2015 (minus 2 years impacted by the COVID pandemic), I have led groups of students and professionals on the Help Guatemala Hear service trip. I am excited to lead a group again in January 2024 as we continue to provide much-needed audiology services and hearing aids to those in need!

On January 27, 2024, I, along with a team of students from FSU and NOVA Southeastern University will depart for Panajachel, Guatemala, where we will serve in the central highlands for seven days. We will be serving through an outreach organization, Porch de Salomon (porchdesalomon.org). Porch de Salomon has hosted short-term mission teams in Guatemala since 2006; in recent years, over 16 teams have been hosted each year. Due to extreme poverty, most mission teams' primary focus has been building small concrete block homes for impoverished indigenous families. With the lack of health care in this area, their teams have also provided free village medical and dental clinics. To date, our team is their only team that provides hearing services.

Sustainability has always been my goal with a continued partnership between our clinic and Porch de Salomon. Poverty prevents even routine evaluation and treatment of hearing loss in the Western Highlands. Audiology services are severely needed in this area, and we hope to provide both training and services. While children are the focus of many audiology mission trips, our organization will provide services to both children and adults. For the indigenous people, we hope to provide the gift of sound.

The trip is being funded entirely through donations and those going on the mission trip. Everything that will be used on the trip must be taken with us. This includes all the medical supplies, audiology supplies, audiology equipment, hearing aid batteries, etc. Every penny collected will be used to benefit the people of Guatemala. Any unused supplies will be left with Porch de Salomon.

I am incredibly thankful for those who have supported this effort in the past and continue to help bring the gift of hearing to those who would otherwise go unserved. Please know that I understand the value of your donation and am so appreciative of your continued support.

This year, we need additional funds to purchase needed items and continue our support for those in need.