And Away We Go: Alex and Mollie Head to Moldova

Hello from Northern Colorado,

We, Alex and Mollie, thank you for taking the time to read our fundraising campaign for our full-time, long-term volunteer placement in Chisinau (ki-shuh-nau), Moldova.

Moldova is a small country on the SouthWest border of Ukraine. We will be living in the capital of Moldova for six months working with a local refugee resettlement organization. Volunteers work in refugee support centers that provide temporary housing or daytime services, along with a diverse range of services to Ukrainian refugees.

As reported by the UN's International Organization for Migration, "As of 22 April, Moldovan authorities have reported 430,226 arrivals from Ukraine, of whom 393,192 are Ukrainian refugees and 37,034 third-country nationals."

The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, and we have chosen to volunteer our time and efforts to serve in neighboring Moldova facilitated by United Planet . United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. For the last ten years, United Planet has operated in Moldova and partnered with local organizations through the 70-year-old institution of the International Cultural Youth Exchange.

As a couple, we felt the need to engage this particular international crisis in a meaningful and firsthand way. We did our research to identify an organization to facilitate this process and decided to free ourselves up to commit to a long-term placement. For each of us, this commitment means leaving/pausing our work in the US in order to pursue our desire to serve internationally. Our international travels, together and apart, have provided us with profound and influential experiences. These international experiences, combined with our own personal backgrounds and passions, have made us extremely devoted to our identities as global citizens. Please feel free to reach out to either of us regarding our personal reasons for choosing to serve as long-term international volunteers!

During our time in Moldova, we will be living in an apartment in Chisinau and working as full-time volunteers for the six-month duration from August 1, 2022 to February 1, 2023. United Planet's program fees provide us with lodging, in-country orientation, language lessons, pre-departure training, medical and travel insurance, and 24/7 in-country support. United Planet has been gracious enough to grant $1000.00 in scholarships to each of us. Our fundraising amount includes the remainder of our total program cost as well as our airfare. In addition, we will be providing our own funds for food costs for the six months.

Cost Breakdown:

6 Month Program Cost per person (minus scholarship): $4,500.00

Round Trip Air Fare per person: $800.00

Total Per Person: $5,300.00

Total Fundraising Goal: $10,600.00

Due Date: July 18, 2022

Honestly, neither of us is excited about asking for financial support, but we believe in what we are doing and hope that you can too. We know it can be debilitating to think about all of the scary, hurtful, and painful things happening in the world today. And, lets be real, there are a lot of things happening that make us just want to stay curled up in bed watching Great British Bake Off and Lord of the Rings. But, to take some wisdom from the humble hobbit Sam Gamgee, "There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for." And as the sage Gandalf would say, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

We have decided that at this time we will serve those being forced out of their homes by war. We hope that perhaps our journey to Moldova can be an opportunity for you to support refugee relief efforts directly through us. We value our community and appreciate any support, financial or otherwise, big or small. If you can't support us financially, please consider sharing our fundraising campaign with your community-shares go a long way!

Ways to Support:

+Tax-Deductible Financial Donation

+Share our campaign to your social media, friends, family, neighbors, and strangers alike

We will be updating our social media throughout our time in Moldova to keep our community posted. Thank you for your support! Here we go!

Humbly and with Love,

Alex and Mollie