Thank you for taking the time to read about this fundraiser! My name is Katelyn McGill, and I am a senior at Florida State University. I am working towards a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders with the goal of becoming an audiologist. Since 2015 (minus two years impacted by the COVID pandemic) students and professionals have participated in the Help Guatemala Hear service trip. In January of 2026, I will participate in the Help Guatemala Hear service trip to continue to provide much needed audiology services to those in need!

On January 31, 2026, I, along with a team of students from FSU 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; recently over 16 each year. Due to extreme poverty, most mission teams' primary focus has been building small concrete block homes for impoverished indigenous families. Their teams have also established free village medical and dental clinics in response to the scarcity of healthcare in this area. To date, ours is their only team that provides hearing services.

Sustainability is and has always been my goal with a continued partnership between Florida State University Speech and Hearing 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 directly benefit the people of Guatemala. Any unused supplies will be left with Porch de Salomon.

I am asking for your help and support to reach my goal of $2,000. Any contribution, no matter how big or small, helps tremendously in our efforts to help bring the gift of hearing to those who would otherwise go unserved.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the mission. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Panajachel and to help them experience the gift of sound!