Entry 1 - The Fundraising Begins in Earnest

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To Our Family, Our Friends, Our Friends of Family, and Friends we have yet to meet,

We are compassionate, love to discover, and are very mindful people. We love our daughters more than anything in the world, and always think about the future with their best interests in mind. As many of you know, in August 2008, we took a 3-week family trip to Guatemala.

You might ask “Why Guatemala?” We asked “Why not Guatemala?” Land of the Mayans, land of contrasts, land of conflict and destruction, of beauty and richness. Our short trip to Guatemala left us feeling humbled, and with a great desire to learn more about foreign cultures and to help, as a family, where needed.

I've read many books and blogs about families taking off for a year of ‘family sabbatical’. Each family adventure and each family’s reasons were varied, with the exception of the desire to experience life in another culture, and expose their family to something different and wonderful. I wish I could say that we sequestered a year to follow our travel dreams. Not exactly - nonetheless a family adventure awaits us…

DREAMS -- My mom was a dreamer. She needed to be to survive her childhood. She was spirited and enjoyed new things. There were so many dreams she had before her life was cut short. I dream for you, Mom. Dreaming is great for the soul; it propels us forward. I’ve always been a dreamer; one foot is on the ground and the other is searching for a new place to light - a new sight - a new delight. Dreaming about the Pacific Northwest after our honeymoon bicycle trip allowed us to experience the richness of the Pacific Northwest and eventually find a new life in Central Oregon.

Life is good. Our daughters are growing like wildflowers. Their beauty is beholden - the joy is all ours. Yet, after returning from Guatemala, there has been such yearning to help where help is so desperately needed and to experience a new culture. After all, education is more than the best schools, the best teachers or the best grades one can attain. Education is about taking a leap of faith into the unknown, learning about those so much less fortunate than ourselves, and finding ways to bridge that divide.

So, where are we leaping? We thought about returning to Guatemala; it was so enriching. We explored options in other Latin American countries. There is so much need and so much to do - how could we possibly decide? Always with the children in mind...’new’ yet ‘safe’; ‘challenging’ yet ‘comforting’; ‘foreign’ but ‘familiar’ and by all means - fun.

With that in mind, a trip to South American is shaping up. We have received permission to take a 4-month leave of absence from work, from January 2010 - April 2010. The girls have received permission for a 4-month 'leave' from their school (they will do a combination of school work and independent study). The ‘Where’ is Ecuador and Peru. We have arranged 2-3 weeks of language school near Quito, Ecuador, about 1-month of volunteer work in Baños, Ecuador, at ‘Fundacion Arte del Mundo’ (http://www.artedelmundoecuador.com/indexx.php) and 4-6 weeks at ‘Fairmail’, in Huanchaco, Peru. Fairmail works with underprivileged teenagers who live in near the city dump. The disadvantaged teens earn money as photographers (http://www.fairmail.info).

We should all be so fortunate and full of fortunate to embark on a journey of goodwill. We should all be so enriched and full of riches to be able to stray away from our comfortable little boxes of life and spend time with those less fortunate. Most of the families who have pursued their dreams of traveling the globe are financially independent. While we have sufficient comforts and can provide for our children, we’re not capable of pulling off a trip like this without some help. We are stowing away any extra money we can, and have been fund raising for about 8-months. The fund raising efforts have been terrific: a community yard sale; a house concert; summer camps; ‘leasing’ out our property and craft fairs. As of this entry, we’ve managed to put aside about $5,000 toward the trip, which is probably enough to cover our airline tickets and maybe 2-weeks of language schooling. A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who have helped make our dream a reality.

While we will have some limited income coming in during the 4-month period, it will only be a portion of our monthly income. We will still have our home bills and obligations to account for while we are away, and our hope is that any income that comes in will be sufficient to pay these. Below is a rough estimate of itemized expenditures for this journey (I have put in parenthesis costs we can cover and then costs we are hoping to get help with):

• Airfare (us)
• Local lodging (est. cost $750 for 2+ mo.) (help please)
• Food (us)
• Language studies (est. cost $2050 for 3 wks) (us and help please)
• Volunteer placement fee(s) (est. cost $150) (help please)
• Volunteer Supplies (or donation) - see list (help please)
• Travel in South America (est. cost $1,000) (us and help please)
• Miscellaneous (us and help please)

Based on my very rough calculations, in order to pull this trip off in a modest, yet comfortable mode, and accomplish what we've set out to do, I think we'll need about $9,000. We have a travel bank account at the local ‘Bank of the Cascades’, where all of our fund raising money and odds and ends and bits of change are going to fund this trip. We are continuing to work diligently to set aside any ‘extra’ money we can, but at this point are lacking sufficient funds for our third week of language school, two volunteer projects (including the accommodations) and to purchase much needed supplies. Any future donations that come in and money raised will cover these expenses which will in turn benefit the local communities. It is our intention to have all contributions put towards the communities that we are visiting, versus funding our personal expenditures. We also plan to make sure that the communities and volunteer organizations where we study and help, know the names of everyone who makes a contribution to this undertaking.

So…are You interested in helping? Know others interested in helping?? Know of any organizations that might like to sponsor a portion of the trip??? Anything, anything, anything you feel compelled to give, makes a huge difference.

It is very difficult to ask for money and we know that everyone's finances are extra tight. So most certainly we understand if it's not possible for you to donate money. If you can, and you feel inclined to help make, please send us an email ([e-mail]). We can either direct you to our paypal account, or provide you with instructions about where to send a check.

Remember, your contributions, if directed to either of these non-profit agencies, may be tax deductible. The next blog entry will include a list of supplies that are needed by the ‘Fundacion Arte del Mundo’ (http://www.artedelmundoecuador.com/indexx.php). We will be bringing these supplies with us.

Thanks so much. Muchas, muchas gracias. Con Abrazos -- La familia Dunning

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Comments

[Connie and Chris Smith]

What a co-incidence!
Hola, We just read your blog and my husband and I will be volunteering in Banos in January and February 2010 also! I sent you a longer email but I am not sure if it went through. Connie Smith, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

[farmgirl]

Fundraising for Trip
Connie, Yes - we received your delightful email and sent you one in return. Hopefully you received that as well. Looking forward to meeting you and Chris. Shari