Getting Started

Dear Readers,

Thanks for visiting my blog! This is the first post I will publish, although it'll be a few months before anything too exciting happens.

My name is Alanna, and I am currently in the planning/fund raising process for a service-learning trip to Cochabamba Bolivia through Amizade Global Service Leaning and Volunteer Programs (amizade.org). Amizade is affiliated with West Virginia University, where I recently finished my sophomore year, and am working toward a double-major in International Studies (focusing in Development) and Political Science and a minor in Spanish. This summer I will also be working at the YMCA Adventure Day Camp, McCarter Health Center, and the North End Tavern to raise money for my trip.

This September I will embark on a semester-long trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia, where I will be studying and volunteering at Millennium Orphanage. Millennium is home to about 25 children under the age of four, and is one of a number of service sites affiliated with Amizade in Cochabamba (one of many sites worldwide). I will spend 12+ hours per week volunteering at the orphanage, and am currently planning a drive to take supplies for the orphanage with me when I make the trip.

I am writing letters to family, friends, and local businesses and organizations to ask for any contribution they may be able to make. I understand that this is a difficult economic time for people everywhere, but that's precisely why it's so important to remember that there are always others with greater need. I hope that together we can really make a difference in the lives of the children at Millennium.

I would like to welcome to anyone who is interested in keeping up with my future travels (and commenting on these posts!), and to warmly thank anyone who was able to contribute to my trip. I hope you know that your kindness is greatly appreciated by me and will certainly be by those whose lives I hope to touch. I plan to post the names of any person, organization, or business who made a contribution to my efforts on this blog.

The year after graduating high school I was an exchange student for nearly 11 months in Presidente Prudente, Brazil. I did keep a blog while I was there for friends and family to read (although I plan to write in this one more frequently), which can be found at http://alannainbrazil.blogspot.com/.

When I went to Brazil I took a year off for myself, and I now I feel that it's time to start giving back. I hope this will be my first big step toward fulfilling, service-centered career.

That's all for now, let's hope this dream becomes a reality!

Yours
Alanna