Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!

This summer I will be travelling to Siem Reap, Cambodia and I am so excited about it!  I will be there for two weeks and during my stay I will be volunteering with children at an orphanage, teaching English to Khmer children and reinforcing English skills to Buddhist monks at a temple.  How cool is that?!?!?

There are several goals I want to accomplish during my visit which include:

• Sharing my culture with the Khmer (Cambodian) children.   
• Introducing the children in Cambodia to my first grade classroom and school, my house and community, my family and daily life.
• Learn a little of the Khmer language. 
• Bring back artifacts and symbols of Cambodian culture and an increased knowledge of their culture that I can share with others. 
• Giving presentations to education majors at local colleges and share my experience with future educators.  My hope is that this will inspire them to want to have an experience like this in the future.

This opportunity is being offered by United Plant (UP) which is an international non-profit organization that strives to create a world in which all people understand, respect, and support one another. Even thought I am going to Cambodia as a volunteer, I am responsible for the majority of costs for this trip, which is why I am doing some fundraising! 

I bet you are wondering, “Why should you have to pay to volunteer?” The answer is that volunteering in a developing country is different from volunteering on a Saturday afternoon in your hometown. Volunteers who travel abroad need accommodations, food, emergency health and evacuation insurance in addition to in-country transportation and orientation to ensure their safety while living abroad. Since UP (United Planet) places volunteers with host families, there are costs that our host communities and partner organizations simply cannot afford. The focus on United Planet’s Quest Volunteer Abroad programs is on the local community. Many programs have their own housing—and this may help to defray costs. ” (text from the United Planet Web page)

Please consider donating to my volunteer experience.  All donations are tax deductable and will go directly to my quest to Cambodia.  I will be accepting donations until July 5, 2009. All donation amounts will be greatly appreciated and did I mention that it is tax deductable?!

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Love,

Merrill Mey