Two Saint Xavier students, Maria Aranda and Jessica Jose, have found a way to raise money for their mission trip to Belize by hosting a night of activities in the local area near Saint Xavier University.
The event itself will be held on Nov. 21 from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Johnson Phelps VFW Post 5220.
The event is entitled “Help Us, Help Others!” and boasts a wide variety of activities that are being hosted. The Friday night event will include a live DJ, food, and raffle opportunities.
Admission to the event is paid, $15 to order a ticket early and $20 to attend the night of. Maria and Jessica plan to use all the funds generated from the event to help pay for the cost of their mission trip to Belize.
The mission trip itself will be a trip to Belize City, Belize located in Central America. The trip itself will be an opportunity for students to volunteer their time to help others less fortunate than themselves.
Students will get to help build a house for an underprivileged family during their time in Belize. The house buidling serves as an opportunity for the students to grow in a team setting while also helping a family in need.
Students will also be able to visit a daycare center that houses children affected by HIV/AIDS.
There also will be some sightseeing when the participating students are taken to ancient Mayan ruins, and are given a unique opportunity to meet the Sisters of Mercy in Belize.
The opportunity to take in the history of the country’s ruins is one of the many reasons Aranda described as wanting to go on the trip.
Aranda points out that the trip has relevancy to the Saint Xavier community as well, since she will be visiting the Sisters of Mercy while on the trip.
When describing what led to the idea of hosting an event to fund the service trip, Jose mentioned her past desire to attend previous service trips served as motivation, “Seeing that we didn’t have funds to go on the trip past years, we came up with the idea to have a fundraiser.”
Aranda mentioned her friends as a big motivating force behind her decision to fundraise for a chance to go on the service trip.
Both Aranda and Jose wanted their fundraising event to be an opportunity for the local Saint Xavier community to rally together and fund an opportunity for others.
Aranda and Jose both mentioned that they wished to take an opportunity to help others and give back with their time, “We have not been able to give back often, this is why we want to participate in this service trip.”
Anyone looking to help fund the trip can attend the event on Nov. 21 or can donate to the two students directly. Anyone interested in donating can email either Maria at aranda.m01@mymail.sxu.edu or email Jessica at jose.j01@mymail.sxu.edu.
The last time Saint Xavier University students visited Belize was in 2010 when nine students traveled to the country. The trip by these students included many of the features of the upcoming service trip.
Many of the students from 2010 participated in building a house in the local area and visited children with HIV.
Students in 2010 also got to take in much of the culture and history of Belize. The two service trips are essentially identical, except for the students who will be attending.
Aranda hopes to have a life changing experience on the trip, as does Jose who sees the trip as a great opportunity to broaden her horizons.
Aranda and Jose also expressed a desire to soon launch a webpage to help people more easily donate and gain more information on the service trip, while the fundraising event was held.
Jake Alleruzzo
Senior News Editor
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