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Greetings!
We're happy to celebrate the graduation of many deserving students this month. Meet one graduate below. Also, we want to be sure you know about Give to the Max Day, which will occur this Wednesday, November 16. If you give to Common Hope through GiveMN.org on November 16, you have the chance to win a golden ticket and increase your gift by $1,000. Read more below.
Para leer en espaņol, haga click aqui.
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Marianela (middle) at graduation with one of her medical school professors (left) and Common Hope's Antigua Program Director Sandra Ortiz (right).
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First female student graduates from med school |
This November, we celebrate the graduation of 66 high school students who have worked so hard to reach this milestone. Among them is our 1,000th high school graduate. In addition, we celebrate our first female student to graduate from medical school. On November 4, Marianela Pec Garcia graduated from the University of San Carlos medical school as an obstetrician, and she spoke at the Common Hope graduation ceremony last Saturday, November 12.
We featured Marianela in this enews two years ago, when she had just begun her residency. At that time, she wrote to her sponsors to tell them about the experience.
"I have almost realized my goal of becoming a doctor. ... I have already attended my rounds, and it was such a beautiful experience to witness the birth of a new being that will one day be a grown adult, only I am very tired and there are times when we do not sleep while on our rounds. In any case, it is no great sacrifice in comparison to the experience of witnessing a new life being born."
Marianela is the eldest of six siblings. Her mother, a primary school teacher, and her father, a waiter, have clearly stressed the importance of education. All of her siblings presently attend school or hold professional degrees. Read full post ...
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Union League Club of Chicago.
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Noche in Chicago raises $40,000 for our programs | On October 20, supporters from the Chicago area gathered for our Noche de Colores fundraiser. The event was held at the beautiful Union League Club of Chicago and attended by 140 people.
The event started with a reception and lively Guatemalan market where guests could purchase coffee and market goods, many produced by our affiliated families. A live benefit auction raised funds for education, health care and the Antigua youth development project. In the end, the group raised just over $40,000 in program support and secured 14 new sponsors -- a great success. Many were asking at the end of the night when we could do it again.
Special thanks to event committee who made the event a success: George Allen, Kim Butler, Leslie Graham, Vicki Reynolds, and Leslie Shank. |
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Sean Duffy at our Antigua clinic
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Meet volunteer doctor Sean Duffy
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Sean Duffy was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received an undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of Notre Dame. Between his third and fourth years of medical school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he is taking a leave of absence to volunteer at Common Hope. Sean spent a summer during undergrad volunteering with us, which he says seeded his "Common Hope addiction." He has returned to volunteer three times since, including a stint during his honeymoon with wife Mariah Quinn Duffy.
Sean works in our Antigua medical clinic as well as one day a week at the clinic in San Rafael. In addition to seeing patients he is helping to develop a well-child program, which we hope to implement at the beginning of next year.
Sean says one of the obvious challenges of working in Guatemala is the limited resources compared to the United States and other developed countries. But he says "the integrated nature of Common Hope -- being able to refer to a nutritionist, dentist, and psychologist all within the same campus, the modern clinic and pharmacy facilities, the guidance of clinic director Dr. Walter Estrada and other clinic personnel, and collaboration with other NGOs working in Antigua -- helps offset many of the potential problems." Read more...
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Give to the Max on November 16 | If you are planning to give to Common Hope yet this year, next Wednesday, November 16 is a good day to do so, when GiveMN.org is holding its third annual Give to the Max Day. GiveMN.org is a website where you can give an online gift to any nonprofit of your choosing.
During the 24-hour Give to the Max Day, one donor will be chosen randomly every hour to have $1,000 added to their donation. In addition, the top three nonprofits who receive the most donations will be awarded $5,000-15,000 prize grants.
Give to the Max Day happens completely online, so you can participate from anywhere around the world. Learn more and give your gift at GiveMN.org. But remember to give between 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on November 16!
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Classes of 2012 and 2013 fully sponsored | | Success! All 17 students who are SO close to the finish line now have sponsors, thanks to you. As we explained in last month's eNews, these juniors and seniors are working toward graduation in 2012 and 2013 but face incredible odds. Now, they each have a sponsor to provide the moral and financial support to get that last inch of the way. Many thanks to all of you who donated, sponsored, spread the word, or otherwise lent your support.
Visit our website to read why several sponsors signed on to this cause. If you didn't have a chance to support the campaign but would still like to sponsor a student, please contact Jessie Szopinski via email, call (651) 917-0917, or read about students who need sponsors online.
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 Openings for Vision Teams | |
Interested in planning a vacation with a vision next year? In 2012, we have the following openings:
- May 5 - 12
- August 18 - 25
- September - December
You can check out the trip calendar on our website. Talk to your friends, family, and co-workers, and start planning your trip of a lifetime. |
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