In August, Juniors Elliot Becker, Hunter Christenson, Ryan Jordan, Cam Fagerlee, and Leonardo Lewis are taking the initiative to go to Haiti on a campaign to give back to the people in the village of Anglade, Haiti.
When asked what the motivation was for this trip, Ryan Jordan responded via email, “I decided to take the time to help the people of Haiti because it is a great opportunity to live out our faith that we learn about at TG. It’s a chance to give back to those who are not as fortunate as us and an excellent way to help the poor and vulnerable.” Jordan also talked about hearing many stories concerning other people going to Haiti on mission trips, and how their lives were completely changed. This motivated his desire to help the people of Haiti, and to experience those life changing events.

     The boys’ mission is to bring light through solar powered lanterns to the over 120 homes in the village. When asked how they came up with this theme of light Jordan responded, “We chose to bring them lights because they will last for many years to come. The lights are solar powered, making it easy to charge during the day and they last 8-12 hours. They do not have electricity down there so it is a simple, yet very helpful way to provide them something we take for granted every day.”

     Over this past week at Totino-Grace, the boys officially launched their campaign around the school by releasing a video on YouTube about their mission. This trip costs a fair amount, so the boys have taken the initiative to collect donations during lunch, and to create a page for donations on the site CrowdRise. Ryan Jordan said when commenting on their goals, “We hope to accomplish our goal of raising $10,000 to pay for the lights and our travel to Haiti. As of May 24, we have raised nearly $6,000 on our Crowdrise page and $2,000 in cash and check donations.” Aside from donations, Jordan created some goals for himself on the trip. “We plan on changing their lives and an experience that will change our lives. Also, I plan on becoming stronger in my faith and closer to God through this mission trip,” said Ryan Jordan when commenting on his goals and mentality for the trip.

     The boys are excited, and the Totino-Grace community is buzzing with excitement for them. This is a great opportunity which will hopefully help many residents of the Haitian village. When asked how he felt about this opportunity Jordan said, “I feel very blessed with this opportunity. Not many kids get to visit Haiti so it is a pretty special opportunity to have ahead of us.”

     Donate now to allow the boys to have the opportunity to go to Haiti and light it up!
Donation Link: https://www.crowdrise.com/light-up-haiti1/fundraiser/musicoftheheart