I got this e-mail from my friend Rose (of 3 Brix Shy and Blue Sundaze fame) more than two weeks ago, and my only thought was that I would love to help, but given my current lack of a job there's not much I can do. Well, today an article about Rose's mission appeared in the local paper, and I realized that there is something I could do - I could repost Rose's request for help to my blog!
Please hear her out, and contribute if you can. Rose is a very good person, and her mission is for a good cause!
Hey everyone!
This email may seem like its coming slightly out of the blue, and for that I apologize. But I need your help! This July I am going to be pursuing a project that I have been passionate about for some time- I will be traveling to Yaroslavl, Russia to work in a children's orphanage for 3 weeks, and I am trying to fund part or all of the trip with your help.
Let me first say that, of course, no one is under any pressure to participate! I fully understand that not everyone will consider this an important endeavor, so please dont feel obligated to contribute. But, if you ARE interested (and of course I hope you are! :o) please continue reading!
I will be working through a non-profit program called Cross Cultural Solutions which sends volunteers all over the world to work in various countries and for various causes. The program in Russia involves more than one placement- during my stay I will be working mostly with orphaned children, some of which are disabled or come from severely abusive homes, but may also be placed working part-time in a shelter for elderly women.
Why do I want to go to Russia to volunteer with children? Because the situation with orphaned children in Russia is becoming a crisis. The first problem is the number of children. In January of 2003, the number of orphaned children in Russia was recorded to be 867,800, and this number is slowly increasing. There is not nearly enough funding within the country to adequately take care of these children, and this leads to the second problem. Many of these children, in addition to not having enough food and/or clothing, are lacking sufficient education, so, if they are not adopted, their lives upon leaving the orphanages are far from accommodating. Every year at least 5,000 of them end up in court, another 3,000 end up living on the street, and 1,500 commit suicide. The rate of drug use, alcoholism, and prostitution among these young adults is horrific. Most simply do not have the skills needed to find work and earn a living.
I know I cannot change much of this in the three short weeks of my stay. My position as a volunteer this summer will include helping the children with their English skills, which will give them a major advantage in life. In addition I will be assisting the orphanage or hospital staff in any way that will be needed, including helping the kids with their school work as needed and giving them attention, which they sorely need, by playing games with them, helping them with arts and crafts, etc. I am a musician, and will hopefully have a chance to introduce some of the children to music, whether it is to teach them the basics of playing an instrument or just helping them to read music. Giving any one of these kids a passion for something like music, and helping them along in anyway, could potentially be the edge that that child will need in order to be able to make a living and survive when he or she leaves the orphanage.
Why I need your help with fundraising: Many people are shocked that I need to pay so much in order to do volunteer work. The reason is so that I do not burden the people I am trying to help. Again, the program I have enrolled in is completely non-profit, and the cost of my program covers only what I will need for food, housing, and in-country orientation. Any help you can provide would be amazing and so appreciated - you would be directly helping these children with your contribution.
I have given much thought to how I could adequately thank anyone who helps with this project. So, since I have been told I should have some internet access from places in Yaroslavl, I've decided to send periodic emails and pictures from Russia to anyone who decides to contribute. This will hopefully help you to feel more involved in how your contribution is directly helping some of these children. If you decide to contribute and are interested in receiving emails, email me at RA244@cornell.edu, subject heading "Russia," so that I can add you to the email list.
If you decide that you would like to help fund this work, you can either go to http://my.crossculturalsolutions.org/ where you will click on "find your volunteer," enter my last name (Alaimo) and then follow the instructions from there. Since this organization is a non-profit, any contribution you make is 100% tax deductible. Or, if you prefer, you can send your contribution to my home address* and make all checks payable to “Cross-Cultural Solutions.”
Thank you so much for reading this and for any help you decide you can give. PLEASE forward this to anyone you know- friends, family, coworkers- who might be interested. Also, of course, if you have any questions, please let me know!! Thanks guys, I hope you all have a great summer!!! :o)
Rose Alaimo
RA244@cornell.edu
Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2009
*Contact me for this - databoy142 (at) hotmail (dot) com
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