While many students spend their summer at a part time job or relaxing in the sun, Maria Patterson is planning to get her hands dirty, a half a world away.
Maria is joining a crew of students who will be building a school in Ghana. She will spend July in the coastal west African country with a group from Me-to-We, a volunteer travel company dedicated to overseas volunteer experiences.
Last summer Maria was in France on an exchange and this summer she wanted a more hands on experience.
“I will be building a school,” said Maria, and she has the travel bug. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”
As much as she enjoys the experience of travel, her intentions are altruistic.
She will be a part of a team of students, about 25, who will be working on the school project, mostly from Canada.
“I think you have to go out of your way to help someone else and I really enjoy helping people, it is something I am passionate about. I think more people should go on trips like this to see how lucky we are to grow up in a place like we do, the government we have and the conditions we are born in to,” said Maria.
The Interact Youth club and Maria Patterson are teaming up for a spaghetti dinner to raise funds for the Club’s international activities and Patterson’s summer excursion to Ghana to build a school . Member of the club include (back; l-r) Landon Brown, Alana Augart, Laura Jensen, Madison Colberg, Maria Patterson, Megan Rowbottom and Kortney Giffin, along with (front; l-r) Seun Makinde, Natalie Westman, Taylor Snow and Allie Ruckman.
To participate, Maria has a fundraising goal of $5,000 and already she is half way there with generous donations from the Royal Purple and the Rotary Club. The Carbon Bottle Depot has also helped to support her trek.
To support her trip she is hosting a joint Spaghetti Supper with the Rotary Youth Interact Club at the Midland Hall on Sunday, March 17 at 5 p.m. Admission is a simple donation and she is planning to have some students enter from the high school performing. The funds from the dinner will be split between Patterson’s travel expenses and an international project the Interact Club is working on.
Individuals or businesses interested in supporting Maria’s trip can contact her at 403-823-6726 or email maria-patterson@hotmail.com.