Letter to the Editor: The following is an original letter sent to Patch by Miller Place student Kara Patrovic.
Dear Families and friends,
I am pleased to tell you that after 6 months of fundraising I have reached my goal! Let me get you caught up: After many donations from family, friends, and local businesses, as well as me working different jobs to raise money and several fundraising activities in my school, I have most recently had several larger fundraisers.
I had a Wendy’s fundraiser on June 6 where hundreds of people turned out and I raised 765 dollars. I then had a Car Wash fundraiser on July 7 where I raised 380 dollars! I would like to thank all of my awesome friends for helping wash cars even though it was over 90 degrees out!! Then, in my last fundraiser, the Yard Sale on July 21-22, I raised 823 dollars!
Thank you to everyone who donated so many items and helped make this fundraiser another success. This last fundraiser put me over the top, and I have raised 6,159 dollars; more than 700 dollars over my goal!! All of this extra money will benefit Mijael and his community even more!!
At this point, I have booked my flight, and my dad and I will be going to Bolivia on August 14- 24. I have been in touch with ChildFund in Bolivia to organize the work I will be doing there and what I will be doing with Mijael the days I see him. This past weekend, my dad and I received vaccinations for yellow fever and typhoid. You would probably think my dad was helping me through my nerves, but I was really helping him through his - I wanted to ask the doctor if she could give him a sticker for being a big boy and getting through it! After getting these vaccinations it became even more real. I am so excited, as well as nervous, because there is so much I wish to do in such a small amount of time!
I want to thank everyone who has supported me with your help, contributions, donations, by turning out to my fundraisers, and for your kind words along the way. They really kept me motivated to keep pushing forward. I am in the process of making a Kara2Mijael T-shirt which I will bring to Bolivia with me to give to Mijael and his mom. On the back of the shirt, anyone who has donated money, items and their time will be acknowledged (Sorry if your name is small, there are a lot of people I have to fit onto the back of the shirt). This way, I can leave a little bit of everyone in Bolivia! When I am in Bolivia, I will make sure to take plenty of pictures to put up on my website: http://www.facebook.com/Kara2Mijael.
I have had a lot of fun fundraising and making memories. I can tell you I have learned a lot already, and I haven't even been on the trip yet! I cannot believe I am really going. I have dreamed of it so long and now it is finally here. As I have said before, I would never have this opportunity if it weren't for all of you!
Thank you again for all of your help and support. I look forward to telling you about my experiences in Bolivia and cannot tell you how thankful I am for people like you.
With great gratitude,
Kara
