Progress

So things are really starting to come together.  I have an RN license, a departure date (August 10th!!!), a plane ticket, a duffle bag starting to fill up with a year's worth of Head and Shoulders...and an appointment at the Mass General travel clinic for an armful of shots.  I'm not looking forward to that-I hate getting shots (and yes, I get the irony here).

In other news, the first raffle prize--a pair of tickets to see Taylor Swift at Gillette Stadium--was raffled off on June 22nd.  Kelly from Bridgewater was the winner; congrats Kelly!  She and her daughter Isabella had a wonderful time at the concert, which happened to fall on Isabella's 11th birthday.  What a wonderful surprise!   The remaining raffles winners will be drawn in a few days.  Best of luck to all the entrants, and thanks you for your support!

I am halfway to my total fundraising goal, but I still need to raise another 4,000 dollars to fully fund this trip--right now my plane ticket is one way!  I'm so grateful to everyone who has contributed to my trip so far; it is wonderful to know that I have so much support from my friends and family.  All fund raised go towards my travel costs and room and board while in Africa.  This is a volunteer trip and I won't draw a salary while I'm there, so I am relying on the generosity of others to make this journey possible.  If anyone wants to make a contribution to my trip, a tax-deductible contribution can be made to East Sandwich Preparative Meeting (Quakers).  My church has set up the Brown Fund, and contributions made to the fund are tax deductible. 100% of the money is passed along to me for my trip.  Checks made out to East Sandwich Preparative Meeting, and marked for the Brown Fund (you can use the memo line) can be mailed to:
East Sandwich Friends Meeting, PO Box 198, East Sandwich MA 02537.
Please enclose a request for a receipt if you would like one.  Again, I am so lucky to have such supportive friends and family, and I am thankful for every dollar people donate during these tough times.

If you'd like another way to contribute to my volunteer trip, please consider checking out my Amazon.com Wish List.  I've put together a list of the things I still need for my trip, like scrubs, hair coverings, socks, a stethoscope (yes, old Goldie is being put out to pasture!), my favorite lip balm that I probably can't find over there, etc.  Go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&type=wishlist&id=OUSKEP444SGZ to see what's what.

It's been tough trying to pare down 8-12 months of living into one LL Bean extra-large duffle bag and a carry-on; I've had to think long and hard about what makes the cut and what doesn't, how many sets of scrubs I need, how many pairs of socks, what I'll buy in Somaliland, and what American brands I can't live without.  At least I won't have to make tough choices about my books.  Thank goodness for my Kindle, I don't think I could do this without it!

I'll post more updates and info soon-including a glimpse into the 2 day-long journey that will bring me from Plymouth MA to Hargeisa, Somaliland.  Thanks for reading!
-Bre