Haiti Update: Fundraising, Passport, and Vaccinations

So in gratitude for all of those who are donating for my trip to Haiti, I will try to regularly update how my planning process is going. Once I get to Haiti, I'm hoping I will have the time and internet access to keep everyone regularly informed.

Fundraising

So far my fundraising has consisted of sending out a mass email to friends, relatives, professional contacts, etc., and posting links on Facebook to my initial Haiti posting. From those efforts alone I have actually already reached half of my goal! So thanks to all of you who have already donated and mailed checks, or stopped by and dropped off your donation. A HUGE Thank You to the Dowling family, who's generous donation alone put me way ahead of where I thought I'd be right now.

As you may or may not remember, my initial goal was $1,000, and the current total stands at $574! Not bad, huh? So in order to keep track of donations, to ensure that I send out Thank-you's to all you generous souls and I know how much has been raised, I started an envelope where I can keep cash, checks, etc., and posted a chart on the front with table for information. It looks a little like this:

Tell me this doesn't remind you of getting money for jog-a-thon's in elementary school???? (That was half the reason why I put it in this envelope...)

Passport

One thing I was worried about was my maiden vs. married name. My passport doesn't expire until the end of May, which would have given me enough time to go and come back with it, but it still has my maiden name, which isn't the name I used to book my flight. I called expedia to see if I could just bring my documentation of the name change (new and old ID, marriage license, etc.), and they gave me this vague answer insinuating that those documents MAY be enough. Well....I'm not really all that excited about paying for a flight, taking time off from work, raising money, getting vaccinations, and getting emotionally ready for a trip like this only for someone at the check-in counter to say I can't board the plan because my passport name doesn't match the ticket reservation or my ID. This means I am in the process of getting an updated passport, which sets me back another $150 since I want to expedite it to make sure I get it in time.

The other thing that sucks about getting a new passport (as frivolous as this is): I have to start all over again on collecting stamps in it! It's been difficult enough to the ones in there that I have, and now I have to start all over!

Vaccinations

Finally, it is highly recommended that I get several vaccinations and malaria pills before embarking on my trip to Haiti. I had called and made my appointment for the end of April, but I guess it's best if you actually get it done 6-8 weeks before going on your trip, which means I need to call TOMORROW and see what their next open appointment is. What I'm worried about is that work is going to be crazy busy with hearings, and I don't think the health center is open on Saturday's...sigh. I guess I'll find out tomorrow what needs to happen on that front to make everything happen.

Finally, here are some pictures of the project that Abby and I will be working with, if you want to get a visual of where we'll be and what we'll be doing.

OK, sorry for the super long post, but just wanted to share the highlights of my planning process :)

Thanks again to everyone for their donations so far, and please keep them coming!