GCC holds fundraiser for service-learning trip

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Bessemer - With around $2,600 more to raise for a service-learning trip in May several staff and students of Gogebic Community College held a taco feed with raffles on Saturday.

There is still room for around six more students or community members to participate in the third service learning program trip to Guatemala from May 15-24, 2020. There are around 14 members so far, said Janie Williams, the service learning trip coordinator at GCC.

"I'm very excited but I would still like to see a few more sign up," Williams said. "We do have room."

The trip is a chance to experience the rich Mayan culture of Guatemala, while also participating in a community-based construction project in one of the rural highland villages of Quiche. The students will also participate in activities with teachers and students at a village school.

"We're going to be building a cinderblock house for a family that the Guatemalan community has identified as in need," Williams said. "We're also going to be visiting a local village school and play with the kids."

The fundraising helps make the trip as affordable as possible for the students, she said. The fundraisers pay for the construction materials they will be using and more needs to be raised so the team can travel to the Minneapolis airport as a group.

Earlier this year the team held an "18 legs versus 18 wheels" fundraiser competition to see how fast teams could pull a semi truck and trailer a distance of 20 feet. The funds went to student scholarships to attend the program.

The Bessemer VFW donated the space for the taco fundraiser. Area individuals and businesses donated around 30 different raffle prizes.

"The VFW has been extremely supportive the past two years," Williams said.

The first team in 2018 had around 10 students and 10 more GCC staff and community. A smaller group of around 12 went in 2019.

Hannah Nasi, of Ironwood, was a GCC student when she went on the first Guatemala mission trip in 2018. She heard they would be painting a school and that was all it took.

"I like painting and I was told that we would be painting a school for children and that sounded amazing," Nasi said. "It was nice just to bond with the children and a different culture, and the nature was so beautiful."

She said the trip helped her to realize that while people here have more than the villagers in terms of materialism, these were among the most happy and content people she has encountered. Since the trip she has sponsored a child who is now in high school.

Vanessa Nasi, who is Hannah's sister, attended GCC and is now a student at Northern Michigan University. She was inspired to participate in the Guatemala this May after watching the affect the trip had on the lives of Hannah and their mother, who also went on a previous trip.

"I've always wanted to go on a mission trip," she said. "I'm just really looking forward to try and make a difference in someone else's life. We take a lot for granted here and I think it will be a good eye opener to be able to help a family."

Jesse Carroll, of Ironwood, is a former U.S. Marine who is now studying psychology at GCC. He enjoys helping people and thought it would be an opportunity to help someone else by taking part in the trip this May.

"It's all about helping people," he said.

The students receive a certificate and are recognized for their service, Williams said.

There is also time for sight-seeing as the students will be near some of the most popular tourist destination areas in Guatemala. They will be staying in the famous Chichicastenango area and will visit the markets and villages of the Lake Atitlán area of the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre mountain range.

The students will see people practicing indigenous skills of weaving, color dying fabrics using plants, chocolate and coffee harvesting and artist events.

There will be a team meeting on the Guatemalan culture, Williams said. A second meeting will focus on the packing essentials that are needed for the trip. She is working to eventually include a service learning class to go along with the trip.