AYUDA 2024 Campo Amigo Program

Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you know, I have been heavily involved with the organization American Youth Understanding Diabetes Abroad (AYUDA) since 2019. Every summer, AYUDA sends a group of young volunteers abroad to work with a local diabetes foundation, Aprendiendo a Vivir, to plan and run Campo Amigo: a summer camp aimed to connect and educate families in the Dominican Republic managing type 1 diabetes. While abroad, we also conduct educational outreach programs in communities outside of Santo Domingo and local capacity-building programs. 

Over the past five years, I have gone in-country three times and participated in four programs, working my way from a Volunteer to a Volunteer Mentor to a Program Leader. In this new leadership role, I was responsible for managing and overseeing the volunteer mentor groups and working hand-in-hand with my co-leader Lauren, the AYUDA staff, and local partners on the day-to-day activities of our training and abroad programs. 

My experience with AYUDA has inspired me to pursue a career in medicine, with the goal of becoming a pediatric endocrinologist. To further this, I will be conducting research for type 1 diabetes at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Creusot Lab, which will prevent me from attending the whole AYUDA program this summer. However, I will forever be involved in the AYUDA community, and am asking for your help in keeping the program alive. AYUDA is a volunteer-centric organization, which means that without fundraising from volunteers, AYUDA cannot run. My goal this year is to raise $3000, and I can’t do it without your help.

Any amount you can donate would be greatly appreciated. Your support means the world to me. Thank you so much!

Best,

Maddie