Help Katie go to Honduras

Hello friends and family - it’s me, Katie Wagenbach Rouw! This summer, I will be participating in an adventure of my lifetime. I’ll be traveling to Honduras with eight other high school juniors, as part of the Rotary YES Program. We will be in Honduras for a week, while there our team will engage in multiple service projects including building a playground for a local school, painting the school, cleaning up projects and teaching classes to adults and children.

As many of you know; one of my passions is volunteering. As far back as I can remember, my family and I have been volunteering in our community. Now that I’m older and drive a slug bug, I also enjoy volunteering on my own and with friends. Some of my favorite ways to volunteer include planting trees, cleaning up and prepping Camp Anderson for summer camp attendees, putting together C.H.O.W. bags (Cutting Hunger On Weekends), tutoring students at the High School, being a runner and an elf at the Skagit Herald Christmas Fund, helping vendors at the MVHS music department craft fair, serving and preparing food at the Kiwanis Salmon BBQ, and swimming with the Skagit Y special Olympics group!

My other passions involve teaching and learning. For the past three summers I have had the privilege to be a camp counselor at Camp Anderson as “Chameleon”; where I encourage, advise, chase around the woods, make crafts with, lifeguard, sing with, and have the bestest time being a goofball with kids ages 6 - 14. I am also a student director for the MVHS Small Ensembles (choir) and a section leader in Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble (band). I also love to learn. Learning different cultures, languages, sciences, why things happen, and all things music. I am always looking for new ways to learn and am excited to get to experience a different culture and learn all I can about Honduran life.

What is the Rotary YES Program?:

Youth Engaged in Service (YES) is a program where high school juniors (from Rotary district 5050) are selected to participate in leadership training and meaningful service projects throughout the year. Each month, our group comes together to learn about the history of Honduras and the YES program, develop leadership skills, work on our Spanish, and strengthen our community skills. These meetings are completely student led and facilitated with activities ranging from team building to presentations about Honduran culture and climate. Additionally, we have two leadership retreats that focus on what leadership means to us and how we each lead in our communities.

Each student is required to raise 1,500 dollars as well as complete 80 hours of community service, 40 hours at a primary site (I chose helping hands food bank), and 40 miscellaneous hours. So far, I have completed 70 of my 80 hours, volunteering at:

Skagit Fisheries

Helping Hands Food Bank

Skagit valley Herald Christmas Fund

Bulldog Edge Tutoring

Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce Festival of Trees

Each student is sponsored by a rotary club which covers $2,000 of the finances needed to go. I have the privilege of being sponsored by the Mount Vernon Rotary club and am the first student from Mount Vernon to be a part of the YES program (which I hope to share with future bulldogs)!

In order to raise my portion for the trip, I am asking for donations through this GoFundMe and will be fundraising with other projects as well! The raffle is no longer a part of the GoFundMe.

I need to raise $1500. I appreciate any form of support; whether that be positive thoughts, words, or donations!

Thank you so much! I am super thrilled and excited to be a part of this amazing opportunity!