Support Barrio La María: Food and Toys for Kids

Max Morel is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Update: 8/22 - thank to everyone who has donated to our cause. Reaching the Unreached is now an organization - can’t say thank you enough to everyone who has supported us and pushes us forth. After hitting our goal amount, we will be setting aside all additional funds to assist a single mother in fixing her home and providing her with walls for her home. Please follow us on social media and stay up to date with our progress. TikTok - @reachingtheunreached and IG @MaxSep13

On December 28, 2023, my brothers and I got together for our New Year’s trip to South America. During our stay, we felt a deep desire to give back, so we organized a charity donation for a neighborhood known as “Barrio La María.” Despite its status as a bustling tourist hub, Cartagena has, in many ways, overlooked the needs of its local residents.

The kindness and warmth of the people we encountered were truly resounding. When you have nothing yet give everything.

We ended up raising $600 in donations, which we combined with our own trip expenses, bringing the total to approximately $1,500. With this generous amount, we were able to shop for groceries, ensuring that 40 families received essential supplies to last for a week (rice, beans, sugar, salt, pasta, dry milk, etc.).

In addition to the groceries, we brought 40 toys for the children, carefully packed in our luggage. While in Cartagena, we purchased 10 more toys, and we also provided 50 cheeseburgers and juice boxes for the kids’ lunch - making sure they had a meal for the day. However, we turned away about 50 children when the toys ran out and that was perhaps the most heartbreaking point. Before that moment, I took the time to share my own childhood story with them, reflecting on my life coming from their way of life and the challenges we faced. At the end, I promised them that we would return to bring more toys and food in the future.

This time we’re hoping to raise more and give them a memorable impact. We plan on feeding up to 80 families (groceries, main essentials - for a week) and providing toys for 100 kids. If you’re interested in helping, send me a message. If you’d like to partake in person, we welcome anyone and everyone to join us - Sept 11-Sept 16