To prepare for its first medical mission trip to South America, Ball State's Timmy Foundation will be hosting a month-long medical supply drive that will allow the Ball State and Muncie communities to donate medicine and other items to children in Ecuador.
The supply drive, which began Monday, will last until March 2. The mission trip will then take place over Spring Break, March 13-21.
The Timmy Foundation has placed donation boxes in several campus facilities including LaFollette, Studebaker East and West, Noyer, Woodworth, Dehority, Lucina, Cooper and the Women's Studies office. Among the items needed for the mission trip are Tylenol, toothbrushes, lotion, soap and shampoo, Timmy Foundation president Erin Buck said.
According to the foundation's mission statement, its purpose is "to provide experience and raise awareness towards improving availability of health care for children around the world through mission trips, supplying medicine, and supporting health facilities." The foundation is open to all Ball State students, faculty and staff.
Buck said the national chapter of the Timmy Foundation, founded by Dr. Charles Dietzen, has been hosting mission trips since 1997 to places all over the world, including Haiti, India, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. The Ball State chapter of the Timmy Foundation was founded in fall 2003.
Buck said she has been a part of Ball State's Timmy Foundation since its founding and is looking forward to the chapter's first mission trip.
Helping people in other parts of the world is a worthwhile way to spend Spring Break, she said.
"The children of Ecuador need our help," Buck said. "The main goal of the medical mission trip is not to duplicate the efforts of other individuals and organizations, but rather to support these programs by matching our resources with their needs."
Buck said after Ball State's medical supply drive ends, the Timmy Foundation will collect, pack and ship the donated items to Ecuador. Foundation members will then leave for Ecuador on March 13.
Throughout the mission trip, students and faculty will interact with the people of Ecuador, primarily examining patients and providing them with necessary medical items, Buck said.
Sophomore Matt LaFlash, a member of Ball State's Timmy Foundation, said he is looking forward to all mission trip activities this year.
A pre-med biology major, Flash has been involved with the Timmy Foundation for several months and said he is glad he will be able to make a positive mark on the world.
"The mission trip is a good opportunity for students to see what the world's really like," LaFlash said. "We can make a difference in the world outside of Muncie."
Buck said as the Timmy Foundation's mission trip strives to enhance the lives of the people of Ecuador, it will further enhance Ecuador's perspective of America.
The trip will help people throughout the world to realize that United States is willing to lend a helping hand those who need it, Buck said.
"We hope to let the people, mainly the children, know that someone in America truly does care about them," Buck said. "We will perhaps be the spark that inspires the children to take hold of their potential."
While the medical mission trip is open only to members of the Timmy Foundation, Buck said everyone in the Ball State and Muncie communities should still take the time to contribute to the mission trip by donating to the medical supply drive this month.
Buck said she is proud of the Timmy Foundation and hopes Ball State students who are not members will also take the time to learn more about the foundation and to get involved with it in future semesters. To find out more about the Timmy Foundation, Buck said students can attend the group's next meeting, which will be held Feb. 10 in Student Center Room 305 at 7 p.m.
Joining the foundation is worthwhile because it enriches students who remain involved, she said.
"It not only allows us to help (people in the world) who are less fortunate, but it provides us with opportunities for personal growth," Buck said.
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