Hello Duluthians! My name is Astrid Mazariegos. I am a second year pharmacy student at UMD.

This year I am coordinating a trip to Puebla, Mexico. Usually, only students from the College of Pharmacy Twin Cities campus participate. However, this year I wanted to promote this great opportunity in Duluth. So far I have 15 classmates who have signed up.

Now, what is this trip about?

Each spring, a group of students at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy organizes a service trip to rural Mexico to perform health screenings in the state of Puebla. The towns that pharmacy students visit often do not have doctors and the population’s access to health services is very limited. The locals eagerly await the pharmacy students’ return every May; many come back to see them from year to year!

I had the opportunity to participate last year with a group of 19 students. We screened over 550 people for diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, in addition to providing some medication management services. This is a very exciting opportunity for pharmacy students as it provides a valuable service to those in need.

The selected group of pharmacy students is responsible for raising all the money needed to cover their trip expenses. In addition to plane tickets, hotel accommodations, and transportation within Mexico, we must also raise funds to buy costly medical testing supplies (such as: glucose test strips, glucometers, cholesterol screening supplies, and lancets). While we are actively pursuing grants and holding fundraisers, the efforts of our small group alone cannot raise enough money to cover all the expenses of the trip.

We are in need of some advice and support. So far, we have collected a couple of items and certificates to hold a raffle or silent auction. We are working on setting up a book fair at Barnes and Noble in March.

This is what prompts me to ask you if you know of any business or individual that would consider making a donation (items or certificates) toward our trip? The Mexico trip is organized through a nonprofit student organization called MPSA (the Minnesota Pharmacy Student Alliance). Any leads would help us greatly!

If you would like to also share any fundraising ideas with us, please do so!

Thank you so much for your help!

Astrid