George Washington University Athletics
GW Softball's Alana Anderson Makes Mission Trip to Mexico
7/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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July 8, 2015
George Washington softball rising sophomore Alana Anderson recently spent a week in Mexico working with children with special needs alongside members of her hometown church.
The outfielder traveled to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, with a team of about 20 people to help Familia de Dios church run a Vacation Bible School program for over 200 local children. Anderson's group worked with 35 special needs individuals.
Prior to the start of the program, Anderson and her group visited 25 local homes to inform residents of the week-long event and encourage participation while reaching out to families with special needs children.
"Originally, we were expecting only 12 special needs kids to attend," said Anderson. "When we ended up having 35, it was absolutely incredible!"
A volunteer with Highlands Church in her hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, since the eighth grade, Anderson has participated in many missions, domestically in Los Angeles and Phoenix and internationally in Albania, Belize, Poland and several in Mexico. Highlands Church frequently creates missions of different sizes and organizes outreach programs for children with special needs. With her breadth of experience, Anderson helped train local villagers on her most recent trip to Familia de Dios.
Traveling with her mother and two siblings, Anderson was involved with the trip from its inception and played a strong role in fundraising for the journey. Frequent volunteer endeavors have created a close-knit group among the missioners, who had worked with special needs groups previously.
"I built such strong relationships with these kids," said Anderson. "Leaving was very emotional. This trip was one of the most amazing experiences I've had."
Anderson, who lives just a five-hour drive away from the village, plans to return later this summer to help local schools with their special needs programs.
