When Lydia Molloy joined a group of other young people from Michigan's Great Southwest on a mission trip to Haiti over the Christmas break last year, even she might never have expected for the experience to have changed her life as profoundly as it has. The 16-year old St. Joseph teen is in her junior year at Lakeshore High School where, as many teens are, she's kept plenty busy with a host of activities from multiple sports to the Student Council and beyond. Since returning from the House of Blessings orphanage in Haiti however, she has been laser focused on one major goal — raising $50,000 for that orphanage.
Young Lydia, who is the daughter of Phil and Melissa Molloy, was deeply moved by her international experience to the point of taking on several fundraising tasks in her bid to collect the 50-grand so that the orphanage can be expanded to help even more children in the villages she visited.
One major cog in that wheel of progress is coming on August 20th in St. Joseph when she hopes to have a record turn out for her Helping Haiti 5K Run/Walk in partnership with First Church of God and the Sunset Coast Striders running club. Even if you can't or don't run, she's hopeful you'll donate to the cause to get closer to the $50,000 goal.
Lydia and her fellow student missionaries ventured into the mountainous region, helped build houses in villages nearby, and came back with a considerable new appreciation for life in the United States. She told the Herald-Palladium's John Matuszak in a recent Q&A Profile that she "loved every minute" of her Haitian trip. She says she was there to change their lives, "but they changed mine!"
The group of 13 teens from our area spent 10-days of their Christmas break in Haiti helping at the orphanage, and when she returned state-side she proclaimed her plan to raise $50,000. By the beginning of August she had topped the $5,000 level thanks to fundraisers at the Dairy Queen and Silver Beach Pizza, but the 5K Run/Walk is critical to her because her church has agreed to match the dollars she raises through the race effort.
Lydia's mother, Melissa is Executive Administrative Assistant at First Church of God and her father is a quality manager with Whirlpool Corporation.
You can help her achieve the goal by participating in and/or donating to the Helping Haiti 5K. Click the link below and follow the link
