International travel is an extremely rewarding experience, especially when you are on a medical mission. Working side-by-side with local practitioners and helping people in a time of need becomes a bonding experience. Getting to see the local culture is the icing on the cake of a mission. Each trip is…
When a Trip Changes
If you’ve ever gone on a medical mission trip, you know they take a lot of planning. There are so many moving parts from healthcare volunteers, to the nonprofit organization, to travel coordination, and on the ground operations. And when you plan multiple trips in a year, the puzzle of…
Video: Day in the life of a medical mission
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go on a medical mission trip? It can be a little challenging to know what to expect if you haven’t gone on a mission. On our trip to Guatemala, in the fall of 2019, we followed around Randy Archibald, a…
Local Grant Story: Children’s Miracle Network
Guest Blogger: Rayna Arthur When I had my first child, Aaliyah, it was the greatest joy and love I’ve ever known. At almost 3 months old, I noticed something different about her. Naturally, I started researching and looking at medical journals for an answer. I brought my concerns to her…
My Medical Mission Story: Keith Linford
Guest Blogger: Keith Linford Bwindi Community Hospital in Buhoma, Uganda is literally at the end of the road leading to the impenetrable National Park. It has a tragic history of the expulsion of an indigenous population, the Batwa (pygmies), from their home in the jungle by gorillas who were protected…
Local Grant Story: The Inn Between
Guest Blogger: Deb Lillie It was 2015, when I first learned about The Inn Between on the 10:00 pm news channel. The story was about a nonprofit “16-bed pilot project” facility, to provide people who lack housing a safe haven during a medical crisis or when terminally ill. I turned…
My Medical Mission Story: Randy Archibald
Guest Blogger: Randy Archibald Many providers choose to practice medicine as a profession because they want to help people. My passion for working in the medical field began on a two-year mission to Chile I participated in as a young man through my church. During this mission I got pretty…
Why We’re Suspending Medical Mission Trips in 2020
2020 definitely didn’t start off how we planned here at the Making a Difference Foundation. Just like all of you, Coronavirus impacted our plans for the year, and we are adjusting to this new normal. By far, the largest part of our year would have been executing on the 16…
2019 Annual Report
If you’ve been anywhere on the internet the last month, you will have seen a plethora of memes about the “good ol’ days” of 2019. For the Making a Difference Foundation, 2019 was a pretty incredible year. We made giant strides forward in fulfilling our mission of igniting the passions…
Local Grant Story: Down Syndrome Association
Guest Blogger: Kayla Christy Working with the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Charlotte fuels my passion in more ways than one. To be surrounded by some of the most incredible individuals (who happen to have an extra chromosome) not only teaches me to be kind and considerate, but to be…