Donor Spotlight: The Miller Team

Richard & Jane Miller, Teresa & Fred Dalsager, Aaron Marcellino and Andrew Curtis

Richard helped distribute emergency supplies in Ichupampa after the August 2016 earthquake.

Richard (“Don Ricardo”) and Jane Miller have been advocates, volunteers and donors to Quechua Benefit since 2008, when fate intervened and they won two alpacas donated by Mike Safley as a raffle prize at a local garden show.

They were soon talking about Richard’s years volunteering in Guatemala, and Mike asked if he still spoke Spanish. The answer was yes, and within a few short months, Richard joined Quechua Benefit as a translator on a medical mission in the Peruvian highlands.

Richard has returned with us every year since (sometimes more than once) to share his translation skills, engaging stories on long bus rides, and loving heart to all he encounters.

Richard and Aaron at Quechua Benefit’s 2017 fundraiser in Portland, Oregon.

Richard and Jane have sponsored the school house and a cottage at Casa Chapi, as well as the Ichupampa kitchen.

One of Richard’s greatest contributions has been connecting us with his daughter, Teresa Dalsager, her husband Fred, and his grandson, Aaron Marcellino.

Teresa helps us enormously on our fundraising events in Portland. Aaron and his longtime friend Andrew Curtis make up the incredible team at Hitchhiker Pictures, the production company behind Quechua Benefit’s videos.

 


Videos are among our most valuable fundraising tools

Aaron and Andrew (or as we call them, the “Butter Boys”) have volunteered their time filming in Peru on four occasions. Thanks to their hard work, A Chance to Be a Child won the Walt Ratterman Humanitarian Award at the 2016 Columbia Gorge International Film Festival.

We credit the Hitchhiker Pictures videos for helping Quechua Benefit to expand our support base and double our fundraising over the last three years.

We cannot express our gratitude enough for these generous, talented, and dedicated friends of Quechua Benefit.