Your Generosity at Work 7.1

Congratulations to the Casa Chapi class of 2022! Read about our Vicuña Salvation premiere in Picotani and Arequipa. Celebrate our ribbon cutting of the first phase of our Picotani Water Project, read our donor spotlight, how the Holiday Bazaar went, and results of End of Year Giving!

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Your support makes Casa Chapi possible. Find out how to become part of the family and pledge your support for Casa Chapi here.

Quechua Benefit celebrates GivingTuesday by helping our students and their families. Join us and millions around the world by participating in the global generosity movement on November 29, 2022

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and their world.

GivingTuesday will kick off the generosity season this year by inspiring people to give back on November 29, 2022, and throughout the year.

Those who are interested in joining Quechua Benefit’s GivingTuesday initiative can DONATE HERE. Learn more about the GivingTuesday movement here.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 this year. Help us get there!

Corporate Matching

Did you know your company may have a corporate matching program? Quechua Benefit may be on it, if not, recommend us! Contact your company’s HR department to learn more about company matching programs. We would like to take a moment to thank our current corporate matching partners: Intel, Nike, Guidewire, United Health Group, State Farm, BD, R.W. Baird, TQL, and Velosio.

About Quechua Benefit

Quechua Benefit’s mission is to empower the Quechua people in the highlands of Peru through educational programs, medical care, efficient farming practices, and social justice programs. Our three pillars are education, economic empowerment, and preventative medicine.

Share Your Story
Head over to social media (or email us) and share why you support Quechua Benefit. With your permission, we’d like to share these stories as a way to connect supporters and strengthen our community. Be sure to tag us on socials, @QuechuaBenefit and use the hashtags, #GivingTuesday and #WhyIGive!

Ways to Help

Did you know your company may have a corporate matching program? Quechua Benefit may be on it, if not, recommend us! Contact your company’s HR department to learn more about company matching programs. We would like to take a moment to thank our current corporate matching partners: Intel, Guidewire, Nike, State Farm, UnitedHealth Group, BD, R.W. Baird, TQL, and Velosio.

Read about the latest on our Pictotani Water Project, Xeina Ccallo’s graduation from high school, our volunteer spotlight, Family Night on the Farm Fundraiser + Auction, and our documentary premiere.

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Your support makes Casa Chapi possible. Find out how to become part of the family and pledge your support for Casa Chapi here.

Aaron Marcellino and Andrew Curtis are the amazing ownership team behind Hitchhiker Pictures, an award-winning full-service production company based in California with more than a decade of industry experience.

Since 2014 Aaron and Andrew have traveled to Peru a dozen times, making videos to tell Quechua Benefit’s stories. These videos have been instrumental in Quechua Benefit’s ability to raise millions of dollars in the years since they began volunteering.

A Chance to Be a Child won the Walt Ratterman Humanitarian Award at the 2016 Columbia Gorge International Film Festival andSearching for Siomera won the Legacy Award at the 2017 Angaelica Festival at Bear Lake, CA.

Other films Hitchhiker Pictures have created for Quechua Benefit include:

Casa Chapi Tour Video, 2013

The Alpaca’s Head: Don Julio Barreda’s Business Card, 2016

Macusani: The Birthplace of Quechua Benefit, 2016

The Life You Can Save, 2017

Quechua Benefit Listens: July Veterinary Listening Tour, 2017

Casa Chapi’s Story, 2018

Casa Chapi Reading Practice, 2018

Alliyma Video Series, 2019

In December, Aaron and Andrew were part of a 12-member international team that spent 15 days with Quechua Benefit filming people and Vicuna in Lima, Arequipa, and Cusco for the full-length documentary film entitled THE HEROES of the ANDES. Look for it on Netflix or National Geographic in 2022.

Their generosity and volunteer spirit are easy to understand. Aaron inherited it from his grandfather Richard Miller, who is one of Quechua Benefits most generous donors and prolific volunteers.

Aaron and Richard at the 2017 Quechua Benefit Dinner & Auction

Today Dante is a 7th grader at Casa Chapi in Arequipa.

Dante and Siomera’s mother takes them to the eye clinic.

Siomera’s face was unforgettable. Quechua Benefit volunteers Dick Miller and Jim Gallagher first saw her as they boarded a bus on their 2014 trip to Lari, Peru. Siomera stood barefoot in a plain dress by the adobe hut she shared with her parents and eleven siblings. Her tangled hair framed her angelic face. That picture was engraved in their minds.

Using just a snapshot, the Quechua Benefit team searched for Siomera for two years. Upon finding her, they tested and treated the family for parasites and anemia. Casa Chapi offered to enroll the children in school, but their mother Yola hesitated. After a visit from the local priest, Siomera’s parents allowed her older brother Dante to attend Casa Chapi.

Dante arrived at Casa Chapi quiet and shy. His crossed eyes made him avoid people’s gazes and hindered his learning. A surgery could correct his vision, but the thought of surgery worried his parents.

After some time to think about it his parents consented, and Dante had surgery at PAZ-Holandeza Clinic in Arequipa. The whole family is very happy with the results, especially Dante. He’s talkative and happy, and with a smile on his face he returned to Casa Chapi. He was anxious for everyone to see him.

Dante’s vision was improved along with his view of himself. He can now achieve his fullest potential. Dante and his parents say, “Thank you!” for your generous gifts to help them.

Siomera now attends Casa Chapi, too. She is in second grade, learning and growing thanks to your generosity. This little angel brought help and hope to her whole family.

And it all began with a few volunteers who were willing to go the extra mile to rescue a little girl in the highlands of Peru.
Your generous contributions to Quechua Benefit bring hope and healing to many families like Dante’s and Siomera’s.