Donor Spotlight: Meet Mia, a young change maker
Published on August 9, 2023 by Glasswing
How does transformation change happen? For Mia Lopez-Oña, it started with an idea that blossomed into fundraising, that mobilized volunteers who painted and repaired schools in El Salvador and Guatemala. Then children returned to a beautiful school, teachers had inspiring spaces to help nurture future generations and families had places of pride within their community.
Mia was a freshman in high school when she started to think about a community service project that she could join. After a conversation with Glasswing co-founder and president Celina de Sola, Mia realized that her biggest impact could be to raise funds. As a first generation American with parents from Latin American countries, Mia has been surrounded with opportunity and the knowledge of how fortunate her family has been and a drive to help others.
Mia decided that she would fundraise to make improvements to an under-resourced school in El Salvador. She set up a GoFundMe with a goal of reaching $20,000 in donations and started reaching out to friends and family. 82 donations later, Mia surpassed her goal and raised $26,606.
Mia and a group of volunteers went to El Salvador where they took part in the rehabilitation of the school. They had the opportunity to read and play with some of the 200 students from preschool through 9th grade whose lives they were impacting. As Mia saw the transformation of the school, she realized that she wanted to do more.
Upon returning to New York City as a sophomore in high school, Mia set a new goal of raising $30,000 for a school in Guatemala. With 99 donations surpassing her initial goal, Mia and a group of volunteers went to the school in Guatemala over Memorial Day weekend where they painted, made repairs and helped to create a school that will be a source of inspiration in the community for years to come.
Mia is just getting started. With her junior and senior year ahead of her and the knowledge that she can effect true and meaningful change, she has plans to do even more. We are in awe of her commitment to others and grateful for the funds she has raised. Seeing Mia transform as she has surpassed her goals is an inspiration to us all.
