Scholarship Recipients

John and Mimi.

In 2010, the McDonalds lost their sweet Mia, a heart transplant recipient, while on her Make-a-Wish trip to Disneyworld. They have continued to share her love through their #loveformia campaign where they show acts of service particularly to those needs of young patients and their families.

In 2020, John was diagnosed with metastatic adenoid cystic carcinoma. There is currently no cure for this rare form of cancer.

Most recently, Mimi’s own heart needed some “fixing” as her valve wore out and had it replaced with a porcine (pig) set. She had to stop working as she faced her long recovery with nothing but grace and laughter.

They’ve had their share of trials, but you’d almost never know. Their smiles and sense of humor make everyone feel at home. Aside from their amazing family, traveling and service bring them so much joy.

Soooo….

Thanks to such generous donors, we are beyond excited to scholarship them on our first ROAM Humanitarian trip to Peru! Peru is at the top of John’s bucketlist and we couldn’t be happier to bring them and their 11 year-old son Sam along to Peru with us.

Follow their journey while they continue to rock at life @mimimcdonald.

Wendy.

When I was 17 (43 now) I found comfort in numbing out with the help of drugs. My addiction lasted 17 years. Throughout those years I suffered in a lot of ways, including very toxic relationships. When I was 33 I went to a facility to get help. I battled many traumas and successfully fought for my life. I am now a single mom to two awesome kids and manage multiple homes for recovering addicts. This scholarship from ROAM Humanitarian was the perfect way to celebrate a hard fought ten years of sobriety.

I don’t even know how to describe what this experience to Peru with ROAM Humanitarian meant to me. A trip like this was only in my wildest dreams and ROAM Humanitarian made my dreams come true. From service, to conquering my fears, to extreme fun, they packed it all in and I will forever be grateful for this experience they made possible for me to be a part of!

Avery.

I’m Avery Jade. My story is crazy and miraculous. I had a traumatic brain injury on April 20, 2019 just one month before high school graduation. The day of prom I fell 20-25 feet while repelling and hit my head several times. I was hospitalized for 68 days and went through almost everything you could think of.

When I was in my coma, the Bowen’s made a promise to me. They said that if I would wake up and heal, I could go on any international trip I wanted. I had gone on a church history trip with them the previous summer and had become good friends with them.

I miraculously woke up from my coma on day 12 and had to relearn everything. The past 3 years have been full of therapies, doctors appointments, and healing. I am finally in college and am pursuing a degree in art and design with a photography emphasis. There are still struggles that I have related to my TBI including chronic pain, but I survived.

I’m here to live my best life! Finally being able to use the scholarship that was created in my name is a dream!