SEAN KOTZ Special to The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech English major Whitney Hayes has raised about half of the $4,290 needed to support her trip to Dharamsala, an impoverished region of northern India.

BLACKSBURG -- Graduating college seniors have a lot on their minds right now.

Besides exams and job searching, they have to prepare for the big day and pack up their apartments.

But Virginia Tech English major Whitney Hayes has an additional responsibility.

She is seeking to raise a little more than $2,000 in the next 12 days so she can volunteer her time and services in India in the Cross Cultural Solutions program.

"Unlike programs that receive federal or institutional funding," Hayes said, "Cross Cultural Solutions relies entirely on donations. Volunteers must raise funds to pay for travel and living expenses."

With the help of family and friends, the Giles County native has raised about half of the $4,290 needed to support her trip to Dharamsala, an impoverished region of northern India between Pakistan and Tibet.

These funds guarantee her travel expenses, three meals a day, a place to sleep and access to running water, but that is all.

It is hard work, Hayes said, but one of the advantages of the Cross Cultural Solutions program is that volunteers can choose where they go and how long they commit themselves.

She chose the region of Dharamsala after two classes, World Regions and Creative Processes, made her acutely aware of the problems facing people in this region.

Hayes hopes in her six weeks as a volunteer, she can positively influence the people there, helping to raise standards of living, furthering access to education and improving the rights of women.

Eager and yet realistic, Hayes does not expect to change the world in six weeks.

However, she sees great value in what she can accomplish for the people she works with and at the same time hopes to improve the image of Americans abroad.

Additionally, Hayes wants to use her training as a writer to give something back to her supporters and help educate Americans about conditions in underdeveloped regions. She will document her work with an online journal and photos to share with her supporters.

"Normally, when people give a donation to charity, they don't know much about how it is used," she said. "In this case, you are sending someone from your area to do work on your behalf in your name."

Despite the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Hayes says her parents are "more than supportive," though naturally, they are concerned and protective.

After the attacks, her mother, Brenda Hayes, was initially worried and wanted her to reconsider.

However, after doing research on the situation and the location through the U.S. State Department, she says she felt better about the trip.

"The area to which she will be traveling is remote," Brenda Hayes said. "Terrorists usually target more populated areas to have the greatest impact in the damage and fear they can effect.

"Of course, the 'mother instinct' is still strong in me."

In addition to emotional support and encouragement, her parents have contributed to her cause and helped her raise money because they believe in the work she wants to do.

Her father, Scott Hayes, has done missionary work in Nicaragua and understands his daughter's desire as a sense of calling to do something good in the world for other people.

Her mother describes Hayes as a "creative mind and soul" and takes pride in the fact that her daughter has such passion.

Hayes asks that people interested in supporting her do so through an online donation at crossculturalsolutions.org.

Once at the Web site, benefactors can go to "Find a Volunteer," and offer a tax deductible donation in her name.