My name is AnnaMarie Matteo, I am a parishioner at Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Bluffton, SC, and I am graduating from Bluffton High School this year. I have begun my Stars and Stripes project for American Heritage Girls, which is a Christian scouting group that I have been a part of since I was 10 years old. The Stars & Stripes award is the highest award that an American Heritage Girl can achieve and it is of utmost prestige. My goal is to create a representation of the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto at the St. Andrew Chapel. The passion for this project idea began when my family and I stayed in Florida this summer. We were in the Florida Keys and my mom found a Catholic church for us to visit because it had an Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto. The Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Key West is the name of the church, and seeing the grotto sparked the start of the project idea in my mind. It seemed daunting so I was a little unsure of how the process would play out. Shortly after this, my mom messaged one of her friends because she would be able to assist us in being able to visit another grotto for inspiration. This grotto is located at Saint Vincent's Academy in Savannah, Georgia. My moms friend ended up messaging my mom back and telling us who to contact in order to be able to go and visit the grotto. She also informed us that she was leaving soon to go and be a volunteer in Lourdes, France for the summer. This was the first “God wink” in the process of discovering my project. When we went to visit the next grotto, the women who assisted us with entering the school informed us that there was yet another grotto located on Tybee Island, not far from Savannah, that we had no clue about. This was the second “God wink,” and at this point I could feel like God was guiding me in the right direction. We went and visited the third grotto the same day because it wasn’t too far away. The structure itself was almost the perfect inspiration for the area that I have been allowed to work with. At this point, I was pretty sure that this was the project for me. On Sunday, August 24 we were in the hospital with my grandpa a couple days before he passed away. A 60 Minutes episode came on the TV and one of the segments was on the miracles that have occurred at and because of Lourdes, France and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. This was the final sign that I felt like God was giving me to pursue this project. My passion for this project has grown as God has guided me and brought things to light that I never would have seen or known about. I am now in the fundraising stage, and I am reaching out to ask if you would be willing to make a donation toward the completion of my project. My grotto will be located at St. Andrew's Chapel in Bluffton, SC and it will be a place where people can come to pray and find peace. My project will be located at the front of the chapel just before you enter. I have raised 70% of my necessary funds and I'm hoping this campaign will allow me to reach goal!