Nearly 100 students at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) Memphis campus will join forces for Student Philanthropy Week from April 21-28. Together, students from the UTHSC Colleges of Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy will lead and participate in free initiatives to serve the health needs of our community every day.
The schedule of events includes:
- Used Cell Phone Drive — Monday through Friday, April 21-25, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phones will be collected in the Pharmacy building lobby (881 Madison Avenue), Dental building Lobby (875 Union Avenue), VolShop (930 Madison Plaza), Student Academic Support Services office in the General Education Building (8 S. Dunlap) and front desk of the Student-Alumni Center (800 Madison Avenue). The event is sponsored by the UTHSC College of Allied Health Sciences and proceeds from the sale of the used phones will support local shelters for battered women.
- Bone Marrow Drive – Monday, April 21, and Friday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers will educate and encourage people to become members of the Bone Marrow Registry and donate life-saving bone marrow. Students from the UTHSC Colleges of Nursing and Pharmacy are co-sponsoring the events, which will be held in the lobby of the Madison buildings (910/920/930 Madison Plaza).
- Oral Cancer Screening – Wednesday, April 23, from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Riverview Community Center, 1891 Kansas St., Memphis. Methodist Foundation is sponsoring this free event as part of its Wellness Wednesdays. UTHSC faculty will support students from Physician Assistant Studies, Dentistry, Dental Hygiene, and Nursing.
- Senior Caregivers Health Fair – Thursday, April 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 3030 Poplar Avenue, Conference Rooms A, B and C. Free services to be provided are dental screenings, body mass index measurement, blood pressure and blood sugar readings, ear examination, health counseling and medication counseling. The co-sponsors for this event are UTHSC and MIFA Senior Companions. UTHSC faculty will supervise students from UTHSC Colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences (Physician Assistant Studies).
- Health Careers Simulation Experience with MIFA COOL High School Students – Thursday, April 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the UTHSC Kaplan Clinical Skills Center, 920 Madison Avenue, 7th Floor. Under the supervision of UTHSC health care students, high school students will have the opportunity to experience simulated patient care interactions. Sponsors for the event are the UTHSC Interprofessional Education and Clinical Simulation Center (IPECS) and MIFA COOL
- Feeding the Homeless – Saturday, April 26, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Court and Morris Parks in Downtown Memphis. Students from the UTHSC College of Nursing will be distributing sack lunches to the homeless in downtown Memphis parks. The goal is to hand out 200 sack lunches with contents that are donated by UTHSC team members. The students are collecting bread, peanut butter, jelly, bottled water, chips, candy, carrots, apples, wet wipes, travel-size hand sanitizer, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, Ziploc bags, and brown lunch bags. Last year, UTHSC Nursing students distributed 100 lunches to Memphis’s homeless men and women.
To round out the full week of contributing to the community, UTHSC will sponsor Student Appreciation Day on Monday, April 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Health Sciences Park (weather permitting). [The rainy day location is the Student-Alumni Center at 800 Madison, across the street from the park.] Sponsored by UTHSC Student Life and the Student Government Association Executive Council, the day’s events will include free food, games and entertainment, giving the students a chance to unwind after a week of intensive community service.