STUDENTS GIVE BACK
Volunteer effort helps build, support communities
Baptist College of Health Sciences students lent a helping hand Wednesday at Ronald McDonald House of Memphis.
The volunteer effort was one of many weeklong projects put together by the Memphis Medical District Collaborative for its first Memphis Medical District Week. Students assembled MicroFridges, stocked pantries, organized a storage warehouse and sanitized children’s toys.
MMDC program associate Larissa Redmond Thompson said the idea for Memphis Medical District Week came af-
ter multiple meetings among communication and public relation departments from Medical District institutions.
“(We) got together and said, ‘Hey, we want to do something that engages our students and employees,’” Redmond Thompson said. “So, for a year we’ve been planning this week to get them out of their comfort zones — of going to classes, going to work every day — and really get to know the community around them.”
During the week, volunteers have assisted Mid-South Food Bank and MIFA’s Meals on Wheels, provided breakfast at Sunrise Memphis and picked up trash throughout the Medical District.
A special happy hour event will take place today at Mollie Fontaine, followed by a community carnival slated for Friday at the Treedom art installation.
Medical District eateries including Riko’s Kickin’ Chicken, Subway and Slice of Soul are providing discounts throughout the week for district employees and students who show their ID badges, in an effort to “keep the money repeating locally in the district.”
Ronald McDonald House executive director Jill Crocker said the help provided by the MMDC and the surrounding community is much needed.
“We have lots of volunteers, but we need more, so for the collaborative to understand that it’s not about just saying you need help but coming and doing it,” Crocker said. “I know sometimes people will say, ‘Well, what can we help with?’ and it doesn’t seem real glamorous, working in a warehouse, but we really need it because we don’t have a large staff.”
The main priority for Ronald McDonald House staff is to help keep St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patients and their families on location at ease during their times of physical and mental need. Because of this aspect, chores like the ones performed Wednesday sometimes get pushed aside despite their necessity.
“Our jobs are very kind of stop and start, so doing warehouse work, stocking the pantry, those kind of things, sometimes they have to wait until tomorrow,” Crocker said. “Our first thing is the human need, the human interaction — a mom that’s having a tough day or a family receiving bad news and just really need to talk about it.”
Redmond Thompson understands the families staying at Ronald McDonald House possess special needs.
“They’re still normal children, so they need games, they need toys, but they also need special accommodations like sanitized toys that won’t impact their immune system in a negative way,” Redmond Thompson said. “It’s a great thing, we won’t necessarily get to interact with some of the patients from St Jude, but this is our way of giving back to (St. Jude), offering support and repay them for all that they do for the Medical District.”