VCU news

By Anne Dreyfuss
C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research

On a warm fall morning at a football field in Glen Allen, a child in a power wheelchair laughed as he raced toward the goal line while first-year Virginia Commonwealth University medical student Zach McRae chased closely behind. Nearby, a young girl with Down syndrome taught cheers to second-year medical student Sarah Berg as they waved plastic pompoms together on the sidelines.

Dressed in a blue sweatshirt with a whistle in hand, 13-year-old Matthew McMillen presided over the scene.

“I play hard and I work hard out here,” he said.

McMillen serves as an assistant coach for the Jets, a River City Buddy Ball football team. For three years, he has been playing sports through the youth athletics organization, which offers football, tennis, basketball, baseball and cheerleading for children with physical and intellectual disabilities. McMillen, who has high-functioning autism, cerebral palsy and juvenile arthritis, hopes to be a head coach one day.

“Some people get emotional when they score for the first time,” he said. “The parents get emotional [also] because [their children] haven’t gotten the chance to score in life before. This is their chance right now.”

The Buddy Ball game was one of six community service projects VCU School of Medicine students joined as volunteers  for the school’s annual Day of Community Service on Oct. 18. More than 150 students signed up to volunteer on projects that included clearing trails at the Ashland YMCA and planting trees at Bellmeade Elementary School, among other activities.

“We wanted to give back to Richmond and give thanks because in a lot of ways Richmond and the people who live here give a lot to us through our studies at the hospital,” said Katie Pumphrey, Medical Student Government vice president of community service. The second-year medical student organized the day in which students partnered with organizations such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) Advocacy Center.

“In medical school — especially in the first two years — you’re in the classroom a lot,” Pumphrey said. “Most students don’t come to medical school because they love studying. You get in because someone or something inspired you. I think this is a great chance for students to be reminded of why they chose medicine in the first place.”

Pumphrey hopes to extend the partnerships with the local nonprofits beyond the day of service. For instance, the Gray Haven Project, a local safe house for victims of human trafficking, has asked that the students return to perform blood pressure screenings later in the year and River City Buddy Ball has invited the students to volunteer at basketball games in the spring.

Students such as McRae, who plans to be a family medicine doctor, are looking forward to the opportunity to get back on the field.

“It’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day studying,” he said. “It’s good to mix it up and actually be with people because that’s why we all signed up to be doctors.”  

To view a video of scenes from this year's Day of Community Service, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRjAPoQtyVg.

 

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