April 20, 2009

VCU School of Medicine students celebrate in first Day of Community Service

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By Erin Lucero
Office of Development, School of Medicine

DOCS volunteers met on the MCV Campus for bagels and coffee before heading to their project sites. Image courtesy of Bethany Morehouse.
DOCS volunteers met on the MCV Campus for bagels and coffee before heading to their project sites. Image courtesy of Bethany Morehouse.

“One day in the not-so-distant future we will be leaders in our community. Why not start now?”

That was the question that spurred the Class of 2012 to hold its first Day of Community Service – also known as “DOCS 2012.” The group of first-year medical students from the VCU School of Medicine recently organized and participated in this service project to benefit the Richmond community. 

DOCS participants joined other volunteers from the Richmond area in digging an irrigation ditch for the Fan Community Garden. Image courtesy of Bethany Morehouse
DOCS participants joined other volunteers from the Richmond area in digging an irrigation ditch for the Fan Community Garden. Image courtesy of Bethany Morehouse

“Community service is a way of life and not something that can be accomplished in a single day,” said first-year student Bethany Morehouse, who along with Kate Wilkinson served as Co-Chair for DOCS 2012.

“But for a group of medical students to come together on a single day and make a difference in the City of Richmond, that truly makes a statement about who we are and what we stand for. It gives me a sense of hope and pride in the future of medicine.” 

About four dozen volunteers, which included the students’ family and friends, dedicated their time to five project sites around the Richmond area to benefit Elderhomes, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Tricycle Gardens, Read Aloud Virginia and the VA Book Barn. 

First-year medical student Lisa Sienkiewicz and fellow volunteer Mike O'Brien cleared trash and trails at Bryan Park. Image courtesy of Bethany Morehouse.
First-year medical student Lisa Sienkiewicz and fellow volunteer Mike O'Brien cleared trash and trails at Bryan Park. Image courtesy of Bethany Morehouse.


DOCS volunteers bagged a mountain of styrofoam cups. Image courtesy of Bethany Morehouse.
DOCS volunteers bagged a mountain of styrofoam cups. Image courtesy of Bethany Morehouse.

Through ElderHomes, volunteers provided basic home repair for elderly residents in the north Church Hill area. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation benefited from trash clean-up and trail clearing at Bryan Park. Volunteers at Tricycle Gardens laid a foundation for a community garden in the Fan district; while through Read Aloud Virginia, volunteers read aloud and did crafts with school-age children at the East End Library. Others organized more than 4,000 donated books so the VA Book Barn would be prepared to deliver books to non-profit reading centers.

Those who could not participate on DOCS Day were able to support their community through a food drive that was held the previous week. Those volunteers collected more than 130 pounds of food and delivered it to the Central Virginia Foodbank.