‘An outpouring of support:’ Students support hurricane relief efforts — and each other — through community outreach
Medical students rallied around fundraising and donation opportunities to benefit regions affected by Hurricane Helene.
(From left) M4 Jewel Washington, M2s Noelle Johnson and Benjamin Vanderkwaak, and M1 Thomas Walker organized a donation drive and fundraisers to benefit hurricane relief efforts (Photo by Arda Athman, School of Medicine)
Benjamin Vanderkwaak lived in North Carolina for his entire life. A native of Asheville, he went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an undergrad and moved out of the state for the first time last summer to attend medical school six hours away from his hometown. Now an M2 at VCU School of Medicine, Vanderkwaak said watching Hurricane Helene strike Western North Carolina in September made him feel isolated and helpless.
"I've never lived far from home before and it was really hard to be that far away from my family,” Vanderkwaak said. “It was really hard to be a medical student during that time and watch my home go through this on the news.”
In late September, Hurricane Helene, a category 4 storm, devastated the southeastern US. It hit Western North Carolina, including Asheville particularly hard, causing an estimated $53 billion in damages to the city and surrounding counties. Vanderkwaak’s former high school was underwater after the storm, and many of the trees in his once heavily wooded neighborhood had fallen, including on a section of Vanderkwaak’s childhood home. Damage to roads, cellular towers and unstable Wi-Fi isolated the area and hindered communication, leaving Vanderkwaak in the dark on how his and his wife’s families were doing for multiple days.
Vanderkwaak knew he had to do something to help his hometown. Local authorities advised against traveling to the area in the aftermath of the storm, as an influx of people could hinder recovery efforts. Considering what he could do from Richmond, Vanderkwaak reached out to his classmates via GroupMe with an idea, one that he said they quickly rallied around.
“There was just an outpouring of support and desire to help,” Vanderkwaak said. “It’s hard for one broke medical student to make a difference, but when you have students that support each other, it can go a long way.”
Competition for a cause
After considering what he could do to help the area, Vanderkwaak pitched a donation drive to Medical Student Government leadership with a twist –– a competition between class societies to see who could donate the most.
M2 Benjamin Vanderkwaak\'s parents drove an SUV full of hurricane relief supplies to a distribution center in their hometown of Asheville, NC (Photo courtesy of Benjamin Vanderkwaak)M.D. students at the School of Medicine are grouped into four “societies” –– Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian Plateau, Piedmont and Tidewater –– in an effort to foster community. Societies earn points through community service, in-class games and other team-building activities throughout the academic year. In May, those points are tallied and the society with the highest amount wins the coveted “Society Cup,” along with bragging rights.
Collaborating with Noelle Johnson, MSG vice president of societies, Vanderkwaak set up large cardboard boxes in McGlothlin Medical Education Center, all of which quickly filled up with essential goods like first aid kits and household items. Vanderkwaak’s parents, who came to visit him for the first time following the storm, packed their SUV full of the supplies to take back to their neighbors.
In addition to the truckload of supplies, the donation drive competition raised over $1,000, an amount that Johnson and Vanderkwaak both said they were pleasantly surprised by.
“I think it's important for medical students to get involved in the community because there are so many external factors that impact someone’s ability to attain medical care,” Walker said. “Being in the community makes us cognizant of that and builds trust among our patients.”
Thomas Walkerfirst year medical student
“We want to be a part of our community and give back to it, especially when one of our classmates and friends has family that has gone through this devastating natural disaster,” Johnson said. “Just being able to help out a friend is really impactful and important.”
Raising spirits
M1 Thomas Walker said he has always been interested in disaster relief and community service, inspiring him to think of ways to help the areas affected by Hurricane Helene. After seeing Vanderkwaak’s message about the donation drive, Walker brainstormed another idea to raise funds for the efforts.
As a member of the MSG Wellness and Community Outreach committees, Walker pitched the idea to his fellow members, who then got to work.
“I think it's important for medical students to get involved in the community because there are so many external factors that impact someone’s ability to attain medical care,” Walker said. “Being in the community makes us cognizant of that and builds trust among our patients.”
Walker and Jewel Washington, MSG vice president of community outreach, coordinated with other committee members to organize a fundraiser at Buskey Cider, a local cidery that often hosts the medical students for trivia nights and other team-building events.
Washington, an M4, said she noticed that the outreach had an impact on the clinical medical students, a group she said can be hard to reach due to the demands of clinical rotations.
“Our schedule can be pretty tough and jam packed, which leaves a lot of the community outreach to fall on the preclinical students,” Washington said. “But I had a lot of M4s reach out to me in support and donating to the cause. There was definitely more interest there than usual.”
Washington and Walker said around 40 medical students came out for the event, raising $300 for relief efforts in North Carolina. In addition to the turnout, Walker said he received numerous messages of support from students who couldn’t attend the event.
“I think this cause really resonates with people,” Walker said. “We were all able to sit down, chat and just take a break from school while benefiting a good cause.”
Vanderkwaak, who was able to visit his hometown for the first time since Hurricane Helene over Thanksgiving break, said he is grateful for support and efforts from his friends and fellow students.
“It’s been really hard to say the least, but there’s hope in the way everyone has come together,” Vanderkwaak said. “I think it shows a lot about who we are as a student body and has left a big impact on me.”
Send us your stories!
The School of Medicine communications team is always looking to highlight student success, faculty achievement, cutting-edge research and innovative initiatives around the MCV Campus. If you have an idea for a story, please submit your pitch to laura.ingles@vcuhealth.org.
Benjamin Vanderkwaak lived in North Carolina for his entire life. A native of Asheville, he went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an undergrad and moved out of the state for the first time last summer to attend medical school six hours away from his hometown. Now an M2 at VCU School of Medicine, Vanderkwaak said watching Hurricane Helene strike Western North Carolina in September made him feel isolated and helpless.
"I've never lived far from home before and it was really hard to be that far away from my family,” Vanderkwaak said. “It was really hard to be a medical student during that time and watch my home go through this on the news.”
In late September, Hurricane Helene, a category 4 storm, devastated the southeastern US. It hit Western North Carolina, including Asheville particularly hard, causing an estimated $53 billion in damages to the city and surrounding counties. Vanderkwaak’s former high school was underwater after the storm, and many of the trees in his once heavily wooded neighborhood had fallen, including on a section of Vanderkwaak’s childhood home. Damage to roads, cellular towers and unstable Wi-Fi isolated the area and hindered communication, leaving Vanderkwaak in the dark on how his and his wife’s families were doing for multiple days.
Vanderkwaak knew he had to do something to help his hometown. Local authorities advised against traveling to the area in the aftermath of the storm, as an influx of people could hinder recovery efforts. Considering what he could do from Richmond, Vanderkwaak reached out to his classmates via GroupMe with an idea, one that he said they quickly rallied around.
“There was just an outpouring of support and desire to help,” Vanderkwaak said. “It’s hard for one broke medical student to make a difference, but when you have students that support each other, it can go a long way.”
Competition for a cause
M2 Benjamin Vanderkwaak\'s parents drove an SUV full of hurricane relief supplies to a distribution center in their hometown of Asheville, NC (Photo courtesy of Benjamin Vanderkwaak)After considering what he could do to help the area, Vanderkwaak pitched a donation drive to Medical Student Government leadership with a twist –– a competition between class societies to see who could donate the most.
M.D. students at the School of Medicine are grouped into four “societies” –– Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian Plateau, Piedmont and Tidewater –– in an effort to foster community. Societies earn points through community service, in-class games and other team-building activities throughout the academic year. In May, those points are tallied and the society with the highest amount wins the coveted “Society Cup,” along with bragging rights.
Collaborating with Noelle Johnson, MSG vice president of societies, Vanderkwaak set up large cardboard boxes in McGlothlin Medical Education Center, all of which quickly filled up with essential goods like first aid kits and household items. Vanderkwaak’s parents, who came to visit him for the first time following the storm, packed their SUV full of the supplies to take back to their neighbors.
“I think it's important for medical students to get involved in the community because there are so many external factors that impact someone’s ability to attain medical care,” Walker said. “Being in the community makes us cognizant of that and builds trust among our patients.”
Thomas Walkerfirst year medical student
In addition to the truckload of supplies, the donation drive competition raised over $1,000, an amount that Johnson and Vanderkwaak both said they were pleasantly surprised by.
“We want to be a part of our community and give back to it, especially when one of our classmates and friends has family that has gone through this devastating natural disaster,” Johnson said. “Just being able to help out a friend is really impactful and important.”
Raising spirits
M1 Thomas Walker said he has always been interested in disaster relief and community service, inspiring him to think of ways to help the areas affected by Hurricane Helene. After seeing Vanderkwaak’s message about the donation drive, Walker brainstormed another idea to raise funds for the efforts.
As a member of the MSG Wellness and Community Outreach committees, Walker pitched the idea to his fellow members, who then got to work.
“I think it's important for medical students to get involved in the community because there are so many external factors that impact someone’s ability to attain medical care,” Walker said. “Being in the community makes us cognizant of that and builds trust among our patients.”
Walker and Jewel Washington, MSG vice president of community outreach, coordinated with other committee members to organize a fundraiser at Buskey Cider, a local cidery that often hosts the medical students for trivia nights and other team-building events.
Washington, an M4, said she noticed that the outreach had an impact on the clinical medical students, a group she said can be hard to reach due to the demands of clinical rotations.
“Our schedule can be pretty tough and jam packed, which leaves a lot of the community outreach to fall on the preclinical students,” Washington said. “But I had a lot of M4s reach out to me in support and donating to the cause. There was definitely more interest there than usual.”
Washington and Walker said around 40 medical students came out for the event, raising $300 for relief efforts in North Carolina. In addition to the turnout, Walker said he received numerous messages of support from students who couldn’t attend the event.
“I think this cause really resonates with people,” Walker said. “We were all able to sit down, chat and just take a break from school while benefiting a good cause.”
Vanderkwaak, who was able to visit his hometown for the first time since Hurricane Helene over Thanksgiving break, said he is grateful for support and efforts from his friends and fellow students.
“It’s been really hard to say the least, but there’s hope in the way everyone has come together,” Vanderkwaak said. “I think it shows a lot about who we are as a student body and has left a big impact on me.”
Send us your stories!
The School of Medicine communications team is always looking to highlight student success, faculty achievement, cutting-edge research and innovative initiatives around the MCV Campus. If you have an idea for a story, please submit your pitch to laura.ingles@vcuhealth.org.
How to help
Those wishing to contribute to ongoing relief and rebuilding efforts in Western North Carolina can do so by supporting local businesses online or donating to a reputable organization.
