Students, faculty and staff of Georgia Campus Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) recognize that giving back to the community in which they live, learn, work and play is key to bettering society for all involved. As such, students at GA-PCOM contribute to the local and broader communities through thousands of service hours each year.
Student-led community service is spearheaded by more than 30 student clubs and organizations which organize activities according to their interests. Among many other service projects this spring, several students in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program volunteered at Discovery Village, a senior living facility near campus. Assisting the Snellville Police Department, students from the PCOM School of Pharmacy helped collect more than 400 pounds of unused prescription drugs on National Drug Take Back Day. In May, student members of the American Pharmacists Association fielded a team to participate in Gwinnetts Relay for Life. Then in February, the campus Cardiology Club planned a fundraiser for the American Heart Associations Go Red for Women campaign, and students in the DO Class of 2018 raised over $1,000 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
In October, GA-PCOM was involved in three projects for this years Gwinnett Great Days of Service event, where students, faculty and staff collected supplies for Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Center in Buford, food and personal items for the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry Food Pantry, and holiday cards for A Recovering American Soldier. Students also hosted multiple bake-offs to raise money for Rainbow Village, a transitional housing community in Duluth for homeless families with children. Throughout the year, members of the Osteopathic Medicine honors fraternity raised funds to grant a wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The Colleges Osteopathic Medicine students alone contributed more than 6,600 combined hours of volunteer service for the 2015-2016 school year. When you add to that the thousands of hours given by students from the PCOM School of Pharmacy and the Colleges Biomedical Sciences program, its estimated that GA-PCOM students give back more than 10,000 service hours each year. This practice instills in students the importance of making a difference in their future communities.
