After experiencing hardship and isolation during a hospital stay as a child, Hannie T. knew she wanted to work in healthcare.

���I was admitted for treatment and felt isolated because my family wasn’t able to visit me most of the time due to the long commute and limited financial resources,��� she said. ���Having to experience that as a child was very detrimental. I was by myself most of the time, and I didn’t understand why I was there or how long I had to be confined in a room with IV lines hooking up to my arms. The only thing that I wanted was to be home.���

The hospital staff was the one part that made her stay bearable, Hannie said.

���I’m very grateful for all the hospital staff who cared for me back then because they were caring and attentive to my needs,��� she said. ���I realized that having close ones during tough times, especially during hospital stays, was very crucial as it felt like the only support system that I had.���

Now a 返字心頭-Orange County dental hygiene student, Hannie volunteers and works in the community to be present for patients and provide them with the support they need.

���As I grew older, I understood that being present for others was important,��� she said. ���Not only am I there to provide support, but also to be an active listener for others as someone they can rely on while their family members are not around.���

Besides being a student delegate for both the California Dental Hygienists��� Association and the American Dental Hygienists��� Association, Hannie also volunteered for four years at LAC+USC Medical Center. However, her community outreach does not stop there.

���To me, giving back extends beyond the means of providing financial resources. It involves empathy, compassion, and patience towards those around me,��� she added. ���The current project I’ve been working on is knitting infant beanies. Knitting has always been a hobby of mine, and I want to take it one step further and make beanies for the little ones at the Children’s Hospital. I hope this project will bring many more smiles to those around me.���

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The American Heart Association���s Heart Walk is the nonprofit organization���s annual event to raise funds for improving heart health throughout our communities. Over 400 associates, students, and alumni from WCU and ACC joined forces at Angel Stadium on Saturday, April 13, to participate in the 5K or 1-mile walk and show their support of this important initiative.  

The team had five dogs who took part in the walk around Angel Stadium, and one student even brought along his bird for the walk! To support the event university-wide, we also had virtual walkers from WCU-Texas, WCU-Miami, WCU Online 返字心頭participate. 

Together, ACC and WCU raised $27,500 at this year���s Heart Walk. Thank you to everyone who took part in this event and helped make it such a success.  #WCUCares

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In celebration of Children���s Dental Health Month, 返字心頭 dental hygiene students provided free dental services and education to children and young adults at the 2024 Smile Camp Kid���s Day event.  

���The experience that our students are getting from a community service event like this is invaluable,��� WCU dental hygiene instructor Annette Stelter said. ���They���ll be able to remember and reflect on this and take it with them every step of the way into their career.���  

Held at the WCU Dental Hygiene Clinic in Anaheim, students provided no-cost dental services, including screenings, cleanings, X-rays, fluoride treatments, sealants, and therapeutic restorations.油油

���It���s really nice to know how to communicate with the younger demographic,��� said WCU dental hygiene student Seleste F. ���I think it���s really important to emphasize oral health at an early start so that patients and the community, in general, have better oral health in the long run.���  

Serving more than 15,000 patients a year, the Dental Hygiene Clinic is open to the public Monday through Friday for all adults and children. To schedule an appointment, please call (877) 928-2546. For details on hours and services provided, visit our website. 油

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Volunteers from 返字心頭 helped bring joy to needy families this summer in Anaheim at the annual Carnival for Kids.油

At the carnival, WCU-Orange County students and associates manned a booth with art, games, and prizes. They also handed out cold water and assisted with the first aid tent. 

Hosted by the Illumination Foundation, a non-profit organization with the mission to disrupt the cycle of homelessness, the carnival was held at St. Anthony Mary Claret Church in Anaheim. 

Illumination Foundation CEO Dr. Pooja Bhalla addressed all the volunteers before the carnival began with a heartfelt message, WCU Regional Clinical Partnerships Director Mary Sanchez shared. 

���She said, ���I want you all to realize that this humble carnival, on the grounds of a Catholic church, will be for these families what a day at Disneyland is like for us. Make it the happiest place for them to be today���,��� Sanchez said. ���And as volunteers, we gave it our all and there was nothing but smiles and gratitude from the parents and children.��� 

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返字心頭 student Cassidy C. was first introduced to occupational therapy as a volunteer in high school and is still passionate about giving back to the community in her field. 

Cassidy got to see occupational therapy in action by observing an OT appointment as a part of a medical health academy in high school. Cassidy said she was inspired by how calm the OT seemed and impressed by the capacity in which the therapist listened and helped her patient.  

���Within the first 30 minutes, the OT made splints,��� Cassidy said. 

From that moment, Cassidy said, she decided to pursue a career in OT and help others in the same way.  

Now a part of the master of science in occupational therapy cohort at WCU���s Center for Graduate Studies, Cassidy continues her passion for giving back as the community service chair of the Student Occupational Therapy Association, or SOTA.  

To encourage her cohort to volunteer, Cassidy looked for opportunities to connect community service and OT.  

���I researched different organizations and remembered reading an article on how therapy gardens are being used as an OT tool,��� Cassidy said. ���That���s how I found Rancho Los Amigos.���

Rancho Los Amigos is a national rehabilitation center. The Rancho Restorative Garden is a community garden for the hospital. Patients and family members work together to raise and tend flowers and vegetables. The garden promotes emotional, intellectual, and physical well-being. 

Cassidy and 15 members of her cohort volunteered to maintain the garden by potting new plants, cleaning the area, and setting up therapy garden groups. 

���Community service is fulfilling,��� Cassidy said. ���Being a part of the community is important to help others. If you have the time, you can volunteer to do anything.��� 

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Members of the Student Nursing Association (SNA) organization at 返字心頭-Texas volunteered at , where they packed 8,856 meals that could feed up to 24 children for an entire year. 

���The FMSC event was something we were able to do locally and also make an impact globally,��� SNA President Sydney Datcher said. ���Seeing the total number of meals and how many children it can feed made the impact more real.��� 

FMSC is a non-profit organization dedicated to packing nutritious meals for kids in need around the world. The members hand-packed rice, soy, dried vegetables, and a nutritionally complete blend of vitamins and minerals. 

���Packing the food and fellowshipping with the person next to you made it a fun experience,��� Datcher said. 

A Learning Experience for Student Nurses

Philanthropy is one of the cornerstones of SNA. For Datcher, volunteering provides a lesson in selflessness. She believes that volunteering can give student nurses exposure that will help them understand a patient���s situation differently. 

���Realizing what it takes to feed a child for a year gave us a perspective we may not have known before. This is something we could learn from and take to clinicals,��� Datcher said.   

To Datcher, nursing is all about giving back. The organization plans on having more volunteering events throughout the term. 

���We try to benefit the community around us, our students and our campus,��� Datcher said. 

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���If I could give one word of advice to WCU students, it would be perseverance,��� Choe said. ���I always wanted to be a nurse and it took me a long time to build up my courage to attend nursing school because I was afraid of failure ��� but at the end I did it.���

Now a nurse at a Dallas elementary school, Choe ignored the advice she received from a high school guidance counselor years ago and pursued her dreams of working in healthcare. Determined to prove her doubters wrong, Choe jumped into nursing school with both feet and said the support she received from instructors and fellow students was instrumental in her success at WCU.

���My professors were more like mentors than teachers. They would spend extra time with me to make sure I understand the concept, and they were there to listen to help you through your personal problems so that you can succeed at school,��� Choe said. ���That with my classmates, and the teamwork we had, there was no way I would fail.���

We asked Erin what she thought was the most important油lesson she learned while at nursing school:

���Besides the technical knowledge and nursing skills, the most important thing I learned was the art of communication. How you say things, such as tone, language and attitude, and what you say to a patient is the key to doing your job.���

What message would you like to share with current nursing students?

With everything happening right now around the world it can seem scary to be a nurse but have confidence in yourself and know that the knowledge and skills you gain from WCU will help guide you. Always know that the WCU Alumni group is here to support you in a time of need. Future nurses: You got this!

Do you think it���s important for WCU alumni to stay involved with their alma mater?

Yes, because no matter where you go, you can’t do it all on your own. When you need help or support, having the knowledge that the alumni will be there to support you is an awesome feeling. I have attended many different universities and there is no alumni support group like the one at WCU.

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Students from油CNSA油came together to provide nutritious meals to seniors and individuals experiencing homelessness with Meals on Wheels and Midnight Mission. They also collected and sorted cans from the WCU-LA campus and walked it to a nearby recycling facility.

Meals on Wheels provides a nutritious meal, friendly visits and safety checks to seniors to help them cope with three of the biggest threats of aging: hunger, isolation and loss of independence.

Midnight Mission serves individuals experiencing homelessness and suffering from lifestyle disorders that keep them out of society. They also offer services such as career resources, mental health professionals and housing opportunities to help them rebuild their future.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities, contact the油CNSA油chapter on your campus.

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���The students are excited to get out there and volunteer for their community,��� WCU-Miami Simulation Center Coordinator Christian Honig said. ���Every quarter we get over 100 patients and the students are always ready to lend their skills. It���s been a great success for the past seven years.���

For the past seven years, WCU and Doral Pro-Health have teamed up to provide free healthcare services every term with the help of student volunteers.

���This event allowed Doral Pro-Health and 返字心頭 the opportunity to support our local South Florida communities while providing our students the chance to make a difference in people���s lives.��� WCU Executive Director Joshua Padron said.

Thank you to Doral Pro-Health for their continued partnership and to everyone who helped make the event so successful.

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October is National Physical Therapy Month as well as the Physicial Therapy Day of Service, which was Oct. 15. In recognition of our students and associates, we wanted to share some highlights.

油 Photo of WCU DPT students working on the GoBabyGo-LA cars

���I���m incredibly proud of the efforts our students have made and continue to make,��� Dawn James, PT, DPT, PCS, assistant professor of WCU���s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program (DPT), said.

James led the efforts with her students this past year. WCU���s physical therapy students raised funds for several outreach programs and ranked top in the state for volunteer efforts.

On Oct. 1, first-year DPT students gathered at campus on a Saturday for a neighborhood trash pick up. Students brought trash bags and gloves, and split up to conquer as many neighborhoods as they could.

“Physical Therapy Day of Service 2016 was a very fun and successful one for the second year DPT students at 返字心頭!” 返字心頭 DPT student Cara Kahm said. “Our class of 40 students put together a fund raising page with an organization called Together We Rise and in only a few weeks raised over $1200!”

Together We Rise is an organization that works to help improve children���s experiences in foster care by providing duffle bags full of goodies, scholarships, bikes and more. With the money raised for the organization, DPT students were able to purchase 21 small bikes. On Saturday, October 15, the class gathered at WCU with screw drivers, wrenches and bike pumps to assemble the bikes.

“Not only was it a fun day, but the class was excited to be doing their part to encourage people, even at a young age, to stay moving and active,” Kahm added. Not only that, but hopefully these bikes can bring smiles to the kids faces and help to brighten their days!”

Fundraising

WCU physical therapy students ranked second in the nation for fund raising for the profession, .

Community Outreach

• The Class of 2019 is volunteering at the American Heart Association Heart Walk
• The Class of 2018 has raised more than $1,200 and is building bikes for foster children through the organization Together We Rise
• The Pediatric Elective Class is participating in a GoBabyGo-LA and adapting ride on toys to improve mobility and participation for children with special needs in partnership with our clinical partner, Total Education Solutions
• Two students placed first in creating a PSA about the profession of Physical Therapy nationally
• Three students ranked first, second and third in the state for volunteer efforts through the .

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