Community Service and Outreach
DOM’S Habitat for Humanity Volunteers Help Partner Families Reach Their Dream
From April to August 2014, DOM volunteer crews of 6 to 10 people each — about 30 people total — participated in Habitat for Humanity workdays. Over five sessions, DOM crews spackled and painted, hung dry wall, did construction clean-up, and performed a variety of other tasks to help complete the future homes of the Anwary and Acheli partner families. The homes are located in Burnet Commons in Belmont, a mixed income development that is a collaborative effort of Southern Development, the City of Charlottesville, and Habitat. “It will transform a long-time City dumping ground into a pedestrian-oriented, sustainably built 46-unit neighborhood in the heart of Charlottesville,” according to Habitat.
Habitat fund-raising: almost $15k raised in Spring 2014
DOM raised $14,800 towards its 2012 Habitat pledge of $60,000 during spring 2014, with fundraising efforts that included a drawing for an i-Pad Air. About $8,000 remains for DOM to fulfill its pledge.
“Inside UVA Medicine” Conference Brings Charlottesville Middle-Schoolers to Grounds
On April 15 and 22, 2014, the Department of Medicine hosted groups of 7th graders and 8th graders from Charlottesville’s Buford Middle School – over 400 students total – for an event called “Inside UVA Medicine.” “The doors were wide open,” said Brian Gittens, human resources director for the Department of Medicine. “We enjoyed welcoming them into the world of academic medicine.”
DOM Director of Human Resources Brian Gittens with students from Buford Middle School
Each conference ran from 8:45 am to 1:30 pm, and included tours, panel discussions and visits to medical school facilities. The intent was to give students an “up-close-and-personal look at careers in academic medicine,” said Gittens, who helped organize the event with colleagues from DOM’s Staff Employee Advisory Committee and leaders from Charlottesville City Schools. Students heard from physicians, teachers, and researchers, and had a chance to talk to UVA medical students about why they chose medicine as a career and the resources available to support that goal, including the training and preparation it requires. Students also toured the Emergency and Trauma departments to gain an appreciation of the patient experience.
Rosa Atkins, superintendent of Charlottesville City Schools, commented, “We are so appreciative of our partners at UVA, who regularly provide special programs for our schools. These conferences will provide a window into the field of medicine and give our students an important glimpse of potential careers in the health sciences.”