Each year, Rush University students honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy through service.
“Really thinking about the community, how you can give back and how you can serve the community,” Clifvonne Webb, Rush University student, says. “A lot of it is really just taking your everyday normal talents but using that to change someone’s life.”
During MLK Day of Service, students, faculty and staff participate in a variety of volunteer events both in the community and on the medical center campus.
Rush University MLK Day of Service: Students Giving Back
In the morning, students and faculty members team up to make eggs, sandwiches and nutritious snacks for people in shelters and throughout the community. Participants also volunteer to do wellness checks and vaccination clinics in the community.
Rush University student Wiktor Witkowski says he and his colleagues work to do everything they can do to give back to the community that gives so much to them.
Rush volunteers also connect with children in preschool, high school students and pre-medical students to introduce them to careers in healthcare through pathway programs and informational sessions.
“Having the opportunity to interact with people of all various backgrounds, various needs and having the chance to talk to them and get to know them and hear their stories, that’s what really inspires me to keep doing what I do. It inspires me to keep pursuing opportunities to work with our communities,” Witkowski says.
Hear from students in the video above as they reflect on why volunteering matters, how it shapes their future careers in health care and the many service opportunities available through Rush.
You can find photos from this year’s Day of Service in this Flickr album.
