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8.20.10 | Medical students lend a helping hand
More than 50 medical students and others from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Osteopathic Medicine spent a recent Saturday doing volunteer work at Bancroft's Judith B. Flicker Residences in Voorhees.
The first- and second-year students -- along with UMDNJ-SOM Alumni Association President Dr. Megan Riley and several other graduates -- landscaped flower beds and dug drainage ditches to help correct a chronic flooding problem on the property, which serves older adults with developmental disabilities or brain injuries.
The new trenches direct rain water, which would have run off the property, into lush gardens that need very little extra watering. With the dirt from the ditches, the group also created a "dry" garden that requires less water -- as the site has no sprinkler system.
"This group of volunteers worked so hard," says Deb Conner, Bancroft's manager of Volunteer Services. "One of the groups was digging up clay, rock, pieces of asphalt...it was not easy work. But they kept at it, jumping in to help where needed. It was a beautiful sight: teams of people working together toward a common goal, for the benefit of people they hadn't even met yet."
Flicker employee Linda Miller, coordinator of the landscaping project, was thrilled with the results. "The gardens are therapeutic as well as nurturing to the residents at Flicker," she says. "We are truly grateful for all the hard work by the UMDNJ group. I hope the students come back to walk the loop at Flicker and view what they have done with pride."
Miller seeks to host more volunteer groups this fall, to complete the gardens and other service projects.
Thank you, UMDNJ!