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Volunteers from OUWB participate in annual Day of Service

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025
An image of students volunteering at Forgotten Harvest
From left, Haley Ruiter, Alexis Klee, and Sophie Condron — all M2s — volunteered at Forgotten Harvest.

More than 50 medical students, faculty, and staff from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine volunteered last weekend throughout southeast Michigan for the school’s annual Day of Service.

Collectively, the group donated nearly 120 hours of time to organizations like Forgotten Harvest in Oak Park, World Medical Relief in Southfield, and Street Medicine Oakland in Pontiac.

The event was coordinated by Compass, OUWB’s department for community engagement.

“By dedicating a day each year to serving others, students are reminded that being a physician isn’t only about clinical expertise … it’s about building trust, addressing inequities, and showing up for the communities we serve,” said Trixy Hall, coordinator, Graduate Programs and Community Outreach.

“Our students are true advocates for community service,” she added. “At this stage in their training, they recognize that serving a community goes beyond clinical care.”

At Forgotten Harvest, students sorted and repackaged food items donated by area coffee shops and restaurants. The repackaged items will be distributed to people in need.

Mary Moore-Butler, manager, volunteer program, Forgotten Harvest, said volunteers like those from OUWB are “integral” to the organization’s mission.

“It took over 35,000 volunteers this past fiscal year to ensure that were able to achieve all of the things that we aim to … we could not truly operate as an organization without volunteers,” she said. “We truly value their time and efforts.”

Student volunteers expressed a strong desire to connect more with the communities they plan to serve as physicians.

“It’s important to get involved in the community that we’re working with so we better understand our patient population and can better serve them,” said Alexis Klee, M2, as she sorted items at Forgotten Harvest.

At World Medical Relief (WMR), students sorted new and unused medical supplies that eventually will be shipped around the world.  Alex Petrylka, manager, international programs, WMR, said volunteers like those from OUWB are “the backbone of our organization.”

“They ensure the medical supplies and equipment isn’t expired and is packed properly so that we are sending items that can actually be used where they are needed most,” he said. “We need (volunteers) to help as much as possible.”

Nebeeha Shakil-Ahmad, M2, said working with WMR provides greater understanding of how medical supplies are used in the U.S. and the kind of impact one can have globally, even if volunteering locally on a Saturday morning.

And like many of her colleagues, she said volunteering offers a break from studies.

“I was excited about this because it is something outside of book work where I could make an impact in the health care and medical field,” she said. “It was a really good break.”

Brad Zousmer, M1, also volunteered at WMR.

"We are so fortunate to have these kinds of opportunities where OUWB finds different ways for us to become involved,” he said. “Luckily, I was brought up with the value of volunteering being really important …giving back to the community like this is an opportunity that’s really special.”

On campus, OUWB students assembled care packages to be distributed by Street Medicine Oakland. The packages included items such as blankets, gloves, hand warmers, hats, washcloths, lip balms, bar soap, tissue, shampoo, hand sanitizer, and more.

“It’s important to commit to community service because it reminds you of the reason why you want to be a physician,” said Chika Uwandu, M1. “For most, they chose this industry to help others … we must stay grounded in order to serve at the highest level.”

Other students also reflected on their reasons for going into medicine while volunteering at O’Dowd.

“It’s super important to get away from the book work,” said Robin LeFevere, M2.  “It’s a really good way to renew your spark and make sure that as a student, you don’t lose the human aspect of medicine.”

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, senior marketing specialist, OUWB, at [email protected].

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.