Each year, the staff, students, and faculty at Ross Medical Education Center in Ann Arbor host a food drive and personal care item drive for the community organization SOS Community Services. Annually, students and staff gather food and other items to donate to the local SOS Community Services in Ypsilanti, Michigan. All the donations are used to help out struggling families in the area and to provide emergency food assistance to the homeless in the city. Some of the items that staff and students have collected are vegetables, boxed meals, wipes, shampoo, soap, and other various items. Each year, the campus is excited to help out and chooses to continue hosting the food drive to help out the local community and the surrounding communities as well.
Through the beginning weeks of December, the students, faculty, and staff came together to submit their donations. Those involved in the Medical Assistant, Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration, Dental Assistant, and Pharmacy Technician programs are all participating. This year there was a lot of anticipation of many more items to come in throughout the drive. The campus loves the opportunity to help their community and looks forward to this drive each year. Nicole Dluzen, Assistant Campus Director of Education, said, “I grew up with little money, and I know that my mom and dad used to go to the Salvation Army and places like that to help us get by at times until things got turned around, and I am more than willing and happy to donate what I can to help out because I know what it is like!” There are already plans to increase donations for next year’s drive.
The SOS Community Services has been supporting area families and individuals in need since opening in 1970. Originally it began as an organization on the campus of Eastern Michigan University but later was moved in order to expand its influence. According to their website, SOS Community Services “seeks to build on the strengths of the families we serve. Each family is responsible for their own personal change, as they work with staff to regain housing stability.”
If you are interested in helping SOS Community Services or would like more information, visit their website at http://www.soscs.org/ or their Facebook page.