As future medical professionals, students at Ross Medical Education Center campuses are committed to helping those in their community and volunteering to support those in need. However, staff and students at the Ross campus in Lafayette, Indiana wanted to help more than just the people in need. That’s why they gave the month of July over to the dogs!
Throughout the month, the campus worked together to collect dog food and cleaning supplies to support the efforts of Natalie’s Second Chance Shelter. Natalie’s is a no kill dog shelter that rescues strays and surrendered dogs and seeks to rehome them with new families. They also provide comfortable and safe housing temporarily while looking for the right match for each dog. They rely heavily on donations to continue serving the dogs and the families that they rehome them with.
According to their website, Natalie’s Second Chance was founded in 2009 by Natalie Moore. She saw a need in her community and wanted to fill it, relying heavily on the support from the community to help these homeless canines find their forever homes.
The idea to help out with Natalie’s and their mission originally came from Rae Ann Gochenhour, an instructor in the Lafayette Medical Assistant program, and Monique Garcia, the Assistant Campus Director of Education. In addition to hosting the supply drive, staff and student volunteers from Ross Lafayette also walked the dogs on a Saturday. With a dozen Ross volunteers there that morning, they were able to give the dogs some time outside getting exercise and love from their walkers.
Although it was one of the hottest days of the summer, everyone involved had a blast helping out their four-legged friends. Tim Hula, Campus Director, was happy to be involved saying, “this was the first time I had ever been to this Shelter, I’ll be back!” The families of Medical Assistant Instructor Rae Ann Gochenhour and Belinda Foreman, Instructor in the Dental Assistant program, also joined in on the fun and dog walking! The campus looks forward to joining this great shelter to help out the homeless dogs in their community again in the future!