MSU’s Pre-Medical Association, or PMA, is hosting a book donation and blanket-making event Wednesday night in order to benefit underprivileged children in the Lansing area.
From 7 to 9 p.m. in Room 111 in Erikson Hall, PMA will be accepting gently-used books during its Curl Up and Read event, while members of the organization make blankets to give to homeless and underprivileged children.
In preparation for the event, about 12 members of the organization canvassed MSU’s campus with jars Tuesday, asking for donations.
The organization hoped to raise at least $500 before the event in order to cover the cost of blanket materials, with any additional funds being put towards more books.
Spanish junior Jake Mell donated $5 toward the cause. He said his experience in a study abroad program in Peru helped him realize the importance of providing educational materials to underprivileged groups.
“When I was a child, reading really helped me do better in school,” Mell said. “It kind of opened the door to a new world.”
The organization has been collaborating with Volunteers of America for the fundraiser and hopes to distribute all the donated items before winter.
The group is tailored to undergraduate students of any major looking to attend medical school after university, helping them with their current classes and preparing them for the standardized medical school entrance exam known as the MCAT, association president and human biology senior Samantha Van Brunt said.
“A lot of students that come in don’t have parents in the medical field, so they don’t know what to expect — they just know they want to become doctors,” Van Brunt said. “We help them figure out what kind of doctor they want to be, and then we help them figure out how to get through the process.”
Psychology senior and PMA volunteer coordinator Joe Lucido said that although academics are important, PMA also works to develop students’ character through events like Curl Up and Read.
“[PMA is] focused a lot on the extracurricular stuff that being a doctor entails,” Lucido said. “Not so much just the GPA and test scores, which most people always hear about. We’re about the person side of you, not just the numbers side of you.”
Nutritional sciences sophomore Marian Catalan stood by the rock on Farm Lane for two and a half hours Tuesday evening asking students to donate.
“When you’re a doctor, you really give a lot of your time away,” Catalan said, who hopes to one day become a pediatrician. ”(Volunteering) gets us used to that idea.”
Van Brunt believes the altruistic aspect of the medical profession is key.
“You should want to be a doctor because you want to help other people,” she said. “To be a doctor, you should be a compassionate person.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
