A lot of work goes into transforming the donated supplies and equipment we receive into the thoroughly sorted and packaged materials we send to developing communities. This crucial process allows recipients to concentrate their stretched resources on providing care.
And this process is accomplished almost exclusively through the efforts of our volunteers.
In February alone, volunteers donated 1,150 hours of their time to SOS.
February’s volunteer hours are significant, not just for their magnitude, but for their quality.
Dr. Martha McCoy, a retired general surgeon, is a long-time SOS volunteer.Volunteer Lead Karen Womack–herself a volunteer, and an integral part of the SOS team–recognized the value of Dr. McCoy’s expertise and asked her to lead volunteers from University of Louisville’s Medical School through a Saturday sort in early February. Dr. McCoy was happy to do it.
At the time of the sort, the students were in a surgical rotation in their studies. Volunteering offered them an opportunity to learn from an experienced practitioner while helping communities abroad.
According to Karen, “This was the first time SOS provided such an experience combining two very different types of valuable volunteers. University of Louisville medical students and faculty have been great supporters of SOS this year and we hope the relationship keeps growing!”
SOS’s volunteer pool consists of folks with decades of medical experience, and folks with none. In teaching and learning from each other, our volunteers transform waste into resources that bring HEALTH and HOPE to communities in need.
So to all our volunteers: THANK YOU for all the good work you do! You continue to impress!
