Monday, 17 September 2018: 2:35 PM
The Alpha Alpha Chapter at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill modeled Sigma's core values by leading a spring break humanitarian response for residents of two North Carolina counties ravaged by flood waters resulting from Hurricane Matthew in which 26,000 homes were flooded. We used The Circle to reach out to others in our region, which resulted in collaborating with the local Sigma Chapter, Nu Omega, to leverage our response to the overwhelming needs for health care. Local health care facilities were largely inoperable following days of flooding leaving many without access to health care, especially for some of the most vulnerable populations. By deploying the school's mobile health van, we were able to visit Robeson County and Columbus County and provide mental health screening to help cope with the aftermath of the destruction including loss of life. A Health Fair enabled health education that provided latest evidence on common recurring and chronic conditions as well as basic health screenings and referrals. Many local residents had lost their medications thus needed advice on how to proceed. We also developed a number of local partnerships with other schools, the School’s Alumni Organization, local NGO’s, churches, and campus centers. Appeals were made to collect needed items such as hygiene kits to hand out at the Health Fair, with the fun coming at the Packing Party prior to departure! Reflection, a critical part of service learning's effectiveness, helped to frame the experience through planning (reflection before action), pauses during the four days (reflection in action), and debriefing at the end of the time (reflection on action), With at least 25 volunteers providing various types of health care, the impact on the community impact was significant. Faculty worked alongside students to provide learning experiences far beyond the usual curriculum. Most of all was the visibility of our chapter to demonstrate the power of membership and the message of what can be accomplished when groups collaborate to try to make a difference in the community, which will be demonstrated visually on the poster presentation.