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Parker Work, left, presents a ceremonial check to Claire Tiffin.
Image by Bryan Clifton
PA Students Raise $6,500 to Fight Hunger, Present Check to Arkansas Food Bank
| In a short ceremony March 4 at UAMS, students in the Class of 2024 presented a large, mock check to representatives of the Arkansas Food Bank. That ceremonial prop was a stand-in for the students’ very real contribution of $6,500 to the Food Bank.
Through its Heroes Against Hunger 5K Race in 2023, the Kelly-Rahn-Turnage Fellowship of Physician Assistant Students raised the funds by directly soliciting donations from businesses and individuals, organizing give-back dining nights at local restaurants and asking people to donate through social media.
Student volunteers organized the Oct. 7 event, which started at Two Rivers Park in west Little Rock and included about 75 runners. Parker Work, class president, and Carlee West, vice president, were the chief organizers of the event and fund-raising effort.
“It’s no secret that it’s been a hard year economically,” Work said. “With that comes a reduction in donations from businesses and individuals. Along with that is an increased strain on families to make ends meet. That’s why I am so proud of our efforts to raise funds in support of these families in difficult times.”
An assistant professor in the UAMS College of Health Professions Department of Physician Assistant Studies, Samantha Lawson, MPAS, PA-C, said students had to overcome administrative challenges like obtaining permits and insurance as well as general organizational work.
“The race this past year was building on 2022 and trying to gain more momentum with more exposure along with learning from things that worked and didn’t work,” Lawson said. “It was getting back closer to more pre-pandemic time.”
The money raised supports the Arkansas Food Bank Food for Kids Program. According to the Food Bank, more than 64,400 children in Central and South Arkansas are food-insecure.
“Food always has been understood as essential to human life, but we are increasingly aware of the importance of good nutrition to overall health,” Edward Williams, DMSc., M.Ed., PA-C, said. “By contributing now to feeding others, even before they have their degrees and licenses to practice, the Class of 2024 is already helping the patients they see now in training and in the future after graduation.”
Williams, the department’s chair, said the partnership between Physician Assistant Studies students and the Food Bank is a natural one because they share a goal.
Similarly, he said the collaboration between the Fellowship of Physician Assistant Students and Arkansas Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical Association has significantly increased and improved how much the race has been able to contribute to the Food Bank every year. He said the collaboration between the two is now several years old and lends the race a 501(3)c federal tax status so people can take their donations off their taxes.
Claire Tiffin, Arkansas Food Bank’s community development coordinator, represented the Food Bank at the check presentation.
“As touched on earlier, there have been fewer donations coming into the Food Bank even though the need is growing,” Tiffin said. “Moving forward, we are so thankful for you as partners. We really enjoy working with the PA program because the health issues that come with food insecurity are massive, especially with children. Thank you for your work and we look forward to continuing the partnership.”