Western University of Health Science/COMP

Pomona, California

Presented by : Staci (Ngoc-Tram) Vo

October 23, 2005

Officers :

Advisor: George Charney, DO

President: Ngoc-Tram (Staci) Vo

Vice-President: Y-Vien Nguyen

Secretary: Que Nguyen

Treasurer: Meredith Mann

Membership:

Fourth Year Students: 29

Third Year Students: 27

Second Year Students: 20

Total: 76

CLASS OF 2007:

Jeffrey Biehn

Julia Burke

Jessica Calman

Cindy Chen

Aaron Huang

Francisca Kartono

Shefali Khandwala

Elene Lam

Melanie Leadley

Sandra Lee

Sheila Loanzon

Matthew Nichols

Tram Ngo

Grace Park

Nina Patel

Benjamin Rattray

Katie Sagrero

Ligaya Smith

Melissa Smith

Andrew Song

Lay Chi Tang

Tenli Tedesco

Erin Thompson

Christina Tolentino

Timothy Winter

CLASS OF 2008

Amy Basile

David Cao

Jessica Chang

Morag Day

Peir-Yu Fang

Sophia Ghebremicael

Maria Hancox

Rori Herscher

Renee Lee

Clarissa Lew

Meredith Mann

Que Huong Nguyen

Y Vien Nguyen

Chandra Patel

Avani Rana

Jennifer Rhee

Kristen Setliff

Staci Vo

Kelvin Vu

Julie Wendell

Financial Report:

As of October 18, 2005 : $1,100

Activities:

• Blood Drive

· This was a 2 day drive in collaboration with the American Red Cross. Donations were given from students, faculty and staff throughout the University. We collected 69 units of blood, an amount which will hopefully be higher with our next drive after the winter break. A bone marrow drive will also be held next spring.

• Doctor’s Bag
• In hopes of becoming positive role-models, volunteers demonstrate medical equipment usage and skills to students at local elementary schools in order to enhance their understanding of the physician’s role in the society and to increase their comfort level with physicians. In addition, the program aims to improve health awareness and to heighten students’ interest of the medical field.

• PHOP (Pomona Homeless Outreach Program)

· The goal of PHOP is to improve health status and awareness among the homeless population in Pomona. At the beginning of 2006, we will organize an educational night, which will include having one or two people give a short presentation on a relevant medical issue among the homeless population such as STDs, alcohol, smoking, etc. We will also provide a meal for the attendants during this educational meeting. In addition we will conduct a donation drive to collect hygiene products, blankets and clothes to distribute that evening.

o Santa’s Workshop

· Western University students provide assistance to disadvantaged families during the holiday season, including gifts, dinner, skits and games at WesternU's Winter Wonderland. Approximately 180 foster children will attend the event. SSP members will assist in wrapping gifts, decorations, and serving food.

o Montclair Convalescent Home

· In April, 2005 we visited a convalescent home and caused a ruckus! We made balloon animals, sang songs and chatted up all the residents!!!

o Habitat for Humanity

· SSP is working with the Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity to build homes for low income families. The focus is on the “Claremont Blitz Build” a six-home, six-family community development on nearly an acre of land in the heart of the city of Claremont. Currently, we have 18 students from COMP involved in this project.

o Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund

· From September 6-16, 2005 we held a school-wide fundraiser, having representatives from each class and college collect donations from students, staff and faculty to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We were able to raise over $3,500.

o Special Olympics

· The LA County Special Olympic games provide athletic training and competition to people with disabilities year round. We are proud to have the opportunity to be involved in these games. Last Spring, we participated in the track and field games as we dodged baseballs and ran along-side the athletes. Earlier this month we participated in the Special Olympics Bowling event where we helped out with setting up, working the bbq, bowling, distributing medals, and cleaning up.

o Sister Schools/ Mentoring Program

§ Goals of this program are to foster a relationship with neighboring undergraduate colleges, increase osteopathic awareness, and provide assistance to pre-med students. Members will make a presentation about COMP and osteopathy at a weekend brunch for pre-med students of Scripps College. In addition, we will enlist students for mentorship and mock interviews with current SSP members.

o Ronald McDonald House/ Inland AIDS Project

· Ronald McDonald House

Provides a “home-away-from-home” for families of seriously ill children who are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. SSP members will have a soda can tab collection for the hospitals and cook and serve meals for the residents.

· Inland AIDS Project

Non-profit agency whose mission is to provide health care, support services and advocacy for persons affected by HIV in the Inland Regions of Southern California. Volunteers will assist in counseling, health care and food services.

o Fundraising

· Current and upcoming fundraisers include various bake sales, bbqs, t-shirts, and scarves. Last winter SSP members sold hand-knit scarves which we will be doing again this year. We will continue fundraising this year to fund our various volunteer projects, the banquet, initiation ceremony, and graduation cords.

o Auction: Bid it Up!

· An annual campus wide event organized by our new inductees, which was us this year, to raise money for charity. We were able to raise $2400 with 100% of the proceeds going towards 2 charities: The Osteopathy’s Promise to Children Fund and to support Kathy Lalezarzadeh in her AIDS/LIFECYCLE ADVENTURE (National AIDS Foundation). Some of the Bid it Up! Items were:

v Services: car washes, facial, hair treatment, massage, gourmet dinner, date to a comedy show, dim sum, along with various other services.

v Items: paintings, song-grams, gourmet coffee, dragon fruit, and much more.

v Lessons : cooking, personal training, belly dancing, scuba diving, music, swimming, surfing, and more.

o History & Physical Workshop

· The first year osteopathic medical students started essentials of clinical medicine first semester, which allows them to practice taking histories and physicals at the beginning of their medical careers. We held a workshop prior to the beginning of their course to familiarize the students with taking an H & P.

o Jimmie Hicks Award

· Dr. Hicks was a professor of Physiology and Associate Dean of Basic Sciences at Western University. He always had the utmost compassion for the students of COMP and committed his time to council and supports any student in need. He was also an active member of the United Way, Boy Scouts of America, and the Kiwanis Club. It is because of these great humanistic qualities, that we honor Dr. Jimmie Hicks by recognizing members of Sigma Sigma Phi who has demonstrated excellence in balancing academics with service to the community and University. 2004 recipients were Sheila Loanzon (MSIII) and Sophia Ghebremicael (MSII).

o Graduation Cords

· Graduation cords were gifts to the 2005 SSP graduates from Dr. and Mrs. Charney and the Mu chapter. To show our appreciation to the dedicated SSP members, our aim is to allocate club funds each year in hopes of continuing the tradition of presenting graduates with the crimson red and royal blue cords.

We are so fortunate to have such an amazing array of members this year. Each one of us has contributed so much and I am so grateful to be working with truly remarkable, dependable, dedicated, and altruistic people. We have many exciting events coming up and I can’t wait to finish this year off strong!

Respectfully submitted,

Ngoc-Tram (Staci) Vo

President- Sigma Sigma Phi- Mu Chapter