As soon as Sonya told me about MedPLUS Connect, I knew I wanted to get involved somehow. I have volunteered at MedWish before, and I knew what that any organization that works with MedWish must be equally as amazing. As such, I was very excited to accept a position as an intern this semester to work for such a great cause!

One of the first tasks that Sonya gave Meera Patel, another intern at Case Western, and me was to organize a fundraiser to help raise money for the Lawra Nutrition Center project. Once given this task, I knew that asking Lambda Eta Mu to help with the cause would be the perfect way to gain more support from the campus at large. Lambda Eta Mu is a Greek Honor Society that was founded at Case Western Reserve University two summers ago, and has already made an impact on campus, having hosted two basket raffles, various service projects and a voting awareness event.

After several weeks of planning and collecting baskets from campus organizations, Lambda Eta Mu hosted its basket raffle benefitting MedPLUS Connect the week of November 11th – November 19th. Donated baskets ranged from a “Baked Goods” basket, to a “Chick Flick” basket with DVDs, popcorn in candy, to a “Bro Basket” complete with many All Spice products, a football and a mouth guard. Ticket sales kicked off at Trivia Night, a Greek Life event, and continued throughout the week in one of the main academic buildings on campus. We also sold tickets at Spot Night, a weekly concert sponsored by the University Program Board.

The final ticket sales push occurred on Saturday Night outside the Jolly Scholar, a restaurant-bar located in Case Western’s Student Center. The Jolly Scholar is a very philanthropic organization and frequently hosts philanthropy nights in which it donates a certain percentage of all orders placed to a good cause. During the time of our final ticket sales, the Jolly Scholar agreed to donate 50 cents from every plate to MedPLUS Connect! We are still waiting for the final tally of how much the Jolly Scholar will be donating, but from the basket raffle, we raised over $320!

Special thanks and shout outs to the organizations that submitted baskets at the basket raffle—the Delta Omega Chapter of Phi Mu Fraternity, the Theta Beta Chapter of Delta Gamma Fraternity, Sigma Psi Sorority, the Ohio Sigma Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, the Ohio Epsilon Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi and the Case Western Panhellenic Council. And a huge “thank you” to the University Program Board for allowing us to co-sponsor an event at Spot Night, and to the Jolly Scholar for donating proceeds to MedPLUS Connect!

- Anna Handorf

* Anna is a MedPLUS Connect intern in her senior year at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) studying psychology and biology on the pre-medical track. She is involved in many different organizations on campus, including serving as President of her sorority and co-founder of the Society for Nepali Development. Thank you so much for your hard work, Anna!