One of our longest-standing community service partnerships is between UICOM and the Pilsen Food Pantry. NLVS officially started volunteering with the Pilsen Food Pantry back in 2018. At the time, the pantry was a small room inside the Pilsen University of Illinois Clinic.
Since then, the pantry in the meantime has moved to a new larger location in the Pilsen community on 2124 S Ashland. NLVS currently covers weekly Saturday food rescues, where volunteers pick up donations from stores like Trader Joe’s, deliver it to the pantry, and prepare it for distribution. At the same time, volunteers help at the Sunday pantry preparation shifts and the Clothes Closet, which organizes clothing donations.
Through this program, NLVS helps the Pilsen Food Pantry supply donations to the hundreds of families that rely on them.
The UIC College of Medicine chapter of NLVS works with Project Cure on their mission to deliver medical equipment and supplies to clinics throughout the under-resourced world. NLVS volunteers help sort and pack medical supplies to be sent globally. Students have also worked with UI Health organizations like the Community Outreach Intervention Project (COIP) to host health education sessions on topics such as opioid overdose; during one event, students were engaged in learning more about what opioid overdose looks like and how medical students can help combat the issues while still in training. Students were also trained on what Narcan is and its role in reversing acute overdose.
In partnership with the National Kidney Foundation, NLVS volunteers have hosted mobile kidney screening events, and volunteered at events providing kidney disease and transplant educational sessions. Our volunteers help set up events and work with nephrologists to answer questions brought in by community members.
Students from all chapters of NLVS volunteer together at Chicago races such as the Chicago Marathon or Half-Marathon. NLVS volunteers worked at the hydration stations at First Aid tents, providing assistance to runners.