Student group works to support sustainable health programs in village and surrounding community
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The University of Missouri-Kansas City student organization Globemed at UMKC will be hosting its annual benefit dinner and gala on Sunday, April 1, beginning at 5 p.m. The event is being held at Californos in Westport, 4124 Pennsylvania. The GlobeMed Gala is one of the group’s biggest fundraisers of the year to raise money for its partner clinic, Kabwohe Clinical Research Center (KCRC) in Bushenyi, Uganda.
GlobeMed at UMKC, a chapter of the national nonprofit GlobeMed, works with KCRC to provide the surrounding community in Bushenyi with sustainable health programs.
In the past, GlobeMed at UMKC has helped KCRC establish community gardens and a goat micro-finance program to provide not only better nutrition, but also a source of income. As the livestock foster off-spring, the goats will be distributed throughout the community until each family has at least 2-3 goats each. Male goats will then serve as a source of income, while female goats will help provide the families with milk and offspring. Ultimately, this project will help to curb malnutrition in the local community, as well as help establish a source of income for families in an under-resourced area.
Admission to the Globemed at UMKC Gala is $25 per person, with a discounted rate of $15 offered to students. Tickets to the gala can be purchased at http://globemedgala.charityhappenings.org/. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to benefit GlobeMed at UMKC’s health programs at KCRC. Guest speakers for the gala will be Dr. Kathy Goggin and sociology graduate student Sarah Hopper.
Dr. Goggin is Curators Professor of Psychology at UMKC where she serves as Director of the HIV/AIDS Research Group. Goggin’s program of research focuses on primary and secondary HIV prevention, antiretroviral medication adherence, and psychosocial predictors of health behavior change to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities. Sarah Hopper is pursuing a graduate degree in sociology at UMKC. She also has done HIV/AIDS work with the Peace Corps in Swaziland, a small country in southern Africa.
GlobeMed at UMKC was recently featured on Kansas City’s KSHB-41 Action News. Student leaders of GlobeMed, Parker Webb and Andrea Steere, were interviewed about GlobeMed at UMKC, their work in Uganda and the upcoming GlobeMed Gala. The entire interview can be seen at http://youtu.be/VR-YpN6DZtU. For questions or more information, email umkc@globemed.org.
About the University of Missouri-Kansas City
The University of Missouri-Kansas City, one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit www.umkc.edu. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.