Community Service
SNAP volunteers with a wide variety of community partners in order to give back to the greater Philadelphia community.
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SNAP volunteers with a wide variety of community partners in order to give back to the greater Philadelphia community.
In the past, we have hosted blood drives for the American Red Cross, helped make meals for Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA), volunteered with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and provided eye exams for Give Kids Sight Day, among others.
Since the onset of the pandemic, we have been limited in our community service abilities. Even so, we are continuing to partner with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and are working on bringing many other community service opportunities back to SNAP members in-person!
Check out some of our featured community service projects below!
Our partnership started out in the Fall of 2019, where we met with an incredible LLS campaign manager who encouraged SNAP to create a team for their largest event of the year called Light The Night (LTN). This event brings a community of patients, survivors, family, friends, and coworkers together to celebrate those who are fighting the disease and to honor those we have lost.
In 2019, SNAP rallied a team of 17 members, raising just over $1100. In 2020, SNAP had a team of 18 members and raised $2615. In 2021, SNAP recruited a team of 15 members and raised $1337. In 2022, SNAP raised $150 to donate to LLS for Light the Night solely from a bake sale that took place on Locust Walk and in 2023, SNAP raised $264.50 to donate to LLS from a bake sale that took place in the Fagin Hall lobby!
In 2019, SNAP members not only fundraised, but also volunteered setting up, checked in walkers, distributed lanterns, ran booths/tents during the event, and assisted with clean-up. Our team walked the event route together, starting from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and walking along Martin Luther King Boulevard, along the Schuylkill River past Boathouse Row, and back.
In 2020 & 2021, LTN took a different form online due to the pandemic. The experience was equally as amazing and participants were able to give back to their community from the comfort of their own home. Some SNAP members even made phone calls to rally participants for LLS and many other SNAP members took independent walks around their apartment or their neighborhood to honor what would have been done at an in-person LTN. Both were amazing nights we will not forget!
This past October (2022), LTN returned to an in-person event! SNAP sent 4 members to the event this year to volunteer with activities such as parking for the event (image below). Our 4 volunteers for 2022 were: Abby Hurt, Catherine Wright, Erin Gallagher, & Malini Correa.
After our successful and incredible partnership for Light the Night in 2019, LLS granted SNAP an incredible opportunity by inviting us to be a part of the 70th Annual Red & White Ball in February of 2020. LLS asked Penn Nursing students to serve as ‘ambassadors’, special concierge-style volunteers, at this incredible black tie event in Center City. This event brings together the best and the brightest clinicians, researchers, and donors from Penn Medicine, CHOP, Jefferson, Fox Chase, and the Philly region who are renown leaders dedicated to finding a cure for cancer! It was a festive night, including a three-course meal, live entertainment, and incredible silent and live auction items, to celebrate the trailblazers and innovators who have worked alongside LLS to find a cure. SNAP was able to send 21 volunteers to be a part of this event - a truly inspiring and hope-filled night!
SNAP was so excited to continue volunteering with Philly’s Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA) this past semester. Over the semester, SNAP coordinated a few different volunteer trips to MANNA in Center City to help prepare and package meals in the MANNA kitchen.
MANNA uses nutrition to improve health for people with serious illnesses who need nourishment to heal, and volunteers are the heart of their operation! SNAP looks forward to continuing our partnership with MANNA with even more volunteer opportunities!
In honor of 2020 Year of the Nurse and Midwife, SNAP partnered with APANSA to write thank you notes to nurses at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). These notes were written to acknowledge all of the hard work nurses do everyday, before the pandemic even started. We collected hundreds of thank you notes written by students and distributed them in person to nurses throughout HUP’s many departments.