Golf scramble to help medical students assist less fortunate

April 23, 2013 | Events, UToday, Medicine and Life Sciences, UTMC
By Samantha Watson



With the opportunity to go on medical mission trips, students can gain educational, cultural and emotional experiences they will never receive in a classroom.

SewHopeAd-125x125On Saturday, May 4, Students for Medical Missions will host the third annual SewHope Golf Scramble fundraiser to provide scholarships for UT students going on medical missions. The scramble will begin at 9 a.m. at the Bedford Hills Golf Club, 6400 Jackman Road in Temperance, Mich.

Students for Medical Missions focuses on taking an active role in providing health care and education to underserved populations. In the past, students have taken medical mission trips to Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Tanzania, Philippines and Indonesia.

Medical students focus on classroom education during their first two years, but in their third year they begin clinical education. Mission trips allow them to apply their knowledge and learn hands-on what health care is like.

“In the first two years, we spend a majority of time learning about science in a lecture hall,” said Akiko Komura, a first-year UT medical student and co-fundraiser for Students for Medical Missions. “On these mission trips, you get to see and do things hands-on and apply the knowledge gained in the classroom.”

Those who register for the golf scramble will have unlimited access to the driving range, paid green fees and use of a golf cart. After the scramble, there will be a luncheon, door prizes and participation gifts.

Registration is $60 each for students and $85 each for community members, with teams for a four-person scramble. Register at sewhopegolfscramble.com by Saturday, April 27.

This event is sponsored by SewHope, a nonprofit organization that serves an area of extreme poverty in a region of northern Guatemala, which is one of the highest levels of child and maternal mortality, malnutrition and illiteracy in the world.

In the past, proceeds have gone directly to SewHope for missions in Guatemala. This year, SewHope is helping plan the event and provide resources, but proceeds will go to scholarships for UT medical students going on missions.

For more information or to register, visit sewhopegolfscramble.com. For questions, contact utsewhopegolf@gmail.com.

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