Volunteering

��οdentistry prof volunteers in ICU as hospital grapples with COVID-19 third wave

lanthierj — Mon, 03 May 2021 14:52:49 +0000

��οdentistry prof volunteers in ICU as hospital grapples with COVID-19 third wave

lanthierj Mon, 05/03/2021 - 10:52

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Marco Caminiti, an assistant professor at U of T's Faculty of Dentistry, volunteered to work in Humber River Hospital's ICU as the facility sought extra staff to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients (photo courtesy of Marco Caminiti)

Rachel Boutet

Topic

Our Community

Coronavirus

Faculty of Dentistry

Volunteering

When Humber River Hospital asked for volunteers in the intensive care unit to treat COVID-19 patients, the University of Toronto’s Marco Caminiti jumped at the opportunity.

“When the call came out, it got my attention right away,” says Caminiti, an assistant professor, teaching stream, and graduate program director of oral and maxillofacial surgery in the Faculty of Dentistry. “I was drawn to it as something I can do rather than sitting passively.”

In Humber’s ICU, many badly needed beds were sitting empty because of a lack of nurses to care for potential patients. As a result, volunteers such as Caminiti have allowed many patients who would have otherwise been relocated to Ottawa and Kingston to stay in Toronto. That not only eliminates the need to transfer sick patients, but also keeps them closer to their families.

Marco Caminiti

“Humber River Hospital has the largest number of ICU beds, and, with our help, we are able to make sure as many of those beds as possible are filled with patients who require care,” Caminiti says.

Caminiti underwent three days of intensive training before assisting in the ICU. His days at the hospital are long, beginning with an hour of preparation, followed by a 12-hour shift and another hour of paperwork. His job is to provide one-on-one care to patients and provide feedback to doctors on staff.

“Working in the ICU is a unique opportunity for all of us volunteering,” says Caminiti. “While we aren’t ICU doctors or nurses, we each bring in a special skill set that can help look at situations with a different lens.”

For example, many patients are intubated and need to be rotated, which can place their heads in awkward positions. Caminiti, like other oral and maxillofacial surgeons experienced in upper airway management, helped the unit use a novel halo device to help safely cradle patients’ heads.

Being in the ICU has been an eye-opening experience for Caminiti. His floor has 30 patients on ventilators due to COVID-19 and he’s witnessed first-hand the burnout experienced by nurses.

“I’ve gained such an appreciation of the work the ICU staff do,” says Caminiti. “It really highlights my frustration of some public perception of the disease. I would invite any skeptic to walk through the ICU. When you see the number of sick people, it’s undeniable how serious this is.”

Caminiti says he will continue to volunteer his time until operating rooms open back up, likely within a few weeks. He credits his colleagues at the faculty for enabling his work at the hospital.

“Trying to balance my time in the ICU on top of everything else has been overwhelming at times,” he says. “My colleagues that can’t volunteer are busy keeping the programs running at the faculty. I couldn’t do it without their support.”

See a Global News story about volunteering in the ICU

Alternative Reading Week: ��οprogram connects student volunteers, community partners

noreen.rasbach — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 18:28:38 +0000

Alternative Reading Week: ��οprogram connects student volunteers, community partners

noreen.rasbach Tue, 02/26/2019 - 13:28

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Dahlia Husrieh and Javeria Rizwa work with Safe City Mississauga's Aspire program to create lesson plans and volunteer recognition initiatives for the peer tutoring program

Topic

Undergraduate Students

Volunteering

For some students, Spring Reading Week means hitting the books or taking a well-deserved break, but for many, the February break is also a time to give back.

More than 90 students from the University of Toronto Mississauga participated in this year’s Alternative Reading Week, a tri-campus initiative that matches undergraduate and graduate students with local community organizations to provide short-term support and problem-solving.

Over three days, local partner organizations get much-needed extra help and resources, and students have the chance to make new friends, discover new skills and earn a co-curricular record credit.

Michelle Atkinson, community engagement co-ordinator with ��οMississauga’s student engagement team, oversees the program. “We work closely with community organizations to develop projects that are beneficial to their clientele, and to ensure it’s an integrated learning opportunity for UTM students,” she says.

Small teams of students were matched with 10 local community groups in Peel and Caledon. The resulting projects included market research, event organization, delivering products to clients, planning fundraising initiatives and creation of public awareness campaigns.

“Students get to feel like they’re making a real difference in the community,” Atkinson says.

Undergraduate students Javeria Rizwan and Dahlia Husrieh worked with Safe City Mississauga’s Aspire program, which provides after-school peer tutoring in priority neighbourhoods in Mississauga. The duo created classroom lesson plans for volunteer tutors, and developed recognition initiatives to help with volunteer tutor retention.

“It’s a challenge to retain trained volunteers,” says Rizwan, a third-year management student. “We looked for opportunities to motivate them with group activities and awards, and recommended a space for volunteers to gather to recognize and welcome them.”

Husrieh, a second-year finance student, was pleased to find a creative outlet outside of her academic studies. “It was my first time creating a lesson plan,” she says.

Undergraduate students Asya Twahir, Saugar Viji, Michael Li and Gowthaman Gurunathan Surendran worked with Caledon/Dufferin Victim Services, a group that assists victims of crime and tragic circumstances.

The team researched the most effective way to communicate the organization’s services to different demographics. Their findings will help the group to create future outreach campaigns.

Li, a third-year life sciences student, says the experience helped him to practise his research skills and learn more about teamwork.

Twahir, a third-year political science student, adds that the project opened her eyes to different roles in not-for-profit groups. “I want to work with NGOs,” she says. “This gave me a different perspective – I hadn’t really thought about communicating services before.”

The community organizations benefit by getting short-term help with projects that they might not otherwise have the resources to handle. Michelle Lu, a communicative disorders assistant with program partner Halton-Peel Community Aphasia Programs, says the student volunteers created an aphasia awareness video and contacted health-care providers to help them understand how they can better assist people with aphasia.

Aphasia is an impairment in the expression and comprehension of language caused by damage to the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain.

“The students raise a lot of awareness and really help to get the word out about aphasia,” she says. “Their projects can be shared with the community to let different services know that this program exists. That’s a big help for our clients.”

At the end of the week, student volunteers gathered in Deerfield Hall to present their projects at the first-ever Alternative Reading Week Impact Fair.

“The fair brings everyone together to showcase their work to each other so students can see the impact of their individual contributions, and also the impact of being part of the whole program,” Atkinson says.

“This was my first volunteering experience at UTM,” Viji says of his experience. “It’s a great feeling to work on something that will be used by a non-profit organization to reach more people.”

Gallery Grill's Suzanne Baby joins other top Toronto chefs to help the homeless

lavende4 — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:44:19 +0000

Gallery Grill's Suzanne Baby joins other top Toronto chefs to help the homeless

lavende4 Wed, 10/12/2016 - 11:44

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Suzanne Baby and Jerry Horton at the Gallery Grill

Alain Latour

Author legacy

Alain Latour

Topic

On October 13, several of Toronto’s most celebrated chefs will be at the Gardiner Museum for the annual Empty Bowls fundraising event.

Among them will be Suzanne Baby, chef at the Gallery Grill, located at Hart House at the University of Toronto.

Baby, helped by Gallery Grill manager Jerry Horton, will load up her car with enough soup for 400, maybe 500 people. She and the other celebrity chefs will spend several hours pouring soup into beautiful ceramic bowls made by Ontario-based potters. The potters donate more than 400 bowls to the event, the chefs donate their time and recipes, and guests contribute $55 a ticket to sample the soups and take home their chosen bowl at the end of the evening. All proceeds go to Anishnawbe Health Toronto, a culture-based Indigenous centre that works with those who seek to escape homelessness.

“It takes place in a beautiful space, right where Jamie [Kennedy] used to have his restaurant. It’s a great vibe and the bowls are gorgeous. I love Empty Bowls and what it does for the city’s homeless,” says Baby.

Jamie Kennedy invited Baby to participate over 20 years ago.

“He sent me an email and said, ‘would you like to be involved?’ And I said, ‘absolutely.’ He was instrumental in starting the whole thing. It’s a great opportunity to give back and it’s really rewarding to be able to support and use your position as a chef to help out.”

Siobhan Boyd, senior manager, education & adjunct curator, Gardiner Museum, praised Baby’s involvement.

“Empty Bowls is now in its 24th year and Chef Baby has been involved almost from the very beginning. Every year when I place the call to chefs to participate, Chef Baby is one of the first to respond. She has served some wonderful soups over the years!”

Baby appreciates being given carte blanche. “As long as it’s soup,” she says, “I can cook whatever I please. We also have great local produce this time of the year that I can use.”

“It’s fun for us, too, to be honest. Once you get the logistics out of the way and you’re set up, it’s nice to be able to socialize with other chefs. Some of them I only see at this event once a year. We try each other’s soups, and the spirit is great,” she says.

Find out more about Empty Bowls.

Arbor Awards celebrate ��οspirit of volunteering

Romi Levine — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:22:55 +0000

Arbor Awards celebrate ��οspirit of volunteering

Romi Levine Tue, 09/20/2016 - 12:22

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All photos by Romi Levine

Romi Levine

Author legacy

Romi Levine

Topic

On the first Tuesday of every month for more than half a decade, Graham White got up bright and early to make it to Hart House for 8 a.m. so he could chair the centre’s finance committee alongside a group of students.

The ��οMississauga Professor Emeritus didn’t get paid to do what he did, and that was fine by him.

“There’s all kinds of things we do for which we’re not paid but it’s really part of being part of the profession and part of the university,” he says. “Everyone – faculty, students and staff get so much out of the place, it’s only reasonable to give something back.”

White’s philosophy can be applied to the thousands of people who volunteer within the ��οcommunity.

They share “a real passion and desire to make a difference in the lives of others,” says Barbara Dick, U of T’s assistant vice president, alumni relations.

And while most volunteers prefer to do their work behind the scenes, there’s one night a year where they get to be in the spotlight – the Arbor Awards.

Since 1989, the annual awards have celebrated students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members for their exceptional volunteer work.

Volunteers can be nominated through colleges, faculties and departments.

This year’s event took place on September 15 at President Meric Gertler’s residence, with 102 volunteers receiving awards.

“��οstands as one of Canada’s most accessible, diverse and excellent institutions in no small measure because of our alumni volunteers,” President Gertler told the crowd of current and past recipients and their guests.

��οNews spoke with some of this year’s award winners about the value of volunteering.

Brenda Stade, ��οalumna and nurse practitioner at St. Michael's Hospital

Stade spent a decade instructing ��οnursing students, specifically in the community nursing aboriginal stream, taking care of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

“The students I got were wonderful. They were so compassionate. I had some at the end (of the term) start crying, saying ‘I never realized how hard it was for some people in life.’ They were always so touching and I always learned a lot from them,” she says.

“You get to experience other people’s perspective of the world and I think that’s the most valuable thing in life, because you can’t do it all so you see it through other people’s eyes,” says Stade.

Safiya Muharuma, class of 2004

Muharuma is an assistant coach of the Varsity women’s hockey team. She regularly organizes alumni events that help support the current team, keeping them connected with current players.

“You wonder ‘what brought me here, why is it so important to me and how am I going to ensure the next group has that same feeling,’” she says. “University of Toronto, Varsity Athletics and physical education as well, they do a really good job of doing that and they instil that in everyone else and the next generation of kids that live in Toronto.”

Lynda Macdonald, city planner

Macdonald has been a mentor for Innis College urban studies interns for over a decade, showing them what it’s really like to work as a planner. She says the internship is mutually beneficial for planners and students.

“It’s a two-way street. It’s great for the city because students bring a different perspective and a different energy which is really important because we’re really planning for them. They’ll be the ones living in the cities we’re building,” she says. “For them, it’s an opportunity to look at what it would be like to actually be working in the profession and see what the day-to-day work is like.”

Larry Wayne Richards, Professor Emeritus and former dean of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Richards is the author of a comprehensive campus guidebook on heritage buildings and architecture on the three ��οcampuses. He also mentors interns and promotes the university and his faculty to the wider community.

“We can all influence 50 other people and share all the good news that comes to of the university. Unlike the Ivy League schools, it’s not as rich. So a lot of what the university can accomplish depends on the initiative of the alums and former faculty like myself. We all have to pitch in and keep things moving in the right direction,” says Richards.

Rebecca Friedman, class of 2013

While she was completing her Master's of Science in applied computing, Friedman participated in the alumni student mentorship program so when she graduated, she felt it was only natural to return the favour.

“My mentor was amazing. She actually got an Arbor award for all of her work. It inspired me. She was so helpful and gave such good career advice and such good life advice,” she says.

Friedman has been a mentor for three years and attends events that help students transition into the workforce.

“When I was a new grad and looking at my first job, I didn’t really understand the industry and didn’t know what to expect. A lot of the time, students need someone to tell them ‘this is what it’s like in the workplace,’ and then they’ll feel so much better and be so much calmer,” she says.

Faran Umar-Khitab, class of 2004

Umar-Khitab has been volunteering with the Rotman Commerce undergrad program for the past nine years, as a mentor to third-year and fourth-year students.

“It’s great to see young minds as they embark on their careers and it’s great to give some practical advice on what the world holds and what the brochures for law school and legal career don’t tell you,” he says.

From rock ‘n’ roll to research: PhD student trades life on the road for HIV research in lab

sgupta — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:53:54 +0000

From rock ‘n’ roll to research: PhD student trades life on the road for HIV research in lab sgupta Wed, 04/15/2015 - 06:53

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Jonathan Cook, a third-year PhD candidate at U of T, works with Professor Jeffrey Lee (photo by Katie Babcock)

Katie Babcock

Author legacy

Katie Babcock

Topic

Subheadline

Former alt-rock guitarist goes from academic bridging program to Vanier scholar, community volunteer and research leader

In 2007, Jonathan Cook played in his final Vans Warped Tour, North America’s longest-running alternative rock festival.

Today, he’s a third-year PhD candidate at ��οworking with Professor Jeffrey Lee.

“During the tour I met a drum technician for Billy Talent, and this thirty-something guy was doing extremely well,” said Cook. “But he told me that he didn’t have any family ties, and he was just part of this travelling music machine. I was 21 and I said ‘I can’t do this – 10 years from now I can’t be here’.”

For five years, Cook played guitar in his own band and also toured with the Juno-nominated band IllScarlet, a reggae rock band from Mississauga.

“On a normal day during the Warped Tour we’d play to 3,000 people. It was a ton of fun but it was grueling. We’d leave one concert at 11 p.m., get to the next location at 2:00 a.m. and be up at 7:00 a.m. for the next show.”

Now Cook is dedicating his time to the lab.

Once he got off the road, he updated his high school courses, completed an academic bridging program at ��οand started his full-time undergraduate degree when he was 24.

Initially, he was interested in architecture and material science, but soon found his real passion in biochemistry. “I became really interested in protein structure because it’s similar to architecture – I like building things and understanding how form can influence biological function.”

A graduate student in Lee’s lab in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology (LMP), Cook is a studying the structural biology of how HIV changes healthy immune cells. His goal is to understand the design of the proteins in the envelope that surrounds the HIV virus.

“The Ebola virus is perfectly coated with spike proteins that transmit the virus to healthy cells. HIV, on the other hand, is covered with broken spike proteins. We’re studying how HIV can use these broken spikes to influence the human immune system.”

Cook uses a technique called protein X-ray crystallography and other biophysical methods to render every atom of a protein, creating a highly accurate three-dimensional model. This model reveals vulnerabilities of the virus and provides a blueprint for effective drug treatment.

“Jon has been an outstanding addition to my lab and the department. He is very enthusiastic for science and is always ready to help anyone who has questions about or problems with their research,” said Lee. “Most importantly, he has driven his own research project – this is a testament to his intelligence and motivation.”

Beyond his research, Cook is also a driving force in the community. He has served on multiple committees for U of T’s biochemistry and LMP departments, and for the past three years he’s been the lead organizer of the Let’s Talk Science! Challenge, a science-engagement program designed for grades six through eight.

He also volunteers every Friday with Toronto’s Hassle-Free Clinic, an HIV and sexually transmitted infections clinic at Church and Gerrard.

“It’s been a very rewarding experience. The clinic is fantastic and the people there have given me a very important perspective on the disease that I study.”

In 2014, he was recognized for his research excellence and leadership with a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, considered one of the most prestigious awards of its kind.

In the future, Cook plans to finish his PhD and pursue a career in medical microbiology and infectious diseases.

“In everything I do, I’ve always followed my heart. That means that my 10-year plan changes an awful lot,” said Cook. “In science, like in life, I want my work to positively impact the people and the communities that I serve. With the expert guidance that I’m receiving at the Lee lab, and the scientific freedom to follow my intuitions, I know that wherever my passion leads me, I’ll be well situated for success.”

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��οstudents celebrate Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games

sgupta — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 10:01:39 +0000

��οstudents celebrate Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games sgupta Mon, 03/30/2015 - 06:01

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Aerospace major and Bikechain volunteer Adrian Esser is one of the students working on creative ways to support and celebrate the Games (all photos courtesy Hart House)

Alain Latour

Author legacy

Alain Latour

In only a few months, Toronto will come alive with the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. Meet two students who hope to leave a mark, not just on the Pan Am Games themselves, but also on the lives of some of the people who will soon join us in our city.

Adrian Esser

When he’s not hard at work studying aerospace, Esser volunteers for Bikechain, a not-for-profit cycling organization based out of St. George campus. His idea for the Pan Ams was born in a surprising place – a bar in Little Italy.

“I’m not a huge sport fan, but this one time during the FIFA World Cup, I went [there] with some friends and I watched the match and the energy was just amazing.”

Knowing that international visitors and students won’t be able to navigate the city as easily as a Toronto native such as himself, Esser realized he’d like to bring this experience to them, especially to those who won’t necessarily buy tickets but still wish to enjoy an event on TV.

The end result? A project to have a Bikechain pop-up stand at the CIE so that volunteers can provide DIY repair service to members of the international community.

More to the point, these volunteers will also help visitors learn about ways to experience the Pan Am Games. And in a clever twist of a common Bikechain practice, they will hand out colour-coded name tags to differentiate attendees based on sports they want to follow at the Games.

“The [names tags] will act as a conversation starter,” says Esser. “We can also foreseeably email people who choose to go on mailing lists about sports events that match what they wrote on the name tag. That way, they could then go with other people to watch a cycling event at a bar.”

Esser and his project were awarded $500, which he says has been allocated to food, promotion, parts, and more.

Eleni Vlahiotis

A University of Toronto OISE teacher candidate, with a B. Ed. and a B. Phys. Ed., Vlahiotis is passionate about education.

Vlahiotis is also an Equity Initiatives Student Leader for Equity Movement, an organization through which she ran an event called She Talks on February 24. It’s for this event that the Pan Am/Parapan Am Student Initiative Fund awarded Vlahiotis $1,300.

“It was actually my second time doing this event,” says Vlahiotis “It was created last year and it was very successful, so of course I wanted to bring it back.”

A multi-partner initiative hosted by the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education as part of the Ignite program, She Talks addressed sexuality issues and other topics related to women and gender leading up to the Games.

“Specifically, She Talks was born because of the poor representation of women in sports in general and high performance sports in particular,” says Vlahiotis, who used to play fast-pitch softball.

“The funds covered the entire event, so I’m very grateful. And even if I hadn’t received the money, the application process made me lay out my objectives and plan everything more carefully, so it was very helpful for me.”

(Read more about She Talks.)

The University of Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Student Initiative Fund is a one-time fund for student groups planning events and activities that relate to, or celebrate, the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. This fund is a tri-campus partnership between standing student initiative funds at the University of Toronto. (Find out more.)

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Year in review: U of T’s community impact in 2014

sgupta — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 15:33:30 +0000

Year in review: U of T’s community impact in 2014 sgupta Fri, 12/19/2014 - 10:33

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Stephanie Wang (centre) spent her Alternative Reading Week helping kids at the Roseland Child Care Centre (photo by Ali Saeed)

Jelena Damjanovic

Author legacy

Jelena Damjanovic

While the University of Toronto continues to make its mark around the world, our students, staff, faculty and alumni also make an important impact right here, in the communities around them.

They have participated in – and sometimes spearheaded – countless initiatives that make the GTA a better place to live, from offering essential health and financial services to cleaning up the environment to inviting the community into the university.

Writer Jelena Damjanovic reports on stories about ��οin the community for ��οNews. Below, Jelena shares some of her favourite stories from 2014.

Helping kids in Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods
Akanksha Ganguly, a first-year master's student in U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, is co-founder and CEO of S.E.E.D.S. (Supporting Education, Empowerment and Development through Science), a non-profit that provides supplemental life science and healthy living education to youth living in priority neighbourhoods of Toronto. So far, after-school, summer and March break workshops have reached more than 150 youth across Toronto.

Read the full story.

Student athletes clean up the Don Valley trails
The next time you walk, bike or run along the Don Valley forest trails, you might want to thank a student athlete from the ��οmountain bike team. Over the past 12 years, they've organized an annual Don Valley forest trail clean-up day which, so far, has succeeded in removing 24,000 pounds of litter from the forest floor. On May 24th, they rolled up their sleeves again and invited Torontonians to join forces with them.

Read the full story.

Helping others face their worst fears: filing taxes
Many people hate filing taxes so much they put it off to the last moment – or hire someone else to handle much of the work. But during this tax season, 28 Rotman Commerce students went out of their way to help file the taxes of total strangers. For free.

Read the full story.

Unlocking the mysteries of Toronto: Doors Open at U of T
The ��οparticipated in Doors Open Toronto, a city-wide weekend festival, offering free access to more than 155 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings across Toronto. In addition to opening up six of its buildings to the public, ��οsponsored a range of free walking tours aligned with this year’s theme: “Secrets and spirits…exploring the mysteries behind the door”.

Read the full story.

100 in 1 Day at U of T
100 in 1 Day, a social movement originating in Bogotá, Colombia, spread all the way to Toronto this year, with ��οjoining the one-day festival of citizen-driven change, as both sponsor and participant. Six of the 148 interventions took place at U of T, five on the St. George campus and one at ��οScarborough.

Read the full story.

Convocation 2014: future physician plans to give back to community
Tyler Tabobondung, a member of the Wasauksing First Nation raised in Toronto, graduated with an honours bachelor of science degree in neuroscience and mental health before starting medical school at McMaster University.

As a medical student, Tabobondung (pictured at right) hopes to combine his passion for science and his love for his people by becoming a physician who can use his skills to improve First Nations health and well-being.

Read the full story.

��οstudent spearheads Ally Blood Donor clinics
When ��οPhD student Stephen McCarthy learned that Canadian Blood Services (CBS) currently has a five-year deferral period for sexually-active gay and bisexual men he was disappointed, but not for long. McCarthy’s father, Jim, offered to donate on his behalf. Inspired by that act of love and support, McCarthy worked with CBS and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit and queer (LBGTTQ) community to create Ally Blood Donor clinics to encourage individuals to donate in place of those who are ineligible.

Read the full story.

Four to watch: Convocation 2014's community-builders
��οalumni studied hard to complete their degrees, but they also found time to mentor youth and volunteer at home and abroad…

Read the full story.

Convocation 2014 grads to watch: city builders
…and when they graduated, they were already hard at work creating better buildings, safer streets and healthier communities.

Read the full story.

IMAGINE health clinic: ��οstudents serve city's most marginalized citizens
Imagine a clinic providing free health care to Toronto’s most vulnerable residents: people with no fixed address, health insurance or ID.

With support from faculty and community partners, ��οstudents from a variety of health profession programs made it happen. Welcome to the Interprofessional Medical and Allied Groups for Improving Neighbourhood Environment (IMAGINE).

Read the full story.

Building a better Toronto: Alternative Reading Week
While some university students spent Reading Week hitting the books or the sack, hundreds of ��οstudents were busy hitting nails on the head – or painting murals and running science workshops for elementary school kids, as part of the Alternative Reading Week Days of Service program (ARW) organized annually by U of T’s Centre for Community Partnerships.

Read the full story.

Aboard the HMS Terror at the University of Toronto
When the wrecked ship discovered in the cold waters off Nunavut this fall turned out to be Erebus, one of the two vessels commandeered by Sir John Franklin on his doomed expedition in 1845 to find the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to Asia, few would imagine a connection to U of T. And yet, U of T’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library has the only copy of the diary and drawings of Captain Owen Stanley, who was on an Arctic expedition on the same ship. It’s just one of many treasures kept in the Fisher Library.

Read the full story.

In Memoriam: remembering the First World War at U of T
Earlier this year, when the world was remembering the First World War, the ��οarchives offered a fascinating glimpse into the war, the University’s role and the rich trove of material found in such places at the records of then-president Robert Falconer, who was knighted for his war effort.

Read the full story.

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IMAGINE health clinic: ��οstudents serve city's most marginalized citizens

sgupta — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 08:27:42 +0000

IMAGINE health clinic: ��οstudents serve city's most marginalized citizens sgupta Tue, 12/02/2014 - 03:27

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A physiotherapy student helps Sandra* who suffers from back pain (photos by Jelena Damjanovic)

Jelena Damjanovic

Author legacy

Jelena Damjanovic

Topic

Subheadline

Providing integrated health care for free to people without insurance, ID or funds

Imagine a clinic providing free health care to Toronto’s most vulnerable residents: people with no fixed address, health insurance or ID. Too bold, utopian, or disruptive?

Not for a group of University of Toronto students.

In 2007, ��οstudents from a variety of health profession programs came together to form the Interprofessional Medical and Allied Groups for Improving Neighbourhood Environment (IMAGINE). And by 2010, with support from faculty and community partners, the IMAGINE clinic was open and offering medical, nursing, pharmacy and social work services.

In 2012, physiotherapy was integrated and the clinic became a recognized Centre for Interprofessional Education credit program.

“It seemed like a really unique opportunity for a student to get involved both first line interacting with patients and interacting in a team with all the other professions that you might see in the real world,” says Claire Hooper, a third-year pharmacy student volunteering at IMAGINE.

“It’s also a very unique, underserved patient population, so it’s a great opportunity to be able to help, especially as a student.”

Students volunteer at the clinic (pictured at right) for three consecutive Saturdays, followed by a reflection day. They work in teams of five students drawn from each health discipline, supervised by five preceptors – licensed healthcare practitioners, who are also volunteering at the clinic.

Working in pairs, the students start the visit, take the patient’s history, perform a physical exam, interpret information and present the case to the rest of the team.

Christopher Wang, now in his second year of medicine, likens the experience to doing a puzzle. “It’s hard to know what to expect when we walk through the door. We try to gather all the pieces and then we go back and debrief with the team and that’s where we start putting the puzzle together. With the expertise of everybody sitting around that table we try to figure out what this patient is here for and what we can do to help.”

In the process, students also learn to write clinical notes, collaborate with other disciplines and develop a treatment plan. And they gain confidence along the way.

“Because they are in pre-clinical years, most med students have not yet been told to “go get your patient and bring them into the room,” says Norma C. Carter, a family doctor/general practitioner, who has been volunteering at IMAGINE as a physician preceptor over the last three years. “By the third clinic, the same student is confidently giving polished, organized presentations and developing plans with their fellow students.”

More than 200 clients are assessed and treated at IMAGINE every year. Many patients come in for physiotherapy, because it’s generally not covered by health plans, but students also see people suffering from common ailments to infections to mental health issues and they treat them all.

Wang’s fondest memory is of a patient who came in with an infected thumb. After examining it and debriefing with the team, the preceptor came in and together they had a good chat with the patient, who turned out to be an IV drug user trying hard to overcome his addiction.

“After explaining to the patient that the thumb is related to his drug use he seemed to have more of an incentive to keep on working on that aspect of his life,” says Wang. “That was very memorable because people will often question how much we can do in a one-hour session like this, and I think there’s actually a lot we can do in terms of getting people back on the right track even.”

Such encounters teach students that patients from marginalized populations have the same health issues as other patients but with additional challenges that make management much more complex at times, says Carter. “They’re getting intensive exposure to the social determinants of health, while also learning not to be afraid of a challenging population.”

Wang agrees. “As training medical students it’s very easy to be only shown the best cases, high blood pressure, etc. But that’s not at all what the health scene of the city is like. I think it’s important for students to see that.”

Hooper concurs: “It makes you a better health practitioner.”

(Above: team members discuss case with preceptors.)

The benefits from IMAGINE’S open, enthusiastic and collaborative care extend beyond the students and the city population they treat, organizers say. Preceptors say they – along with the patients they see in their regular practice outside IMAGINE – also benefit from the inter-professional learning opportunities IMAGINE provides.

Like Carter, Vivian Law is among the 100 preceptors from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy, and social work volunteering at the clinic this year. She started volunteering at IMAGINE as a pharmacy student and has been volunteering as a pharmacy preceptor for the last three years.

Working alongside preceptors and students from other professions, you learn together, Law says. And when students go out to do practice, they’ll be better equipped to interact with other healthcare professionals, she says, and they’ll know what information and support they can get for the patient.

“That’s important because the underprivileged come in with multiple common diseases and issues, so it’s good that the students get to look at the patient in a more holistic view.”

Sandra*, returning to the clinic for a follow-up visit about her back pain, is happy with the service she is getting.

“I like when they show me some exercises or give me a handout so I can practice at home,” she says. “They really want to keep me on track.”

The clinic is open every Saturday except on long weekends and holidays from 10am to 2pm. (Learn more about volunteering, supporting or accessing the clinic.)

*Name changed for privacy reasons.

Jelena Damjanovic writes about communities and urban outreach for ��οNews.

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Life in the Global Brigades: Bake sales, five-hour commutes and lots of love

sgupta — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 09:56:15 +0000

Life in the Global Brigades: Bake sales, five-hour commutes and lots of love sgupta Fri, 11/28/2014 - 04:56

Cutline

Undergrad Elikem Togo is in her fourth year at U of T, pursuing a double major in global health and ecology and evolutionary biology

Terry Lavender

Author legacy

Terry Lavender

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

“Honduras is a vibrant country, brimming with clear turquoise waters, pristine beaches, lush jungles, breathtaking mountains, challenging rivers, and fascinating ancient ruins,” according to the Central American country’s official tourism website.

But Nadine Narain and Sarah Wheeler and the other students in the ��οGlobal Brigades weren’t interested in the scenery when they visited Honduras last August. They were too busy helping local doctors, dentists and nurses at mobile health clinics in the small communities of El Jute and San Antonio de Oriente.

“It took two to three hours’ drive to get there, and we’d have to prepare the medications and supplies before we left,” Narain, president of the ��οGlobal Brigades, recalls. “We’d have to leave very early, and of course, we’d have to travel back to the Global Brigades compound at the end of the day. We’d be five hours on the road each day.”

“It’s definitely not ‘voluntourism’,” says Wheeler, co-founder and co-vice president.

“I get emails from some students asking if we get to go hiking or to the beach, but we don’t do that,” Narain says. But, she adds, participating in Global Brigades is a richly rewarding experience. And participants do get to see that stunning scenery during those long commutes. “Even though you’re sometimes commuting for long hours, you don’t want to sleep, because it’s so beautiful.”

Global Brigades spend seven to 10 days at a time working with local groups to improve quality of life in under-resourced regions while respecting local culture, says Narain. Relatively new to U of T, Global Brigades began in 2003 when students at Illinois’s Marquette University went to Honduras to provide medical care. Since then it has become the world’s largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization with more than 800 university groups.

“We don’t just enter into a community, dispense aid and then leave,” says Wheeler. “We’re constantly following up, playing an active role. It’s overwhelming because we get so emotional upon leaving because you become so close to the people you’re involved with.”

Besides Honduras, Global Brigades also operate in Panama, Nicaragua and Ghana (although operations have temporarily been cancelled there because of the Ebola outbreak). Students can start brigades in 10 areas: architecture, medicine, dentistry, water, the environment, engineering, public health, human rights or business. They’re also involved at home.

“We encourage members to volunteer locally,” Wheeler says. “There’s a lot of need right here in Toronto, and we’re starting partnerships here so we can do local volunteering throughout the year.”

During the first ��οbrigade in Honduras, they helped 1,087 patients, Narain says, providing free medical consultation, medications, dental care, public health education and hygiene packs. The ��οstudents – many of them aspiring medical students – were given the opportunity to shadow doctors, dentists and a pharmacist.

“On the final brigade day, we participated in a holistic project which involved digging trenches to lay down pipes for a community to have access to clean water,” says Narain (pictured at far right, with Wheeler at left).

Brigade members are expected to pay their own way to Honduras, and also to contribute $200 each for medical supplies to bring along. Costs are offset by donations and by bake sales and other initiatives.

Narain, Wheeler and the others are already busy preparing for next year’s brigades – an engineering brigade in May and a medical/dental/public health brigade in late August.

“We work hard,” Narain says. “It’s a lot of preparation; everything from bake sales to going to classrooms to pub nights. All these little fundraising activities take so much time, but we do it with lots of love, and we make friends. We gain experience, and it all pays off in the end. We see where all of our hard work goes.”

“You definitely leave with 35 new friends,” Wheeler adds.

��οGlobal Brigades’ next bake sale takes place December 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Sid Smith foyer and the Medical Sciences Building. They will also be collecting food for Covenant House at both locations. (Read more about Global Brigades.)

Terry Lavender writes about international issues and global citizenship at the University of Toronto.

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Pan Am Parapan Am volunteering: meet Terry Jones, water-ski enthusiast

sgupta — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 09:38:33 +0000

Pan Am Parapan Am volunteering: meet Terry Jones, water-ski enthusiast sgupta Fri, 07/25/2014 - 05:38

Cutline

This is where my computer experience meets water-ski venue and operations," says Information & Technology Services' Terry Jones (photo by Paul Ruppert)

Kelly Rankin

Author legacy

Kelly Rankin

Subheadline

Certified Pan Am judge and ��οstaff member to supervise venue technology, scoring and results

Few people realize that water-skiing and wakeboarding are competitive events at the Pan Am Games.

In fact, both sports made their Games debut in 1995 at the 12th Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina and, in the last five Games water-skiing accounted for 4.7 per cent of Canada's medals.

With the official countdown to Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games (TO2015) underway, writer Kelly Rankin asked Terry Jones, a University of Toronto IT Analyst, Pan Am Games volunteer and water-skiing aficionado about the sport and his role at the Games.

How did you become interested in water-skiing?

I have been interested in water-skiing since I learned at a friend’s cottage when I lived in Winnipeg at about age 12 or 13. I skied whenever I could, but that was usually only a couple of weekends every summer.

That changed when I was a student at U of T. I sailed Laser sailboats with another ��οstudent, Geoff Chandler, and we were relaxing after a sail down at Bluffers Park in Scarborough when he asked if I liked water-skiing. I said I love it. He said, “let’s buy a boat.” That’s when I became a water-skier. It has been a passion, or maybe obsession, since then.

What is your role in the TO2015 Games?

My official role at the Games will be supervisor of venue technology, scoring and results for water-skiing. I will be responsible for planning site setup prior to the events and making sure things like computer-scoring information is transmitted to the Pan Am scoring systems. This is where my computer experience meets water-ski venue and operations.

I am also a certified Pan Am judge, and will judge events if called upon.

Preparations for the 2015 Pan Am Games have been underway for literally years and many of the Ontario officials, myself included, studied and wrote exams to earn our Pan Am Level Judge ratings so that we could judge the events. Whether I will judge or not depends on how many volunteers we have from all over the Pan Am Regions, but I am ready if needed.

How are computers used in the water-skiing events?

We use special computers with video cameras to measure how far ski jumpers fly before they land by capturing a short movie of them landing in an area that has survey markers in the water.

Ski jumping is measured like the long jump, but in our case the landing area is water, not sand, so we have to record the splash to measure where the skier lands.

We can move a video frame forward or backward to find where the skier first touches the water. We then mark that point on the screen and, since we have told the computer where the survey markers are on the screen, the computer can quickly extrapolate where the skier touched the water first.

How do you feel about the Pan Am Games being hosted by Toronto, with many events taking place at U of T?

I think Toronto is a great place to have the Pan Am games and I am sure the people of Toronto will make all the Pan Am visitors welcome. The preparation for the games, especially at U of T, will leave a legacy of amazing sports venues for years to come, such as the field hockey venue on the back campus and the aquatic facility at U of T, Scarborough. Hopefully this will lead to future Pan Am and Olympic champions coming from U of T.

What are some things judges look for when scoring competitive water-skiing?

Unlike some sports, water-skiing is not a subjective sport when it comes to judges. There are three events in water-skiing; slalom skiing, tricks competition and the jump event.

Slalom is measured by how many passes a skier can make through a course of six buoys, where each pass is made more difficult by increasing the speed - up to a maximum of 58km per hour. Once maximum speed is reached then the skier’s rope is shortened making it more difficult to get their ski around the buoys. A missed buoy ends a skier’s slalom attempt.

For tricks, the skier has two timed 20-second passes in which they can complete as many tricks as possible. Each pass starts when they attempt their first trick. Each trick is assigned specific points based on the degree of difficulty. There are no partial points, either a trick is done according to the criteria or it is not. Each pass ends when they fall or when the 20 seconds runs out.

In the jump event, skiers ski over a ramp that is between five and six feet high off the water. The computers and cameras measure how far they have jumped. The key to greater distances is going as fast as possible over the ramp by waiting as late as possible before cutting towards the ramp, timing your upward spring precisely while on the ramp, and maximum aerodynamic form while in the air.

However, regardless of how far the jump is, skiers have to ski away to get credit for a jump. Spectators can expect to see jumps up to 70 meters long! That’s two-thirds the length of a football field in the air! It’s spectacular to watch.

At the moment water-skiing is not an event in the Parapan Am Games. Do you know if there are any plans to change that?

It is unfortunate that water-skiing is not a Parapan Am sport at present. Canada has a strong adaptive water-ski program and regularly competes in the Adaptive World Championships. I hope water-skiing will become part of future Parapan Am Games.

What are you doing to support the games? Let us know your plans to volunteer in the coming months, your dreams of competing, coaching, or simply attending the games. Email the editor at ��οNews: uoftnews@utoronto.ca.

Kelly Rankin is a writer with University Relations at the University of Toronto.

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