Community Service

CAMPOS students are required to perform 10 hours of service a year to the Latino community during their first two years of medical school (for a total of 20 hours) as part of the Medical Spanish elective. The goal of the service requirement is to give students a richer understanding of this community and its needs. Travel time to and from the community service and any formalized training your receive in prepartion for the event may be applied to the total hours; however, at least 5 of the annual 10 hours must be in direct service to the community.

If you have questions about whether your planned activity counts as service, please email your CAMPOS instructor. To document your service, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

The following are guidelines for service activities:

• Service activities must be done in North Carolina or the United States. Service done as part of international travel does not count.
• Service done as part of another course for which students get credit does not count.
• Service for which students are receiving a stipend or any type of pay is not allowed.

Ways to get involved

The Community Service Steering Committee has identified ways for getting involved. They range from on-going projects led by CAMPOS students to one-time events. Options are listed below with contact information. You can, of course, develop your own community service project if you choose.  Your project must be pre-approved by CAMPOS faculty.

• SALSA: Spanish-speakers Assisting Latinos Student Association
• El Pueblo (www.elpueblo.org) is a North Carolina non-profit statewide advocacy and policy organization dedicated to strengthening the Latino community
• UNC Hospital Pediatrics Department- volunteer clinical interpreter (shifts 3-4 hours/week, oral/written assessment required- contact Harriett Purves at hpurves@unch.unc.edu
• M.A.N.O (Mujeres Avanzando hacia Nuevas Oportunidades) - Teach ESL to local Latina women, including childcare and mentoring as integral components of this program. Intermediate Spanish, application required. (www.unc.edu/student/orgs/mano)
• B.O.L.D. - Program similar to M.A.N.O, except intended for local Latino men who want to learn English. Intermediate Spanish, application required. Please visit the M.A.N.O. website above for details.
• North Carolina Farmworkers Health Program: The NCFHP's mission seeks to improve the health of migrant and seasonal farmworkes and their families in the State. Summer internships are also available around the state. Contact Fiorella Horna-Guerra at 919.733.2040, ext 235 or go to their website.  Go to NCFHP for powerpoint presentation.

Documenting your service

Please complete the CAMPOS Community Service Form for each service activity you perform. Email your completed forms to Patty Neff, the staff assistant. Patty will contact you at the end of each semester if she has not heard from you.