To mark the USF College of Public Health’s (COPH) 40th anniversary, COPHers came together for “40 Hours for 40 Years of the COPH,” a service initiative driven by alumni and embraced by the entire COPH community.
Participants across the country and beyond lent their time, talents and passion to advance the public’s health in honor of four decades of impact. The goal was 40 hours of collective service performed while wearing their 40th anniversary shirts or USF gear they already own— a goal that was proudly reached and surpassed. The result was a heartfelt wave of contributions that underscored just how far and wide Bull pride reaches.
Projects ranged from literacy outreach to yoga instruction to maternal health supply drives, epidemiological investigations and global health support, demonstrating the expansive and comprehensive definition of public health that COPH has championed since its founding.
A few fun facts from this year’s initiative:
- Farthest participant: Ontario, Canada
- Most hours logged by one participant: 20
- Earliest graduation year represented: 1987
- One proud triple COPH Bull took part
- Largest group effort: Five COPH alumni volunteered together
- Farthest direct global reach: Rural villages in Malawi, located in southeastern Africa
Here are some of the participants:
Sabrina Hackett, a double COPH Bull with her MPH and BSPH, volunteered at The Spring of Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County’s certified domestic violence center. The Spring provides safe shelter, crisis intervention and supportive services to survivors of domestic violence and their children.
Sabrina Hackett, MPH, BSPH, sorted clothing at The Spring of Tampa Bay during her service time in honor of the COPH’s 40th anniversary. (Photo courtesy of Hackett)
For Aditi Desai, MPH, the project was an opportunity to celebrate the less visible ways that service intersects with public health.
Even if it's not in the stereotypical subjects related to public health, things like community bookstores make books of all kinds accessible and increasing literacy, especially health literacy, is a huge public health issue.
Aditi Desai
Aditi Desai, MPH, volunteered at Dimond Park Yoga and Bookmark Bookstore through Friends of the Oakland Public Library. (Photo courtesy of Desai)
A current COPH Alumni Society board leader, Desai volunteered between three places including at the Bookmark Bookstore in Oakland, Calif., where proceeds benefit the city’s public libraries. She also served as a yoga instructor at Dimond Park Yoga, a free community group and with the Oakland Literacy Coalition promoting literacy programs in Oakland schools and giving away free children's books.
“Public health is a very wide area to work in,” she explained. “By supporting programs that increase access to literacy and offering free yoga, I hope to give individuals the tools they need to make better decisions and support their mental and physical well-being.”
Dan O’Neill, MPH, and current COPH Alumni Society board leader, logged the most hours of service in the initiative with an estimated 20 hours. He spent a week at Woodruff Scout Camp in Blairsville, Georgia, with Scouting America’s Greater Atlanta Council, mentoring 10 youth and volunteering in various camp operations, including kitchen support.
Dan O’Neill volunteered mentoring youth at Woodruff Scout Camp in Georgia. (Photo courtesy of O’Neill)
Mandi-Lou Gross, who works in the COPH at the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, dedicated her service time to the Hadassah St. Pete HER Drive, a month-long initiative held each May to empower individuals and girls through access to essential care items.
Mandi-Lou Gross, JD, helped collect over 3,000 feminine hygiene products and 2,300 diapers, contributing four hours of volunteer time toward the effort. (Photo courtesy of Gross)
“Hearing the stories of how many people the drive has impacted is my ‘why,’” Gross shared. “One in five girls in the U.S. have missed school or left early because they didn’t have access to a feminine hygiene product and one in four parents have missed work because they didn’t have enough diapers to leave their baby in childcare. These groups and parents need support and I’m happy to help provide a small amount of it.”
MPH alumna Whitney Fung Uy, PhD, also joined the effort by volunteering her time at Feeding Tampa Bay, helping address food insecurity in the region.
I love the encouragement to do more for our community!
Whitney Fung Uy
Whitney Fung Uy, PhD, dedicated her time at Feeding Tampa Bay. (Photo courtesy of Fung Uy)
Elizabeth Daley, MPH, participated in the service initiative from her home in Pasadena,
Calif., to support a nonprofit in Malawi with administrative work and funding efforts.
Elizabeth Daley served volunteer time remotely, with the farthest direct global reach. (Photo courtesy of Daley)
The organization operates a mobile medical outreach that serves four rural villages with no other access to health care. An MPH alumna, her service helped bring essential care to communities with limited access to services across the globe demonstrating the far-reaching impact of the COPH community.
Each contribution embodies the spirit of the COPH mission of advancing the public’s health. As the college’s 40th anniversary comes to a close, this initiative proved that the COPH alumni and community continues to advance the public’s health together, with creativity and heart.