Record Number of University Students, Staff and Faculty Helped ‘Make A Difference’

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - A record number of students, staff and faculty of Northwestern Health Sciences University raked the yards of 14 senior citizens in Bloomington on Oct. 27.

There were 76 people who participated in National Make a Difference Day, “a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors,” said Brianna Busch, administrative assistant for the school of massage therapy and an organizer of the University’s participation in Make a Difference Day.

“Being involved in this is so worthwhile because we are helping out elderly people who are otherwise not physically able to rake their yards,” said Nancy Healy, who has been a volunteer for this event since even before she started working at Northwestern in the clinical services department. “You can tell they really appreciate this by the responses you receive.”

Residents were selected by the Housing and Outdoor Maintenance for the Elderly (HOME) program in Bloomington. The University has partnered with HOME for the past five years.

“I volunteer for this event because I truly enjoy giving back to the community,” said Jim McDonald, MBA, vice president of administrative services at Northwestern. “I also like setting an example for other Northwestern employees.”

The day began on campus with a continental-style breakfast in the cafeteria. Teams then set out to rake their assigned yards. Each team raked one yard and later joined another team to rake a second yard. The day ended with a lunch in the cafeteria.

Busch noted the team with the most participants was organized by Christina Fontana, BA, communications intern, and consisted of 13 volunteers.

Northwestern Health Sciences University offers a wide array of choices in natural health care education including chiropractic, Oriental medicine, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, human biology, and integrative health and wellness. The University has more than 900 full-time students on a 25-acre campus in Bloomington, Minn.