Building Better Leaders Through Volunteerism

From the June 23, 2023 issue of the Transformational Times - Student Leadership

Take Three: Building Better Leaders Through Volunteerism 

 

Saba Anwer, MBA, MPH, Class of 2025 

 

 
Earlier this year, MCW students attending The Kern Institute and Kern National Network: Day of Leadership and Connection in Medicine worked together to make over 100 sack lunches. These meals were distributed to members of the community through The Gathering of Southeast Wisconsin. Later, Saba Anwer, M3, sat down with Lyn Hildenbrand, Executive Director of the Gathering of Southeast WI, to discuss the importance of community service in developing future leaders… 

 

Serving to Lead 

 

As future physician leaders, we will play a key role in human flourishing​. To become effective

physician leaders of tomorrow, it’s important to find purpose in serving our communities today. While planning the Leadership Conference, our objective was to find an opportunity for medical students to connect with each other while zeroing in on their “why.” We partnered with the Gathering of Southeast Wisconsin, a non-profit organization that feeds those in Milwaukee who would otherwise go hungry, to create an activity for medical students to give back to their community while building connections with each other. 

 
We began the day discussing a key issue that many patients in the Milwaukee community battle every day: food insecurity. We then gave conference attendees a tall order: Figure out a way to serve lunch to more than 100 people in an hour with just raw materials. 

  

Students quickly went to work on “sandwich math” to figure out the ratio of components in each sack lunch, how to best organize stations for an assembly line, and how to ensure top-notch quality for each meal. For example, we learned quickly that the appropriate ratio of peanut butter to jelly in a superlative PB&J sandwich is 60:40 peanut butter to jelly. More importantly, we saw how planning, working in teams, and communicating clearly are invaluable when the goal is to serve others with quality and integrity. 

We found that volunteering while giving back to the community builds leadership skills in a way that is meaningful. To better understand why volunteering is a powerful supplement to medical education, I sat down with Lyn Hildenbrand, Executive Director of the Gathering of Southeast WI, to get her perspective:

Saba: Thanks so much for partnering with MCW. I have three questions for you today, and the first one is how volunteering develops better future physician leaders? 

 

 

Lyn: Volunteering develops leaders because it teaches medical professionals how to interact outside of their clinical group. Getting folks into the field and exposing them to real-life situations helps students understand that medicine is not just a textbook of knowledge. It is a dynamic field that requires practical application of knowledge, skill, and experience. And through volunteering, one gets tons of theory to practice opportunities. 

 

Also, volunteering unites people from differing industries and backgrounds for a common goal. This creates a unique network for volunteers, and one completely unlike those they might develop in their job fields. Not only does volunteering provide uncommon connections, but it may also initiate rare opportunities. You meet lots of people while volunteering; you never know who you might meet. It’s a great opportunity to network and all networking is useful. With so many socially conscious individuals working toward greater goals, volunteering provides ample opportunities to connect with like-minded people. 

 

Saba: What can giving back to the community teach future medical professionals? 

 

Lyn: By volunteering and standing up for issues that protect the well-being of people in the community, it adds to the knowledge base of individuals and helps you to see the world from a different lens. It seems like this would be central to physicians’ lives; seeing things and situations through a different lens. Issues such as equality, social justice, human rights, safety, and access to care profoundly influence patient care. I feel that walking in the shoes of others always helps one grow with compassion and empathy. 

 

 Saba: Why should medical students seek opportunities to get involved in their communities? 

Lyn: Volunteering and getting involved in your community is important because of what it teaches medical professionals; the humanity it brings to one’s life. Getting folks into the field and exposing them to real-life situations helps one understand that medicine is not just a textbook of knowledge. It is a dynamic field that requires practical application of knowledge, skill, and experience. Nothing beats hands-on service to others. It makes you feel so good! 

 

Saba: Thanks for these insights, Lyn. I have a bonus question--What opportunities are there for medical students to get involved with the Gathering? 

 

Lyn: There are lots of ways to get involved! 

 

1. 
   

2. Serve Breakfast - Suitable for groups of 5-10 

 

Shifts are available Monday-Friday from 7:00-10:30AM. - The Gathering at Running Rebels (300 W Fond Du Lac Ave.  

 

2. Serve Saturday Lunch (3 or 4 locations) - Suitable for groups of 6-10, depending on site 

 

Shifts are available Saturdays from 9:45AM - 1:30PM at the three main Gathering sites. Additional shifts are available at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church every second and fourth Saturday from 10:30AM - 1:30 PM; when dine-in serving resumes. 

 

3. Serve Dinner – Suitable for groups of 5-7 

 

Shifts are available Monday and Wednesday from 3:30-6:30PM at our Ascension Lutheran 1236 S Layton Blvd. 

 

4. Cook Saturday Lunch; training provided – Suitable for groups of 3-6 

 

Saturdays from 7/8:00-10:00AM once every 4-6 weeks. Prepare lunch for 100-150 Gathering guests, depending on the location. Menus, supplies, and training provided. 

 

5. Preserve Produce; seasonal project – Suitable for groups of 3-10 

 

Wash, chop, blanch, freeze and can fresh produce for our Fresh Produce Preservation Project (FPPP). Shifts are available August through October. Dates are scheduled seasonally.  

 

6. Beautify Our Meal Sites – Suitable for groups of 5-20 

 

Clean or supply site decorations. Opportunities are available throughout the year subject to need and availability.  

 

7. Bag Lunch Project – Suitable for groups of any size 

 

Groups provide all ingredients and assemble bag lunches for distribution to our Gathering guests as they exit our Saturday lunch meal sites.  

 

To sign up to volunteer at the Gathering, follow this link: https://www.thegatheringwis.org/volunteer#:~:text=Group%20Volunteer%20Sign%2DUp,of%20up%20to%208%20individuals. 

 

Saba Anwer is a third-year medical at MCW and a Kern National Network Student Officer. She is the outgoing Co-President of the Public Health Interest Group.  

 

Lyn Hildenbrand is the Executive Director of The Gathering of Southeast WI.