Students and faculty members from Elmhurst College’s nursing master’s entry program recently spent a morning providing meals for hungry children.

Ten students, led by NME Director Elizabeth Davis and Visiting Assistant Professor Ruth Schumacher, worked with Feed My Starving Children, an international aid organization committed to providing nutritious food to people across the world. During the morning of November 19, the students and faculty helped pack 21,384 meals for shipment to Haiti, where they would feed 59 children for a year.

“This was a great opportunity for our students to come together as a cohort and give back,” said Davis. “The nursing master’s entry program is a very rigorous program, and the students have been working hard. They wanted to do something positive to promote the cohesion of their group.”

The volunteer activity reinforced classroom lessons as well. “In our classes we’ve been talking about health care disparities and nutritional status,” said Davis. “Working with Feed My Starving Children provided a hands-on lesson in the importance of nutrition in health on a global level.”

What’s more, said Davis, the students had fun. “It was nice to see the students relax and enjoy what they’re doing. Several students emailed me afterwards saying thank you for giving us the opportunity and encouraging us to do this for the next NME group.”

Elmhurst’s NME program is designed for students with bachelor’s degrees outside of nursing who want to transition into the field. The program prepares students to sit for the NCLEX-RN licensing exam and the clinical nurse leader certification exam.