Ebola Relief in West Africa

Our inaugural project was the #EndTheOutbreak campaign, which we began in September of 2014. Our mission was to raise awareness through advocacy and social media about Ebola in West Africa. Further, we partnered with nurses at two health centers in Liberia: Rivercess and the Carter Center. We raised money and collected supplies for our two partners. You can read more details about our efforts below.

Supply Collection: Our partners sent us a “wish list” of supplies that the most needed. We placed supply collection bins throughout Mount Sinai hospital, and sent broadcast communications to the entire Mount Sinai Hospital System network. We collected over 150 full boxed of supplies that we shipped to Liberia.

Above is a photo of the poster we posted around the hospital to collect donations for our partner health centers.

#EndTheOutbreak social media campaign: in order to raise awareness among a broad network of friends and social media contacts, we asked classmates and faculty to take photos with an #EndTheOutbreak sign, and change their profile pictures and cover photos. Furthermore, we reached out to medical schools in the area and asked them to take their own #EndTheOutbreak photos. We also started a Twitter, and Instagram, and a website to allow people to learn more about the work that we were doing.

Mount Sinai student photos, supporting the #EndTheOutbreak social media campaign.

Fundraising: Through various events, we raised over $6,500 for our partners in Liberia.

• Crank for a Cause: through a partnership with the Crank Cycling Studio, we hosted a charity spinning class, from which all proceeds went toward our fundraising efforts. We raised $1500 from this event.
• Auction: We hosted a silent auction for the Mount Sinai students and faculty. Mount Sinai students donated goods and services, ranging from Indian Cooking Classes, to cheesecakes, to custom paintings, even to birdwatching. The auction was immensely popular and raised almost $2000.
• Trivia night: we hosted a trivia night at DTUT cafe and bar, from which a portion of the profits went toward our fundraising. We raised $375 from the event.

Donations offered by students for the auction.

Advocacy: Because we felt that the media’s attention on the Ebola craze focused too much on Ebola cases in the United States, part of our work centered around advocating for international aid and relief for West Africa. You can read our open letter, written to President Obama, Congress, and Mr. Klain; you can read more details about our work on our EndTheOutbreak website.

Nepal Earthquake Relief

After the Nepal earthquake on April 25, 2015, we teamed up with Health Foundation Nepal, a non-profit organization founded by a Mount Sinai resident. The foundation worked to purchase and distribute supplies to affected villages in Nepal. You can read more about the relief efforts of Health Foundation Nepal here. 

To raise money for Health Foundation Nepal through a Southeast Asian-themed dinner fundraiser. The dinner raised over $600 for our partner organization.