The Family Medicine physician residents and staff in the Graduate Medical Education program have been collecting plastic lids. The lids will be recycled in support of a local anti-bullying initiative called Be the Voice. More specifically, they will be
used to build a buddy bench, created by Green Tree Plastics, which will be placed at Auburn Elementary. Anyone who sits on the bench will send a signal to other kids that they need a buddy to come over and spend a little time with them.
The lids were presented to Officer Priscilla Foy, who is a member of the Gwinnett County Sheriff Department as well an active participant in community programs. She is the one who presented our program with the opportunity to participate in this program. What a great way to give back to the community!
No, it’s not No-Shave November, but the residents of Northside Gwinnett dedicated their beards to an equally worthy cause. The Inaugural Beard Auction, held on January 23, 2020, was a residency-wide event aimed to raise awareness and funds for the Positive Impact Clinic, an organization that provides medical care to patients with HIV in Atlanta. Male residents from the Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and Transitional Year programs auctioned off their beards to the highest bidder who then had complete reign over the style, design, and cut of each beard. Bids reached as high as $250, and the auction successfully raised $1680, which was fully donated to Positive Impact to fund services including but not limited to labs, access to medications, counseling and housing assistance. In addition to helping the community, the event provided an avenue for the residents to come together, support a cause and create memories. We commend Dr. Austin Hanson, Dr. Kenneth Short and Ms. Bethany Tingelhoff for organizing an event that not only supported the HIV community, but also the wellness of the residents.
