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Community Outreach

Students with Renovation Alliance on MLK Day of Service 2019
VTCSOM medical students helped Renovation Alliance on 2019 Day of Service

The Community Outreach Program seeks to provide Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine students, faculty, and staff with the opportunities and support to integrate community outreach, health promotion, and service activities into their day-to-day life experiences and academic pursuits.

Each year, individuals and school-sponsored groups, such as student clubs, are connected with local nonprofit organizations, providing numerous opportunities to give back to the community. The Community Outreach Program reflects the way Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine’s sixth value – service learning – is not limited to the academic curriculum.

In recognition that community service and volunteerism are valuable educational opportunities, service learning is woven throughout the school’s values, curriculum, and community life. These experiences help students develop person-centered knowledge of various needs of the at risk, vulnerable, and underserved; increase understanding of public health issues and advocacy; provide exposure to the delivery of prevention and health promotion activities; and much more.

Recent school-sponsored events and activities include a Martin Luther King Day of Service (2019) which partnered VTCSOM students with local organization Renovation Alliance. The students worked to improve the homes and lives of low-income homeowners. By providing critical home repairs for homeowners in need in the Roanoke Valley, they helped ensure that they can live independently in safe and healthy homes.