INDIANAPOLIS — Three Indianapolis neighborhoods will get house calls from medical students Saturday, April 5, during the 19th annual Spring House Calls, the oldest service-learning project at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
More than 80 medical students will fan out in Haughville, Blackburn and a near-eastside neighborhood to perform yard work and landscaping at 30 homes and the Neighborhood Fellowship Church, 3102 E. 10th Street, home of the IU Student Outreach Clinic, a free clinic opened by the students nearly seven years ago.
The student-led event targets the homes of elderly, disabled or minority homeowners to give them a helping hand.
The students will begin the day at 8:30 a.m. at the Christamore House Family and Community Center, 502 N. Tremont St., Indianapolis. From there, the students will go to their appointed homes to remove weeds, plant flowers, mulch and perform other landscaping tasks. At noon, the volunteers and homeowners will gather at the Christamore House to enjoy lunch and a chance to connect and celebrate.
This annual event is coordinated, managed and conducted by medical students with support from the IU School of Medicine’s Office of Medical Service-Learning. Co-chairs of this year’s project are fourth-year medical students Braca Cantor, Alice Elroy and Ethan Morrical; third-year medical students Mark Hood, Kathleen Kelley and John Parish; and second-year medical student Meredith Faller.