Volunteering with AMSA
AMSA offers a variety of volunteering opportunities for its members. We normally have at least one opportunity for you to become involved with each week. These community involvement volunteering events range from activities such as working with Animal Friends to playing BINGO with the elderly at Forbes Center for Rehabilitation and Health Care and helping to package medical supplies for Global Links. For specific examples of past volunteering events see the Past Events section below. Spots are limited for many of our volunteering events so we encourage students to sign-up as early as possible if they would like to attend an event. Volunteering is an important aspect of AMSA and is required for medical school, so we highly encourage all members to sign-up for several volunteer opportunities throughout the school year. See what upcoming events we are offering and sign-up in the following section.
AMSA offers a variety of volunteering opportunities for its members. We normally have at least one opportunity for you to become involved with each week. These community involvement volunteering events range from activities such as working with Animal Friends to playing BINGO with the elderly at Forbes Center for Rehabilitation and Health Care and helping to package medical supplies for Global Links. For specific examples of past volunteering events see the Past Events section below. Spots are limited for many of our volunteering events so we encourage students to sign-up as early as possible if they would like to attend an event. Volunteering is an important aspect of AMSA and is required for medical school, so we highly encourage all members to sign-up for several volunteer opportunities throughout the school year. See what upcoming events we are offering and sign-up in the following section.
Sign-up to Volunteer with AMSA
Please sign-up as early as possible, once all spots are filled we cannot accept more volunteers. If more students sign-up than we have the ability to bring with us to volunteer, students will be chosen at a first come first serve basis. If a student is chosen for a volunteering event and can no longer attend they must let the VCR chairs know and should try to do this at least a week before the scheduled event so that we can allow another student to fill their spot. Each link below will bring you to a sign-up page with more details about the event. If you have questions please see the FAQ section at the bottom of the page.
Volunteer with FORGE
"FORGE (Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment) is currently recruiting volunteers for its college and career preparatory program SCCORE and its In-Home Tutoring. For SCOORE, volunteers will assist refugee high school students with SAT preparation, college applications, and coursework. The after school program at Brashear High School runs from 3-5 PM Monday through Thursday, and tutors are expected to commit to one session a week. Transportation is provided. For In-Home Tutoring, volunteers will assist refugee families with ESL tutoring, day-to-day tasks and navigating the city. Volunteers are expected to commit 2-3 hours a week (generally on the weekends) and will be reimbursed for transportation. Though tutors are not required to know languages other than English, speakers of Spanish, Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Nepali, and/or Russian may find it helpful. If you are interested and/or have further questions, please e-mail: forgeatpitt@gmail.com
Please sign-up as early as possible, once all spots are filled we cannot accept more volunteers. If more students sign-up than we have the ability to bring with us to volunteer, students will be chosen at a first come first serve basis. If a student is chosen for a volunteering event and can no longer attend they must let the VCR chairs know and should try to do this at least a week before the scheduled event so that we can allow another student to fill their spot. Each link below will bring you to a sign-up page with more details about the event. If you have questions please see the FAQ section at the bottom of the page.
Volunteer with FORGE
"FORGE (Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment) is currently recruiting volunteers for its college and career preparatory program SCCORE and its In-Home Tutoring. For SCOORE, volunteers will assist refugee high school students with SAT preparation, college applications, and coursework. The after school program at Brashear High School runs from 3-5 PM Monday through Thursday, and tutors are expected to commit to one session a week. Transportation is provided. For In-Home Tutoring, volunteers will assist refugee families with ESL tutoring, day-to-day tasks and navigating the city. Volunteers are expected to commit 2-3 hours a week (generally on the weekends) and will be reimbursed for transportation. Though tutors are not required to know languages other than English, speakers of Spanish, Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Nepali, and/or Russian may find it helpful. If you are interested and/or have further questions, please e-mail: forgeatpitt@gmail.com
Schenley Gardens Senior Living Volunteering
The Pitt AlderCare volunteer group would like to work with AMSA to send volunteers to Schenley Gardens Nursing Home on Saturdays this semester. Volunteers will interact with residents playing games and talking in a group setting. If you are musically inclined you can also volunteer to perform for the residents. Students can also volunteer to help the senior learn how to use technology. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer please email Thomas Zhang at TDZ7@pitt.edu.
Finding volunteering on your own
While AMSA offers a variety of volunteer events we also encourage our members to reach out to groups and volunteer on their own. If you enjoyed working with a group you found through AMSA please do not hesitate to contact the VCR co-chairs to find out more about how you can get involved with that organization on a more regular basis on your own. We also encourage students to look into finding clinical volunteer hours through any of the local UPMC hospitals or clinics in the area. Pitt also offers volunteer events many of which are listed on the Pitt Serves website for students who are looking to become more involved in the Pittsburgh community. While AMSA offers many opportunities it is also important to find something you love and stick with it if you can. We try to facilitate many volunteer opportunities with the hope that students will find a good volunteering fit for them.
Past Events
Animal Friends- Do you love volunteering with animals? AMSA sure does and we try to volunteer at least once a semester with Animal Friends of Pittsburgh where you get to not only volunteer but also play with some adorable puppies. This is a popular event and while we are not always working directly with the animals they like to stop by and play.
East End Thrift- AMSA likes to help out different community based groups and East End Community Thrift is always a fun volunteering opportunity. You never know what you are going to see when you go to this thrift shop and help sort the donated goods.
PMADD- PMADD is a campus wide event that AMSA is proud to participate in. This year we helped to clean-up litter from the streets in Penn Hills. Last year we helped to clean-up a camp with many of our members.
FAQ
Q: How many hours of volunteering do I need to get into medical school?
A competitive medical student typically has completed around 200 hours of community service with at least half of those hours being clinical volunteering such as volunteering in a hospital setting. While this is common there are of course some students who have more or less service hours. The most important thing is that you find a way to volunteer that is meaningful to you and you enjoy enough to talk about it during interviews.
Q: Do I need a 2-step TB test and flu shot to volunteer?
In most cases the 2-step TB test and flu shot are only required for shadowing and not volunteering events. However a few volunteer events offered throughout the year will require a 2-step TB test and flu shot such as volunteering at a nursing home or any volunteering done at a UPMC facility. If a 2-step TB test and flu shot are required it will be stated in the information found on the sign-up page for an event. If you have looked at the sign-up sheet are still not sure if an event requires a 2-step TB test and flu shot please email Benny and Felicia at vcr.pittamsa@gmail.com.
Q: Is there a limit to how many events I can sign-up for?
There is no limit to how many events you can sign-p for, but we do ask that if you sign-up you are available for the entire scheduled duration of the event. If you sign-up for an event and do not show up without prior warning it will make you less likely to be chosen to attend an event in the future. We understand that sometimes life happens and things come up but ask students to try to inform the VCR co-chairs and/or the member of the VCR committee coordinating the event if they cannot attend an event for which they are signed-up at least a week in advance.
Q: Is transportation provided and do we travel as a group?
Yes, transportation will be provided. In most cases we will meet at the Union and use the Port Authority busses to travel to our destination, but in some cases we do have AMSA board members drive to events that cannot be easily reached by bus. If you are chosen for an event you will be contacted via email by the member of the VCR committee who is coordinating the event and will be given the specific information about travel, attire, ect. In all cases you will not need to worry about traveling to events on your own.
Q: Who can I contact if I have additional questions or questions about a specific event?
If you have any questions which have not been answered here or questions about a specific volunteering event which AMSA is offering please feel free to reach out to the VCR co-chairs Benny and Felicia at an AMSA meeting or via email at vcr.pittamsa@gmail.com.
While AMSA offers a variety of volunteer events we also encourage our members to reach out to groups and volunteer on their own. If you enjoyed working with a group you found through AMSA please do not hesitate to contact the VCR co-chairs to find out more about how you can get involved with that organization on a more regular basis on your own. We also encourage students to look into finding clinical volunteer hours through any of the local UPMC hospitals or clinics in the area. Pitt also offers volunteer events many of which are listed on the Pitt Serves website for students who are looking to become more involved in the Pittsburgh community. While AMSA offers many opportunities it is also important to find something you love and stick with it if you can. We try to facilitate many volunteer opportunities with the hope that students will find a good volunteering fit for them.
Past Events
Animal Friends- Do you love volunteering with animals? AMSA sure does and we try to volunteer at least once a semester with Animal Friends of Pittsburgh where you get to not only volunteer but also play with some adorable puppies. This is a popular event and while we are not always working directly with the animals they like to stop by and play.
East End Thrift- AMSA likes to help out different community based groups and East End Community Thrift is always a fun volunteering opportunity. You never know what you are going to see when you go to this thrift shop and help sort the donated goods.
PMADD- PMADD is a campus wide event that AMSA is proud to participate in. This year we helped to clean-up litter from the streets in Penn Hills. Last year we helped to clean-up a camp with many of our members.
FAQ
Q: How many hours of volunteering do I need to get into medical school?
A competitive medical student typically has completed around 200 hours of community service with at least half of those hours being clinical volunteering such as volunteering in a hospital setting. While this is common there are of course some students who have more or less service hours. The most important thing is that you find a way to volunteer that is meaningful to you and you enjoy enough to talk about it during interviews.
Q: Do I need a 2-step TB test and flu shot to volunteer?
In most cases the 2-step TB test and flu shot are only required for shadowing and not volunteering events. However a few volunteer events offered throughout the year will require a 2-step TB test and flu shot such as volunteering at a nursing home or any volunteering done at a UPMC facility. If a 2-step TB test and flu shot are required it will be stated in the information found on the sign-up page for an event. If you have looked at the sign-up sheet are still not sure if an event requires a 2-step TB test and flu shot please email Benny and Felicia at vcr.pittamsa@gmail.com.
Q: Is there a limit to how many events I can sign-up for?
There is no limit to how many events you can sign-p for, but we do ask that if you sign-up you are available for the entire scheduled duration of the event. If you sign-up for an event and do not show up without prior warning it will make you less likely to be chosen to attend an event in the future. We understand that sometimes life happens and things come up but ask students to try to inform the VCR co-chairs and/or the member of the VCR committee coordinating the event if they cannot attend an event for which they are signed-up at least a week in advance.
Q: Is transportation provided and do we travel as a group?
Yes, transportation will be provided. In most cases we will meet at the Union and use the Port Authority busses to travel to our destination, but in some cases we do have AMSA board members drive to events that cannot be easily reached by bus. If you are chosen for an event you will be contacted via email by the member of the VCR committee who is coordinating the event and will be given the specific information about travel, attire, ect. In all cases you will not need to worry about traveling to events on your own.
Q: Who can I contact if I have additional questions or questions about a specific event?
If you have any questions which have not been answered here or questions about a specific volunteering event which AMSA is offering please feel free to reach out to the VCR co-chairs Benny and Felicia at an AMSA meeting or via email at vcr.pittamsa@gmail.com.
