During my second year of college, I founded Health Access For All, a campus group that fights health inequities in the United States. HAFA fundraises for nonprofits that remedy health disparities, with all proceeds supporting our chosen organizations. During our first two years of operation, we primarily focused on fundraising for the Good Neighbor Health Clinic, which provides free medical and dental care to uninsured and underinsured adults in the Upper Valley (a region that encompasses communities in New Hampshire and Vermont). Due to the coronavirus pandemic, HAFA shifted during March 2020 to fundraising for national COVID-19 relief efforts; we’ve donated funds to organizations like Feeding America and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center’s COVID-19 Community Relief Fund.
Over the past three years, we’re proud to have raised over $5500 for our chosen nonprofits, mobilized over 50 students to volunteer with us, and earned acceptance to Clinton Global Initiative University, a network of youth-led service projects sponsored by the Clinton Foundation
HAFA helped me connect with a group of passionate, committed people who I am so grateful to call my friends. In addition, founding my own campus group has taught me valuable lessons about leadership. During HAFA’s first year, our team focused solely on organizing fundraising events for Dartmouth students, like book sales and raffles. However, I realized that this wasn’t the most effective way for us to earn money, due to the competition we faced from other campus groups. Instead, I introduced a hybrid approach. HAFA now includes a Campus Events Team, which organizes fundraising events, and a Tutoring Team, which raises money by tutoring local middle and high school students. Leading HAFA taught me how to analyze past performance trends, consider the needs of available markets, and make strategic decisions to improve. This organization also made me even more passionate about public health, as I was able to have meaningful dialogues with people affected by these issues and gain a deeper understanding of organizations that address domestic health.
During my time with HAFA, I played a primary role in designing the following club materials, among others:
Health Access For All’s official website
Training PPT for Incoming Tutors:
My college town’s local newspaper, The Valley News, wrote about our work here. You can learn more information about HAFA by following @CollegeHAFA on Instagram and Twitter and liking our Facebook page.