Dominique Adkins is a third-year PharmD candidate at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy.
In October 2023, a contact from Promise Land Storehouse, a food pantry in Charles City, VA, reached out to me about their holiday tradition of supplying filled holiday stockings for children and creating a “pop-up shop” for parents to get gifts for their kids. They were having some concerns about their ability to fulfill that for this year because they rely on donations—which they were low on this season—to provide these items. After giving the conversation more thought, I realized that I’m in a role in which I can help their community. I could use my leadership position as APhA–ASP Chapter president at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Pharmacy to inspire other students to help this cause.
I brought the idea of creating a cohort competition for the drive to the VCU Student Executive Council. They were all in support, and many were willing to help! Sixteen other organizations at VCU volunteered to help advertise for the drive and encourage their members to donate. Thus, the planning for the donation drive began.
Winners receive lunch and “pie”
The drive ran from November 1 to November 17. I created a point system for items that were most in need (e.g., 5 points for holiday items, 3 for wellness items, etc.) and tallied the points as the drive went on. We had a team for each of our cohorts (P1, P2, P3, P4) and a faculty/graduate student team. The team that ended with the most points would win a catered lunch and the opportunity to “pie” a faculty member. The dean of our program even signed up to be pied!
When the representatives for the food pantry arrived at the pharmacy school to pick up the donations, they were overwhelmed with joy and even shed a few tears. We filled up two SUVs with toys, food, and hygiene supplies. There were hundreds of toy cars, candy canes, and books. It was a great success. In the end, our second-year class won and got to pie our cardiology professor.
In your role for a reason
I share this story with you to remind those with leadership roles that you are in your roles for a reason. You can create incredible opportunities to help others and inspire other students. I encourage you to pursue opportunities outside of your comfort zone—outside of what those before you have done.