by Melanie Zhang ’22
Published Oct. 31st, 2021
The Montgomery HOSA – Future Health Professionals club recently held multiple fundraisers, both for the club and for the greater community.
Fundraisers have been a major part of HOSA since its first year. Last year, for example, the club sold bracelets for $1 to $2. The proceeds, around $200, went to the Hugs for Brady Foundation to help kids battling cancer.
More recently, the club fundraised on September 18th with Chipotle in Hillsborough. One-third of the day’s proceeds went to the club to support its participation in competitions, like the Southern Regional Conference held in January and the State Leadership Conference competition in March. According to MHS HOSA President Tanish Jain ’22, “The whole point of the fundraisers is for us to raise capital so that we can alleviate the costs [of entering] as much as we can,” adding that the club was able to raise $150 from Chipotle for that purpose.
Other initiatives were directed outward. In August, the club partnered with the MHS UNICEF club to create the Hope for Haiti drive. Members collected school supplies such as pencils, pens, and dry-erase markers that were packed into boxes and sent to Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake.
In early September, HOSA partnered with the MHS Red Cross Club to raise money to donate to the American Red Cross in support of Hurricane Ida victims. Together, they raised $382.35. The Red Cross donated an additional $600 from their club’s profits.
Even though “HOSA is [typically] a competitive, educational club,” Vice President Neeharika Beru ’22 commented that they are deeply concerned with the health of community members, meaning they “[strive] to be [a] part of the community, and [to] do whatever we can.”
In the future, Historian Jenna Lu ’23 says the club plans to hold “apparel, sticker, and bracelet fundraisers, [study] sessions, and [have] local healthcare professionals [speak in] workshops.”
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