Future Doctors Reach Out to the Athens Community

The Georgia Regents University-University of Georgia Medical Partnership is a newcomer to the Athens community, but its students are still doing their best to put down roots in the Classic City. Members of the Class of 2016, who are just wrapping up their first year of medical school, did their part on April 16th with a fundraising event for the Boys and Girls Club of Athens.

The event was held at Cine BarCafe in Athens downtown and featured live music, a silent auction and a raffle. About 50 people participated and the event generated a $2,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club, an organization that has been at the forefront of youth development for decades.

“I want people to know that the class of 2016 and the medical school care about children and the community,” said Joey Krakowiak, an aspiring pediatrician and student government president for his class, “and the children in Boys and Girls Club of Athens needs the public’s care and support in the long term.”

For the past 50 years, the BGCA has sought to enrich children’s lives and help shape their futures. Today, more than 4,200 young people aged 6 to 18 are members. They come to the club to play sports, participate in community service projects, and join in after-school programs that help with everything from homework assignments to confidence and self-image.

Krakowiak first got involved with the club as a volunteer, but as someone who wants to spend his career in pediatrics he recognized what a major, long-term impact it could have on the future development of the young people who come here for personal, academic or athletic attention. This gave him the idea of organizing the fundraiser.

“I think programs at BGCA not only help children with their academic challenges, but also help to establish a good role model or positive image for kids instead of those images from video games,” said Krakowiak, “and also the club gives big hope for a lot of kids suffering with generational poverty. It gives them courage to believe themselves that they can break out of the cycle.”

Krakowiak said these BGCA ideals and values are not only close to his heart, but also to other students in the class of 2016. With 40 students’ dedication to participate in fundraiser preparation, the event gained support from the sponsors, medical school and BGCA a month ago.

“I’m so happy to see those medical students full of passion and caring for the youth and the community,” said Mike Hackett, the president of BGCA. “That’s what I want to see as an alumni of UGA.”

Hackett believes the not only benefits the club, but also opens a door for medical students to get their feet on the ground.

“I believe medical students as future doctors are going to be people with resources to make difference in the community,” said Hackett. “I hope they will become leaders and an integral part of the community and get involved in whatever passion they have for community services.”

Looking ahead, Hackett said he would like to establish a partnership with the medical school relating to juvenile obesity.

“What I would really love to do is to develop some real strategies or programs that could really appeal to kids to reduce youth obesity,” said Hackett, “It concerns me to see those kids obviously overweight in their teens. They are going to McDonald’s four out of five days a week.”

Dr. Barbara Schuster, the dean of GRU/UGA Medical Partnership, said that an anti-obesity initiative is a good idea and she’d love to work with BGCA in the future to see what can be developed.

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