Purdue Timmy

Inside this issue:

A Word from the
President

New Leadership
Structure

Reflection from a
Senior: Ronit Patnaik

New Initiatives

Ecuador Trip

Domestic Trip

Fundraising,
Donations, Advocacy

Community Service

Annual Banquet

Annual Newsletter
Issue 1

May 2014

Dear alumni and friends,

Purdue Timmy Global Health, formerly known as the Timmy Foundation, was
founded in 2004. Over the last decade, we were fortunate to have had a multitude
of bright, passionate individuals in the club. Our alumni have gone on to become
doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, engineers, teachers, administrators, long
term volunteers, world travelers, and more. Whether your involvement consisted
of former Executive Committee officer, medical brigade trip goer, or general member, Purdue Timmy has hopefully had a significant impact on you during your time
in college. Be assured that the club has been in good hands and has seen substantial
growth through the years, building off of the great work that you started. With that
said, we are excited to share with you the first annual Purdue Timmy newsletter,
which shows just how far weve come since 2004. We would also like to invite you
to join us in celebrating 10 years of Purdue Timmy at our annual banquet event on
the evening of Feb. 27, 2015 at Purdue University. In the meantime, please check
out the stories and photos, reminisce, reconnect, and see all the incredible things
Purdue Timmy has been accomplishing since you graduated.
Purdue Timmy Executive Committee

2013-2014 Executive
Committee:
Quad:
President: Michael Lehner
VP Personnel: Anna Filley
VP Advocacy: Christine
Callahan
VP Finance: Arvind Raghothama

Directors:
Ecuador Trip Leaders: Ronit
Patnaik / Laurel Jahn
Domestic Trip Leaders:
Rachel Aker / Marissa Ehrlich
Programs: Hilary Schroeder
Community Service:
Stephanie Thiede
New Initiatives/Development:
Evelyn Chang
Advertising: Lexie Krohn
Fundraising: Morgan McLuckey /
Julia Thrapp
Banquet: Rohan Divecha
Donations: Tori Clift

A Word from the President

Purdue's chapter of Timmy Global Health had a hallmark
year. Our annual banquet raised over $7,000 for Tierra
Nueva (our partner in Quito), we initiated a new volunteer
opportunity for students through Lafayette Urban Ministry's
after-school tutoring program, led a state chapter college
conference, formed a council for global aid-oriented
organizations, and expanded our low-cost domestic
volunteer trip to an equivalent size and status as the
Ecuador medical brigade that many of Purdue Timmy's
alumni have attended. These accomplishments were made
possible by our new leadership structure, which consists of
an elected president and three vice presidents, along with
directors who are chosen by application and interview. The
future of Purdue Timmy is bright. The new group of leaders
are enthusiastic and hard-working, with plans to expand our
current programs and build new ones.
- Michael Lehner, President (13-14)

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Purdue Timmy

Annual Newsletter

In previous years, the Executive Committee (Excomm) consisted of a President, VP, Treasurer, 2 Trip
Leaders, and 3-4 other directors in the areas of community service, advocacy, and fundraising. However, in
the 2013-2014 school year, Purdue Timmy expanded the Excomm to an unprecedented 2-tiered, 16-officer
board. The expansion was implemented to accommodate the rapid growth and development of the club, as
well as the overwhelming number of passionate students who want to contribute. The Quad positions
(President and 3 VPs) are elected by the members of Purdue Timmy, whereas the 12 Director positions
are selected by the newly elected Quad through applications and interviews.

Ronit Patnaik is the recipient of this years Outstanding Senior Award, which
was voted on by the members of the Executive Committee and presented at
the annual banquet. A four-year member of Purdue Timmy, Ronit has been on
two Timmy Ecuador trips (2011, 2014) and served as Director of Fundraising
(2011-2012), President (2012-2013), and Ecuador Trip Leader (2013-2014)
during his time with the club.

My fourth and final year with Purdue Timmy has been quite a learning experience. I was interested to see
how I would contribute to the team after stepping down as President and filling some big trip leader shoes.
However, my co-trip leader and our entire group made the year my most memorable one with Timmy.
We recently changed the leadership structure, and Michael and his driven Excomm led the transition very
well. On the Ecuador trip, we tried quite a few new initiatives such as 2 trip goer retreats and a reading
glasses/sun-glasses drive, both of which were successful. We also recruited actively in the nursing school
to diversify the backgrounds of students in our team. Finally, since our trip consisted of quite a few
freshmen, I'm extremely excited for the leadership potential of this new crop of Timmies. I am happy to
see that these leaders will continue to improve Timmy as a Purdue student organization and make
Boilermakers more aware and in-tune with health disparity. As for future Timmies, ask yourself this, how
will you leave the Purdue community one brick higher?
- Ronit Patnaik, Ecuador Trip Leader

Issue 1

Global Aid Student

Organization Council
(Global Aid Panel)
The Global Aid Student
Organization Council was
formed this past fall at Purdue.
Member organizations include
Timmy Global Health, Swipe
Out Starvation, the Thirst
Project, MEDLIFE, Raising AIM
(Awareness in International
Medicine), One Health,
Engineering World Health, and
Nursing Students without
Borders. The goal is to gather
student leaders from various
global aid organizations on
campus together to brainstorm
and share ideas, make
important networking
connections, and to keep each
other informed on each
leaders respective
organizations. Most
importantly, it allows
organizations to collaborate on
large-scale initiatives more
easily and improve advertising
and advocacy efforts. As
individual organizations, there
is a limit to how vast our
initiatives can be, but as a
collective group, we have the
potential to extend our reach
across campus.
Global Health Week
Led and organized by Purdue
Timmy, the first ever Global
Health Week at Purdue
University took place on
campus from Nov. 4-8, 2013.
A collaborative initiative

Page 3

between several student

organizations on campus,
including Timmy Global
Health, Swipe Out
Starvation, the Thirst
Project, Raising AIM,
MEDLIFE, Engineering
World Health, and Health
and Human Sciences Student
Council, the week consisted
of various events, booths,
and displays to raise
awareness for global health Leaders from the various Timmy chapters in Indiissues. Events included
ana together at the State Conference
Timmys annual Global
Health Panel in Fowler Hall,
an interactive display of food
insecurity around the world
in the lobby of Stewart
Center, a hot chocolate
fundraiser outside of Class
of 50 for the Nicaragua
Modern Bathroom Project,
and more.
Timmy State Conference
Members of the IU and Purdue Timmy executive
On Mar. 28-29, 2014,
committees together at the IU Timmy Banquet
Purdue Timmy hosted the
other Timmy chapters in
on the importance of developing
Indiana for the first ever Timmy
these inter-chapter relations and
state conference. Purdue, IU,
better supporting each others
ISU, IUPUI, and Ball State were
chapter events in the future. The
all in attendance. Notre Dame,
entirely student-run conference
DePauw, and Butler were
marks the first step in promoting
invited as well. The chapter
collaboration among the various
leaders shared ideas on
collegiate chapters and turning
fundraising, advocacy,
Timmy Global Health into a
community service,
household name across the
membership retention, and
nation, starting with the state of
leadership structure. They also
Indiana.
developed short and long term
goals for what they want to
- Evelyn Chang,
accomplish collectively as a
Director of New Initiatives
state. Finally, the leaders agreed

Page 4

Purdue Timmy

Annual Newsletter

This years Timmy trip to Ecuador was a huge success! A group of 17

Purdue students traveled to Quito, Ecuador this Spring Break. We
recruited 15 medical professionals to accompany us on the annual trip
and provided support for the doctors by recording histories, performing
triage, filling prescriptions and acting as scribes and translators. Over the
course of eight days, we saw 670 patients and provided 15,000 vitamins.
Some of the highlights of the trip include a day at the Otavalo and
Cotacachi, which are two market towns in outside of Quito, a trip to the
equator, and a tour before through the historical district. We also
enjoyed cultural activities such as dance lessons. Overall, the trip was a
huge success and all participants learned a lot about global health and
Ecuadorian culture.
- Laurel Jahn, Ecuador Trip Leader

Spending Spring Break in Quito, Ecuador with Timmy Global Health was by
far one of the most rewarding experiences that I have had during my time at
Purdue. It was so great to watch a group of students who hardly knew each
other at the beginning of the trip grow to become close friends and work
together to serve several different communities in Quito. Through our shared
passion for global health and helping others with limited access to medical
resources, we were able to see over 600 patients in just 5 days! One of my
personal goals for the trip was to confirm my interest in pursuing a career in
public health and my desire to serve in the Peace Corps. Not only did my
time in Ecuador help me to reassure myself of my plans for the future, but it
also opened my eyes to the incredible influence that Timmy has had in Quito.
- Stefanie Tassaro, Ecuador trip goer

Issue 1

Page 5

Lifes most persistent and

urgent question is, What are
you doing for others?
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The group climbed to the top of Stone Mountain, which provided a picturesque view of
downtown Atlanta from afar. Other fun activities included visiting the MLK Center, World of
Coca Cola, Georgia Tech campus, and Centennial Olympic Park.

The trip members sorted books at Books

for Africa, an organization that provides
books, computers, and school supplies to
children in Africa who are eager to learn.
(www.booksforafrica.org)

This was the second year Timmy had an official Spring Break
Domestic Trip. We had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta
and work with 7 different non-profit organizations, which gave
us a holistic view of Atlantas most pressing issues as well as
global needs. The first few days of our trip, we worked more
in warehouses, learning about the work that goes on behindthe-scenes of various global organizations. On our final day of
volunteering we were able to directly serve the homeless of
Atlanta in soup kitchens. One of our trip members from China
was very affected by this experience. She really felt a sense of
love and community from serving the homeless. Phoebe, the
woman in charge of us, was so welcoming to all of us
volunteers; always wanting to give back and truly showing her
passion for serving. This member was very gratified by this
experience and said that Phoebe was her ideal picture of what
an American mom was, saying, she gave me two hugs and was
just a little bit fat. Through this experience, all of us were
impacted by the passion that Phoebe showed for serving the
homeless. We hope that in the following years, we are able to
maintain good relations with these non-profits.
- Marissa Ehrlich and Rachel Aker, Domestic Trip Leaders

At Global Soaps, Timmies helped to recycle

partially-used soap from hotels into millions of new bars to be distributed to
people who lack access to soap around
the world. (www.globalsoap.org)

Timmies packaged surplus medical supplies

and equipment at MedShare, which works to
reduce medical waste and re-distribute supplies to qualified healthcare facilities in the
developing world. (www.medshare.org)

Page 6

Purdue Timmy

Annual Newsletter

Fundraising
This fall, Purdue Timmy held
our annual Ready, Set, Glow
5K race on Slayter Hill. The
event was a huge success, attracting over 100 students and
raising over $1600 for the organization! The key attraction
was the glow gear: once registered, participants were able
to deck themselves out in as
many glowing necklaces, bracelets, sticks, and glasses as they
wanted. The top finishers
claimed prizes for their win-

ning times and all participants

were invited to enjoy the free
music and food provided on the
Hill. Several other smaller fundraisers for Purdue Timmy this
year included Skip-a-Meals, donations from tailgaters at football

games, paper stuffing for the Purdue Exponent, and the sale of Timmy merchandise.
- Morgan McLuckey,
Director of Fundraising

Donations
For donation days, we
would get a group together and spend a Saturday afternoon informing
Walmart customers on
Timmy Global Health and
asking if they would be
willing to purchase medical supplies that we take

Advocacy
This years Global Health
Panel was a great success
with 4 expert speakers
and over 140 guests. The
goals of the panel were
to raise awareness of
global health issues and
increase participation in
global health initiatives.
Students and community
members alike were invited to listen to presentations made by experts in
the field and to ask questions. This years panelists

were Dr. Robert Einterz,

Mr. Zach Wright, and the
dynamic husband and wife
duo Mrs. Andrea
Burniske and Mr. Gary
Burniske. They were our
most diverse panel yet,
speaking on issues ranging
from food security to
gender issues in development to the difficulties of
working in a global arena.
- Hilary Schroeder,
Director of Programs

directly to Ecuador.
These donations are pivotal to making the Ecuador trip happen. We accept toothbrushes, toothpaste, ibuprofen, aspirin,
Tylenol, prenatal vitamins, adult vitamins, and
childrens vitamins (non-

gummy). These donations

have been very successful
and make the trip possible.
- Tori Clift,
Director of Donations

Issue 1

Page 7
Page 7

Community Service
This has been a busy year for
Timmy Global Health globally,
nationally, and locally! We focused a lot on community service as we continued our past
involvement with Trinity, a local
church in Lafayette. Here, we
teach elementary-aged children
about science to get them interested in the STEM field. We
have done some pretty fun experiments this year, such as microwaving ivory soap, shooting
off pop-bottle rockets, and making bouncy balls and ice cream.
(The ice cream was a big hit

with the kids!) We also took a

trip to Chicago to volunteer
over Fall Break, where we volunteered at the Ronald
McDonald House in Loyola and
a 5K at the University of Chicago that raised over $200,000
for pediatric cancer research! Also, this year we
have started to volunteer at
the Afterschool Program at the
Lafayette Urban Ministry, an
organization of 42 churches
that provides assistance to low
-income families in the Lafayette area! Here, Timmies help

primary and secondary school children with their homework and serve
as role models for the children! We
hope to continue this opportunity in
the years to come.
- Stephanie Thiede,
Director of Community Service

Annual Banquet
This years banquet and silent
auction was a huge success. It
is always an anxious time before the banquet, as we never
know how everything will end
up coming together. The hours
leading up to the banquet were
no easier as the photo booth
kept falling down, sound from
our videos wouldnt come
through the speakers, and we
had to rearrange the table
numbers as people were coming in. In the end we had a record breaking number of people
in attendance while raising over
$8,000 to help support our
partner organization, Tierra

Nueva, in Quito, Ecuador. The

theme of the banquet was
Global Leaders Among Us,
which highlighted the efforts
students and our community
have made in creating sustainable health care. The silent auction contained items from all
over the world as well locally
handcrafted items. The banquet
had a host of speakers including
Michael Lehner, president of
Timmy Purdue chapter, and Dr.
Chuck Dietzen, founder of Timmy Global Health. Dr. Rajiv
Sood, head of plastic surgery at
IU School of Medicine, was the
keynote speaker for the evening.

Overall the banquet brought together student leaders, doctors,

and professors from the community to raise awareness of the work
Timmy does and showcase what
Timmy has done so far. All in all it
was an unforgettable night.
- Rohan Divecha,
Director of Banquet

Save the date!! Next years banquetFriday, Feb. 27, 2015!

Stay connected with Purdue Timmy!

PURDUE TIMMY
GLOBAL HEALTH
Email:
purduetimmyglobalhealth
@gmail.com
Facebook - Alumni Page:
www.facebook.com/
purduetimmy.gh
Facebook - General Fan Page:
www.facebook.com/
purduetimmybanquet

Whether you just graduated this May from Purdue as a member

of Timmy or are a long-time alumnus, please help us build up our
alumni database by leaving us your name and permanent email
address via this online form:
http://bit.ly/purduetimmyalumni
Follow or friend us on our Facebook page, made specifically for
alumni and friends of Purdue Timmy! This page will be used to
share important updates, milestones, and photos.
www.facebook.com/purduetimmy.gh

Website:
www.purdue.edu/timmy

SAVE THE DATE!

We werent all
born to be doctors
and nurses, but we
were all born to be
healers.
-Dr. Chuck Dietzen

Friday, February 27, 2015

Purdue Timmy Annual Banquet and Silent Auction
A Celebration of 10 Years of Purdue Timmy
Purdue Memorial Union, South Ballroom, West Lafayette, IN
All alumni, friends, and family welcome.
Proceeds will benefit Timmy Global Health.
More details to be released via Facebook and email in the fall!