A second-year medical student from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine recently led a drive to collect and distribute winter clothes for people who are homeless in Detroit.
Maryam Hermez, M2, spearheaded OUWB’s campaign to collect new or gently used winter clothes (hats, scarfs, gloves, socks, coats) for people who are homeless and guests at the Pope Francis Center in Detroit.
Hermez, who also serves at the secretary for the OUWB Medical Student Government, said it’s the first time OUWB has been involved in the clothing drive.
Because of COVID-19, the work of collecting more than 250 items was done primarily online.
“This clothing drive was a great way for me to volunteer from a distance while making a tangible impact,” said Hermez. “Since November, I've taken to social media to advertise the drive and collect donations. I created an Amazon Wishlist for quick and easy purchasing that was heavily used by family and friends.”
According to its website, the Pope Francis Center “provides vital services to (Detroit’s) homeless” that includes helping about 200 guests daily with everything from providing nutritious meals, showers, and laundry to access to doctors, dentists, and lawyers.
The plan is to distribute the winter clothing items to Pope Francis Center guests around the new year, said Hermez, and in conjunction with the brunt of a Michigan winter.
Hermez said the hope is to continue OUWB’s involvement in the drive going forward.
“I'm really thankful for all my classmates, faculty, and family for donating to the drive,” she said. “It's been a wonderful experience seeing so many donations show up at my doorstep day after day. Most importantly, I'm happy we could all come together during this difficult time to help those in need.”
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at [email protected].
To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.
NOTICE: Except where otherwise noted, all articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. You are free to copy, distribute, adapt, transmit, or make commercial use of this work as long as you attribute Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine as the original creator and include a link to this article.
