United 2 Heal

Vital Stats

Ann Arbor, MI

people helped100000
People Doing It 65

The Problem

There is a large health disparity between the United States and many other countries. While there are people dying of treatable diseases due to lack of care and equipment, hospitals in the U.S. are throwing away these supplies (due to cancelled surgeries, super strict health standards, etc.) even though they are still usable. While landfills in the U.S. fill up with functional wheelchairs, sterile tubes and needles, and comfortable hospital beds, hundreds of thousands of people in other countries rely on meager supplies and often without a doctor for survival.

Plan of Action

This work is a group effort. The founder of this organization started off with an idea of collecting medical supplies with the help of two different religious groups to promote inter-faith cooperation. Pretty soon, more than just the members of these two groups started coming to help out as friends spread the word of how fun it was to help with sorting and that results could be seen right away. As the organization grew and more students became involved, it became necessary to create a board of leadership. I serve on the executive board of this organization as a fund-raising co-chair. As the name implies, my job is find funds for the organization so that we may keep on sending supplies to hospitals that need them. Shipping costs are what cost the most (can get up to $8000), so raising money is very important. As a whole, U2H has shipped two 40' containers of medical supplies to Ghana, and U2H students have helped furnish a new ward in the hospital in the Sene District in Ghana. The medical supplies now serve more than 100,000 people there in Ghana. We plan to continue holding sorting events, sending supplies, increasing our donor base, increasing our receiving base, and promoting the Ghanaian paintings in art fairs, galleries, and online.