Celebrating our Commitment to Community with Dr. Dwight Moulin, Mei Wen and Alexandra Boasie
Dr. Dwight Moulin, Mei Wen and Alexandra Boasie all participated in initiatives that worked toward the common goal of providing assistance and support for those in need.
Dr. Dwight Moulin, professor in the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences and Oncology, travelled in February 2012 with a Haitian outreach program to volunteer his time treating the Haitian community in an outpatient clinic.
Haiti has long suffered from poverty, lack of education and political instability. Following the catastrophic earthquake in 2010, addressing the country’s dire health care needs became a priority for the global community.
Dr. Moulin, along with five other doctors working in the Haitian clinic, treated about 500 patients in the span of a week – an undertaking that was both physically and emotionally exhausting for the team. Despite the long days, the team was committed to providing the best care. “My intent for this mission was to help these people," said Dr. Moulin.
Mei Wen, BMSc ’14 and incoming MPH student, volunteered her time on a weekly basis at Street Connection, a drop in centre founded in London for at risk youth, for more than a year.
“Volunteering at Street Connection was my way of spending my Friday nights. No matter how tired I felt before going to the centre, I would always end up leaving feeling very gratified that I used my time reaching out to the homeless youth in the London community,” Wen said.
Recognizing the importance of providing support to at risk youth, as well as creating awareness and educating the public, Wen and another volunteer decided to create a fundraising initiative called Youth Lifting Youth. Wen’s main goal for the fundraiser was to help Street Connection alleviate some of their financial responsibility, as well as raise awareness at Western University, Fanshawe College and high schools in London for the homeless youth community.
Alexandra Boasie, HBSc ‘10 with a double major in biology and medical sciences, and Michael Goodman, a Western University alumnus, have always been passionate about giving back to their community, volunteering with a number of University councils and London area community groups. However, it was Boasie’s mother, who has been battling breast cancer for a number of years, which inspired the two to organize the Sweep for Southlake curling bonspiel.
In February 2014, Boasie and Goodman hosted 96 curlers at the York Curling Club in Newmarket where they live today. Their goal was to raise $5,000 to donate to the Survivorship Program at Southlake’s Regional Health Centre – a program designed to help improve the quality of life for patients living beyond cancer and to help ease the transition into the next stage of their cancer journey. Their goal was quickly met, and more than $7,000 was raised.
“This cause is very close to my heart, and we are so lucky to have a state of the art facility that provides excellent patient care so close to home,” Boasie explains.
Boasie and Goodman are currently planning, and looking forward to, Sweep for Southlake 2015.
