The Ability to S.H.A.R.E.

Beginning with their first year, NJMS students are offered many community service opportunities. The umbrella organization that facilitates these programs — Student Health Advocates for Resources and Education, or S.H.A.R.E. — has been student-run since its inception in 1996.

S.H.A.R.E. supports six programs that serve residents of Newark and neighboring communities. The newest, Unite for Sight, provides free vision screenings and education, and accepts eyeglass donations. The other established programs are: the Early Start Mentoring Program, which pairs students with at-risk youngsters; the Student Family Health Care Center, which offers free medical care to the uninsured and underinsured; the New Moms Program, in which first- and second-year students assist young mothers-to-be throughout pregnancy; Students Teaching Aids to Students, an educational outreach program for middle school and high school students; and Community 2000, a patient outreach and education initiative which includes monthly health fairs hosted throughout Newark. S.H.A.R.E. advisor Maria L. Soto-Greene, MD, senior associate dean for education notes, “The success of our programs are a testament to student-led initiatives strongly supported by faculty advisors.”

John Fontanilla, student director of S.H.A.R.E. and a second-year medical student agrees. “It is a unique opportunity for first- and second-year students to have clinical exposure, while working in the community that is the setting for their medical education. You gain as much as you give,” he says.