MedShare hosts GMAC for 2024 Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service

During the recent Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, hundreds of volunteers visited the MedShare campus to honor his life and legacy, and to once again remind us just how vital our volunteers are to our mission. This year, MedShare was fortunate to have been selected by the Greater Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of Jack and Jill of America (GMAC) as their cause partner organization, and over 200 children, teens, moms, and dads joined us for a full slate of educational and volunteer service activities.

Families sorted medical instruments and created 1,000 sterile PPE Kits containing sterile gowns, gloves, head and foot coverings and more, and toured the MedShare distribution facility while younger children created artwork to accompany medical shipments.

While all the activities were meticulously planned and executed by GMAC Co-chairs Mom Asha Jackson, Kanika Sloan, and Mom Takiyyah Hamilton, the teen-driven medical supply collection drive was most impressive! For the collection, the Jack and Jill teens focused on a short list of critical medical supplies – umbilical cord clamps, newborn diapers, thermometers, individually wrapped antiseptic soap, wound care, and silk sutures – all supplies critical for MedShare’s Clean Birthing Kit (CBK) initiative.

As part of our Maternal & Child Health Program, the activity aligned beautifully with GMAC’s mission to improve health equity for underserved women and their families. These kits will ultimately be delivered to doulas and other caregivers in remote areas of the world to provide a clean, sterile environment for mothers giving birth outside of a health care facility.

MedShare was also awarded funding from the National Jack and Jill Foundation, which recently celebrated 55 years of advocacy for African American children and families by addressing systemic disparities around healthcare, education and safety.