Student Hardship Grant

SAVMA Public Health and Community Outreach Committee (PHCOC) has opened a Student Hardship Grant for anyone who has been affected by COVID-19. We are all suffering in some way and we can help 24 individuals who could use an extra $250 USD.

Deadline of the grant is August 16, 2020.

If you have any questions please reach out to PHCOC, savma.phcoc@gmail.com.

Grant Link: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/...

Faculty Community Outreach Award

Faculty Community Outreach Award
SAVMA's Public Health and Community Outreach Committee 

The SAVMA Faculty Community Outreach Award nomination is intended for students to publicly acknowledge how faculty members, clinicians, and other respected individuals engaged in one of the many veterinary fields have gone above and beyond their own professional responsibilities and duties to interact with and make a difference in the local and/or global community as a servant leader. The Nominee will receive $300, paid travel expenses to SAVMA Symposium, and an award that will be presented publicly at symposium. The Author of the winning application will receive $125. 

Eligibility

•  The nominee is required to be a veterinarian and must be a member-in-good-standing with the AVMA at the time of nomination (if you are unsure we can check).
• Preference may be given to nominees with significant and/or regular interactions with students. The student nominator’s school must be in good standing with the AVMA and Student AVMA.
• Prior award recipients are not eligible for 3 years after the award is won (e.g. 2014 winner cannot win again until 2018)

Click here for the application. Applications are due by December 1st. You must be a SAVMA member to apply. Questions can be sent to SAVMA.phcoc@gmail.com

Environmental Awareness Grant

Environmental Awareness Grant 2018
SAVMA's Public Health and Community Outreach Committee 

The Environmental Awareness Grant is a SAVMA sponsored grant that allows for current SAVMA members to reach out and initiate environmental projects, engage in research, or attend conservation related events/ meetings. This grant can be used to support topics such as: initiating recycling programs at your school, decreasing plastic waste in the veterinary community, support for conservation programs, travel grants for conservation projects local and abroad, and supporting research relating to veterinary conservation. 

A first place grant receives $1000 and two honorable mentions receive $500. Applications and Letter of Recommendation are due November 1, 2018! Check out the details here. You must be a SAVMA member to apply.

Email savma.phcoc@gmail.com with any questions by using "Environmental Awareness Grant 2018" in the subject line

My Experiences on the Crow Reservation

SAVMA PHCOC "Underserved Population Externship" stipend winner
Chelsea Reaves, CSU DVM Candidate Class of 2017

December 2013 at Animal Care Center

As my first semester of vet school came to an end, I packed up my suitcase with warm clothes, my stethoscope, coveralls, and boots and headed off to Hardin, MT.  I was fortunate to have met Dr. Francis through family friends randomly, and we clicked right away, so I spoke with him about gaining some experience through his practice!  Hernia in a foalDr. Francis runs a mixed animal practice, Animal Care Center, in a rural area of Montana basically on the Crow Indian Reservation.  Being a Tucson native, I knew this would be a great opportunity for me to be exposed to an area with a different level of personal animal care than you mostly see in larger cities like Tucson where everything is “their baby”. 

In Hardin and the surrounding areas there are a ton of stray dogs, skinny horses, and feral cats that are kind of put outside to forage for food on their own with the occasional food tossed out to them.  On the contrary, there are also the family pets, ranchers’ cattle, and 4-H animals.  Hardin is a beautiful area if you really enjoy the outdoors, as the Bighorn River runs right through it and there are a lot of open spaces. 

Being on the reservation, there are an immense amount of strays.  Dr. Francis works closely with a rescue lady, Sheri.  Sheri runs a non-profit organization called Rez Dog Rescue and basically drives all over Crow Agency, Lodge Grass, and Lame Deer finding abandoned, neglected, and stray “Rez” (reservation mutts) dogs. Assisting Dr. Francis in surgery She brings them to Dr. Francis and he works with her at discounted prices to spay/neuter, treat, vaccinate, and deworm all these dogs.  Dr. Francis works to provide low cost veterinary care to the underserved area and help alleviate the rampant problem of abandoned “rez dogs”.  I got a lot of experience with spay and neuter surgeries, from sedation and anesthesia, to prepping the dogs on the surgery table, and assisting in surgery.  Dr. Francis also sets up spay/neuter clinics with the tribes, although there was not one during the break while I was there.

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SAVMA's Underserved Areas Stipend in Action

SAVMA's Public Health and Community Outreach Committee offers eight awards of $500 each year to help veterinary students on externships in underserved areas. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and can be found here. Read on for how Alison Morgera from Penn spent her time in Haiti.

As a member of the Pou Sante: Amar Haiti team, I recently traveled to Thibeau, Haiti, to demonstrate the importance of the veterinary profession in all aspects of human, animal, and environmental health. Showing little Rood how to listen to the “ka” (heart)It is Pou Sante’s mission to establish a long-lasting partnership with the main goat farmers of Thibeau. Our goal is to provide these farmers with the knowledge necessary to maximize animal agriculture and empower them to become animal health leaders within their community. Through this cooperative, we then hope to implement sustainable farming practices for the future in order to improve both human and animal health alike.

The small, rural community of Thibeau lies within one of the most impoverished countries in the world. Haiti is a place where jobs are at a premium and farming is the sole source of livelihood for many of its inhabitants. Its animals are a fundamental source of nutrition and trade and as such, play an integral role in human survival. In such a society, where animals are an exclusive source of nutrition and yet veterinary care is scarce, there is an overwhelming need for public health education and sustainable farming practices. Our two weeks in Thibeau proved to be just the first step in what hopefully will be an extended partnership between PennVet and the people of Haiti.

“We had a cat, but we ate it.” This was the reply I received when I polled a group of Haitian children about what types of animals they owned.

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