Michael Illickal Pharmacology ePortfolio

This month I once again volunteered for the Catholic Charities’ Food Pantry. The amount of people I see approach us for food is so substantial that it gives me the drive to continue volunteering at this location. We packaged nutrient dense foods such as cans of vegetables and fruit, pasta, and tuna, among many others. We also added other basic necessities, such as shampoo bottles and moisturizer. When I returned to volunteer, it was upsetting to hear that the funding had been decreased. There was not as much food to package for each person as we usually had, and it was disheartening to hear many of the people ask why they were not getting as much food this time around. We did our best to provide what we could but there needs to be more awareness when it comes to donating food and supplies. It was raining very hard the day I was volunteering, and it surprised me that there was still a line of people waiting to pick up the packaged food. Even though there was not much to give, I am still...

November hours: 4 Total hours: 12 The activity I participated in was volunteering for the Catholic Charities’ Food Pantry. I consider this to be very important because there are a lot of people who go throughout their day without food, and making sure there is somewhere for them to go, especially around the holidays, should be of vital importance. Tuesdays are usually their busiest days, so I was glad that I was able to find the time to volunteer on this specific day. As usual, we packaged food into bags and handed them out to those who approached us. We usually get trucks full of food donations on Tuesday, so I was able to help the other volunteers to carry the many boxes into the building, unpack them, and stock the shelves. All of the donated food was packaged and given away within four hours. While there was a lot of food donated, I believe that there could have been more if there was more awareness about food donation in the area. It was nice to see that the donated food were from...

I volunteered at the Catholic Charities’ Food Pantry where I packaged food and items for those in need. Each bag contained soup, pasta, canned vegetables, shampoo bottles, wet wipes, and diapers among many others. After they were packaged, they were handed out to those who came to our location and requested a bag for either themselves or their family. We also packaged separate boxes for the elderly that contained additional nutrients and items that would benefit them. I considered this important because there are a lot of people who do not receive the help and support they need, and I believe it is critical that they have some place to go when they have no one else to turn to. Before we started, I underestimated the amount of people that were going to approach us for help. On both occasions that I volunteered, the food bags were handed out almost as fast as I could fill them. When I first entered the facility, I did not think that we would be able to package all the food that were on t...

The transition from New York to New Orleans has been a bit bumpy, but everything seems to be smoothing out as the days and weeks pass by. I packed up my belongings and made the 1,360 mile drive within three days and two nights. I have been spending my free time exploring the city, and I am enjoying it immensely. Everything seems to move a lot slower here, but I am getting used to it!   I have signed on to volunteer at the Catholic Charities’ Food Pantry during the first two weeks of October, and I am very much looking forward to it. I will be packaging and delivering food to those in need, and providing help in any other way I can.   I have learned a plethora of new information throughout the first month of the pharmacology program. As of now, we have only completed three modules, with the first being a Basic Principles module, the second an Inflammation module, and the third module was Infectious Disease and Cell Biology. I was very interested in learning about the la...