[411] MTSU student nurses host auction to fund mission of mercy

FOR RELEASE: April 11, 2013

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, gina.logue@mtsu.edu

MURFREESBORO — MTSU student nurses need the community’s help to fund a medical mission to Central America next month.

The MTSU Student Nurses Association will host a silent auction from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, April 15, in the first-floor lobby of the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building.

Items available for bid include Nashville Toffee Company candies, a Mary Kay makeup basket, a stethoscope, gift cards from local restaurants and more.

All proceeds will go toward the expenses of medical supplies and medications that 11 nursing students will take with them to Los Robles, Guatemala, May 18-26 to serve the medically needy.

Each member of the MTSU entourage, under the supervision of nursing professor and registered nurse Paul Williamson, will take 50 pounds of supplies to the small clinic in Los Robles. The supplies will include over-the-counter pain relievers, gastrointestinal medications and prenatal and children’s vitamins.

“The Guatemalans living in Los Robles are faced with many skin infections and malnutrition,” says student nurse Grace Zimmerman, a senior from Nashville. “With the help of our professor and a Spanish translator, we hope to deliver health care and medications to hundreds of people in desperate need.”

Middle Tennessee Medical Center has donated $5,000 as well as medical supplies worth another $5,000. The group also has received medication donations from dental offices, hospitals and other supporters, including MTSU’s Office of Education Abroad.

Auction winners must be present at 4 p.m. to pay and receive their items. For more information, contact Williamson at 615-494-8729 or paul.williamson@mtsu.edu. For parking information, go to http://tinyurl.com/MTParkingMap12-13.

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