On Friday, September 30, 2022, Concord Academy’s Medical Club held a vaccination campaign in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The club Co-Heads Joanne Oh ’23, Akira Trivisvavet ’25, and Shahin Aliabadi ’23 diligently planned this campaign. Shahin said, “[We did it] so that we could help communities with the incessant health crisis that is COVID-19.” Medical Club’s goal to spread awareness was not just to teach people about the vaccine, but also to distribute COVID care packages that the club put together last year, flyers, and a vaccine raffle for 300 dollars.
To prepare for the event, they needed to coordinate with the organization Building Audacity. Building Audacity is a non-profit group based in Lynn, Massachusetts. The organization's goal is to increase youth power; it does so by providing support for youth leaders–ages 11 to 25–who want to make a change. The co-heads contacted the organization for a table at the event and gathered care packages that included masks, hand sanitizer, thermometers, and other items. The club also made flyers to spread COVID awareness, collected the money for the raffle portion of the campaign, and recruited other students at CA who wanted to volunteer.
While the campaign’s purpose was to spread awareness about getting vaccinated, Shahin said, “There seemed to be less people who were unvaccinated than expected and [it] seemed more like a community get-together. Nevertheless, we gave out 300 dollars from the vaccine raffle and many people took the COVID care packages amongst other free items. It was just a fun time with dancing, food, and more.” All of the planning and preparation lead to the generally mellow yet successful event. It was a campaign that made everyone who attended feel welcome.
Medical Club’s vaccination campaign was successful. The participants had fun, the club fulfilled the goal of spreading vaccine awareness, and the group worked with knowledgeable and supportive individuals to accomplish the objectives of the club–all in all, an effective event. After this campaign, it seems that many will await any further campaigns and events from medical club.