At our regular meeting on December 9, Victoria Ames, a senior nursing student at Shepherd University, gave us an update on the university’s chapter of MEDLIFE — a student-led nonprofit devoted to improving access to health care, education, and community infrastructure around the world.
MEDLIFE organizes “service-learning trips” that send students to countries such as Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, or Tanzania, where they partner with local communities on development projects, mobile medical clinics, health education, and more.
To kick off Victoria’s presentation, the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown—through the Community and Youth Service committees—stepped forward with a generous gift, donating $3,000 to support travel expenses for the Shepherd University MEDLIFE students — helping make these global outreach efforts possible.
For Victoria and her fellow MEDLIFE volunteers, that donation is more than money: it’s a bridge between local community support in Shepherdstown and real, global impact. With it, students can travel, work alongside underserved communities, and bring back experiences and insights that enrich their studies and strengthen their commitment to service.
As the MEDLIFE chapter continues to grow, this partnership with Rotary underscores what community + education + compassion can achieve. For students like Victoria, every clinic, every health-education workshop, and every service trip is a step toward a world where access to basic health care and dignity isn’t limited by geography.
Photo: Walt Eifert, Community Service chair; Dale Homan, Rotary Club president; Victoria Ames, and Stacy McFarland, Youth Service chair.