To promote fire safety in Weslaco neighborhoods, the Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers provided information and smoke alarms to residents during the summer.
The MRCV is an organization at UTRGV whose goal is provide humanitarian aid for those in need.
Biology Senior Mary Grace Chiu, president of MRCV, said the purpose of this club is to provide volunteers for the medical reserve unit based in Weslaco, which serves the Rio Grande Valley.
She founded the organization last fall.
“[Vice President] Bindu [Yarlagadda] and I were part of a group at HOSA [Health Occupations Students of America], and we decided to compete in a MRCV partnership event, and so that’s when we thought we could bring this over to the Valley, and have this opportunity for the whole student body,” Chiu said.
MCRV placed first and won $1,000 at a HOSA competition that took place June 24 in Orlando, Fla.
“We were told to make a portfolio describing and listing the events we did and the impact we had in our community,” Chiu said when asked about what the team did to win.
She said she helped the officers in giving out tasks in terms of what needs to be done, as well as deciding when and where meetings were held. She said that Yarlagadda, a biology senior, helps in a large part of that.
“Our club consists of [MRCV] events, student-led projects and local volunteer opportunities, so we try to make sure that we have enough events to provide to our members,” Yarlagadda said.
One event is the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, in which the group visited about 100 homes in Weslaco.
“A lot of houses there didn’t have smoke alarms, so [what we did] did was install smoke alarms and inform the residents about fire safety. We also do fire evacuation routes, so they’d know what to do in case there was a fire,” Yarlagadda said.
In the Vial of Life program, the MRCV helped Winter Texans in the Valley last spring.
“It’s to help those in medical situations, but cannot communicate with emergency responders,” Chiu said. “So, what the participants would do [is] write their medical information and they put [it] in a vial and then they put that vial in their fridge. So, what happens is when the medical responders come in, they should see that there is a sticker somewhere on the door that lets them know if the patient is in the Vial of Life program. Once they see that this person is part of the program, they will know that their fridge contains their medical information.”
They plan to do another Vial of Life event this semester.
MRCV also helped refugees at the Humanitarian Respite Center, located at 1721 Beaumont Ave. in McAllen.
“Most of these refugees came from Central America,” Yarlagadda said. “What happens is when they get to the refugee center, they get food, and they get shelter, and also essential things, like if they need clothing, that’s there for them.”
She said there were only three employees working at this center.
Biology senior Shani Reyes, a volunteer and member of MRCV, said she didn’t know much about fire safety before joining the organization.
“The fire awareness event educated me,” Reyes said. “Also, I have used that knowledge to help other people.”
She said the fire safety event was the most memorable experience for her.
“I hope that this volunteering helps me in my future endeavors as a medical professional,” Reyes said.
Lt. Richard Stubbs, a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Weslaco, assists MRCV in its events by training members. Stubbs job title is public education, and part of his duties is to assist in volunteer programs.
“After the [9/11] attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, there were a lot of medical people who showed up to the scene, and they wanted to help,” he said. “Doctors, nurses, medics, they just wanted to be a part of it, they just wanted to help. The problem with that is there is no way to pre-credential people, back at that time. Under the office of President Bush, they created the Medical Reserve Corps. It’s designed to pre-train medical people for these [emergencies].”
Currently, MRCV has 15 members. Chiu wants to increase membership. She said that MRCV has been more active on Facebook and they have been posting flyers across campus.
Membership is open to all majors.
For more information, email MRCV at utrgvmrcv@gmail.com.
