February Volunteers of the Month
Our February Volunteers of the Month are the students and faculty from Concorde Career College! Concorde Career Colleges, Inc., operates 17 campuses across eight states under the brands Concorde Career College and Concorde Career Institute, focused on preparing America’s next generation of health care and dental professionals for rewarding careers.
Amber Jackson spearheaded the volunteers from Concorde Career College to write letters and create homemade cards for our seniors receiving in-home personal care for the past 2 years. She is a Student Services Advisor and the Diversity and Inclusion Campus Coordinator at Concorde Career College’s Memphis campus. Additionally, she functions as the coordinator of Concorde’s Student Ambassador program called Lamplighters. She is from Omaha, Nebraska but has called Memphis home for well over 17 years. She is the mother of three amazing little boys, and this year she has the pleasure of celebrating her 6th wedding anniversary with her husband, Steven. She received a diploma and national certification in Medical Assisting from attending Concorde Career College at the Memphis campus in 2012. For several years, she has worked as a Medical Assistant in specialties such as geriatrics, gastrointestinal, correctional, and reproductive medicine. As a result, she loves for the healthcare field grew. She returned to college in 2014 and graduated from the University of Memphis in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Studies. In addition to the diploma and degree, she also holds several professional certifications in various areas of patient education and advocacy. Amber is passionate about patient-centric care and is grateful to be able to assist Concorde students in finding their passion for healthcare as well. We interviewed Amber asking questions to find out more about her and her students’ love for volunteerism!
Why did your team decide to volunteer for Meritan? Concorde Career College is dedicated to community outreach and our Lamplighter Student Ambassadors have a passion for supporting their community. As a bonus, it is a great networking experience for our soon-to-be healthcare professionals.
*Concorde Career Colleges’ Student Ambassador program called Lamplighters is one of encouragement, motivation, excitement, and positivity. Members of the program are expected to maintain these characteristics along with being uplifting and helpful toward others. Lamplighters are expected to be problem-solvers, to be reliable, and to willingly go above and beyond the required task to ensure that all individuals with whom they may interact are properly assisted. Lamplighters are active in their community by assisting in health and dental fairs, blood drives, and a variety of other community networking and outreach events. While all students are encouraged to become a Lamplighter, only about 5% of each programs’ population are awarded the title of being Lamplighter Student Ambassador.
How did you hear about our volunteer opportunities? The Director of Student Affairs, Mary Fry, suggested contacting Meritan when we were brainstorming about new opportunities for our students in December of 2020.
What made you want to volunteer for this specific opportunity and write letters to our senior community?
We have very creative, loving students who thought it would be a great idea to spread the love in Memphis for Valentine’s Day. This year makes two years we have been in a pandemic and two years that we have been creating Valentines for senior citizens.
Why do you love to volunteer?
Volunteering provides us with an opportunity to uplift and assist others in our community. It allows us, as a college, to enlighten our students about their communities’ needs, provides networking experiences and opportunities to connect with our future patients.
How many students have participated in total from last year and this year's Valentine’s Day cards effort?
In the last two years over 500 different students have been involved in creating 400+ Valentines for senior citizens.
How did writing letters to homebound seniors and volunteering make you feel?
The word “wholesome” best describes the experience. It was nice knowing that something small would be appreciated so much.
