Mackenzie Minogue is a third-year pharmacy student at Pitt and is the Phi Lambda Sigma (PLS) Auction Chair. PLS successfully reached their goal of $3,500 this past year in their annual auction raising funds for the Grace Lamsam Pharmacy Program for the Underserved.

What was the background for this project and what did its initial development look like?

Every year, a leadership organization at the Pharmacy School called Phi Lambda Sigma does a charity auction fundraising money for the Grace Lamsam Pharmacy Program, which is a program that's run through the pharmacy school. Faculty and students participate in this program which supports access to pharmacists and pharmaceuticals at the Birmingham Free Clinic & the Women’s Center and Shelter. The auction funds the purchasing of medications and diagnostic tools for patients. We were looking to broaden our outreach this year. I was in contact with a couple of students from the medical school, and they had told me about the EngagePitt page. So, we decided to do it ourselves this year and reach out to some alumni and hopefully reach students' family members for donations for the pharmacy program, as well.

Why do you personally feel like this project is important and making a difference?

The fund that it supports purchases medications and diagnostic tools for patients who don't have insurance. They would otherwise be unable to see pharmacists and receive the medications that they need for their health conditions.

Did you or your team have any concerns about the project beforehand or throughout?

We had a little bit of difficulty putting together our approach for reaching out to our alumni. I think that that's definitely something that we'll attempt to improve on for this upcoming year. We did really well with student engagement and their family members. We had an interclass competition amongst pharmacy students. We really would like to reach more alumni next year.

How did your expectations compare to the outcome of the project?

I think they matched up; we met our goal. So, I guess my expectation was that it would be difficult, and that since this was our first year, we'd have to work really hard and work out all the kinks - that's exactly what happened. And then, hopefully lay out the groundwork for it to be better next year, which I think is definitely something that we were able to do!

What course do you see the Grace Lamsam program taking for the foreseeable future?

The Grace Lamsam Program isn't new. We've been serving underserved populations in Pittsburgh for about 25 years now. This will absolutely continue. Phi Lambda Sigma will continue to fundraise for the Grace Lamsam Program so that the program can purchase more medications and more diagnostic tools for patients. Hopefully, the program will only grow as time goes on and will receive more funds through donations and such.

Thank you so much for all of your donations so far! We are in the final stretch of our campaign and close to reaching our goal! We couldn’t have done this without all of your support, and we appreciate every bit of it! Please continue to spread the word and share our campaign. We hope that our first EngagePitt campaign can be a successful one, and we can exceed our goal! Also be sure to check out our video below about the Grace Lamsam Pharmacy Program, HAIL TO PITT!

Best,

Pitt Pharmacy PLS Beta Delta Chapter